# \[es/search\] failed: \[x\_content\_parse\_exception\] \[2:4\] Unexpected character ('\\' (code 92)): was expecting double-quote

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Created:** [April 2, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632 "2024-04-02T18:53:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![thatelasticguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@thatelasticguy](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/thatelasticguy)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632/1 "2024-04-02T18:53:45Z")

</div>

I am using elastic version 8+ with spring boot elasticsearch 5.2.0 dependency. I want to query my index with Odata $filter. I have configured my parser for Odata and it's generating below query json for following query: `$filter=degreeLevel eq masters`

```auto
{
  "bool" : {
    "must" : [
      {
        "match" : {
          "degreeLevel" : {
            "query" : "masters",
            "operator" : "OR",
            "prefix_length" : 0,
            "max_expansions" : 50,
            "fuzzy_transpositions" : true,
            "lenient" : false,
            "zero_terms_query" : "NONE",
            "auto_generate_synonyms_phrase_query" : true,
            "boost" : 1.0
          }
        }
      }
    ],
    "adjust_pure_negative" : true,
    "boost" : 1.0
  }
}

```

But from cluster I am getting 400 with following error:

```auto
Resolved [UncategorizedElasticsearchException: [es/search] failed: [x_content_parse_exception] [2:4] Unexpected character ('\' (code 92)): was expecting double-quote to start field name
 at [Source: (byte[])"{
  \"bool\" : {
    \"must\" : [
      {
        \"match\" : {
          \"degreeLevel\" : {
            \"query\" : \"masters\",
            \"operator\" : \"OR\",
            \"prefix_length\" : 0,
            \"max_expansions\" : 50,
            \"fuzzy_transpositions\" : true,
            \"lenient\" : false,
            \"zero_terms_query\" : \"NONE\",
            \"auto_generate_synonyms_phrase_query\" : true,
            \"boost\" : 1.0
          }
        }
      }
    ],

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dadoonet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/dadoonet/32/137187_2.png) [@dadoonet](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/dadoonet)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2024, 8:24pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632/2 "2024-04-02T20:24:32Z")

</div>

Welcome!

You need to use the same version for the client and the server.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![thatelasticguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@thatelasticguy](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/thatelasticguy)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2024, 9:22pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632/3 "2024-04-02T21:22:55Z")

</div>

Here is my elastic cluster version:

```auto
{
  "name": "c167c8e1dda1",
  "cluster_name": "docker-cluster",
  "cluster_uuid": "Dn8-_6pySM23uucR0ejdpQ",
  "version": {
    "number": "8.8.1",
    "build_flavor": "default",
    "build_type": "docker",
    "build_hash": "f8edfccba429b6477927a7c1ce1bc6729521305e",
    "build_date": "2023-06-05T21:32:25.188464208Z",
    "build_snapshot": false,
    "lucene_version": "9.6.0",
    "minimum_wire_compatibility_version": "7.17.0",
    "minimum_index_compatibility_version": "7.0.0"
  },
  "tagline": "You Know, for Search"
}

```

And my pom file dependencies for elasticsearch:

```auto
<dependency>
			<groupId>org.springframework.data</groupId>
			<artifactId>spring-data-elasticsearch</artifactId>
			<version>5.2.0</version>
			<exclusions>
				<exclusion>
					<groupId>org.elasticsearch</groupId>
					<artifactId>elasticsearch</artifactId>
				</exclusion>
				<exclusion>
					<groupId>org.elasticsearch.client</groupId>
					<artifactId>
						elasticsearch-rest-client
					</artifactId>
				</exclusion>
			</exclusions>
		</dependency>

		<dependency>
			<version>8.8.1</version>
			<groupId>org.elasticsearch</groupId>
			<artifactId>elasticsearch</artifactId>
		</dependency>

		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.elasticsearch.client</groupId>
			<artifactId>elasticsearch-rest-client</artifactId>
			<version>8.8.1</version>
		</dependency>

```

I believe I am using same version on both.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dadoonet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/dadoonet/32/137187_2.png) [@dadoonet](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/dadoonet)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 7:51am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632/4 "2024-04-03T07:51:16Z")

</div>

Could you share the output of:

```auto
mvn dependency:tree

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DavidTurner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/davidturner/32/22453_2.png) [@DavidTurner](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/DavidTurner)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632/5 "2024-04-03T14:13:17Z")

</div>

> [@thatelasticguy](#):
>
> ```plaintext
> Resolved [UncategorizedElasticsearchException: [es/search] failed: [x_content_parse_exception] [2:4] Unexpected character ('\' (code 92)): was expecting double-quote to start field name
> at [Source: (byte[])"{
> \"bool\" : {
> ...
> 
> ```

This exception means that the request being sent to Elasticsearch contains those `\` escape characters, so it isn't valid JSON. I've no idea where that's coming from tho, but it's something in the client. I suspect it might be related to the Spring Boot Elasticsearch usage tho, the maintainers for that library don't visit us here much so you might need to ask for their help directly.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![thatelasticguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@thatelasticguy](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/thatelasticguy)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632/6 "2024-04-03T19:23:47Z")

</div>

```auto
+- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-logging:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | | +- ch.qos.logback:logback-classic:jar:1.4.14:compile
[INFO] | | | \- ch.qos.logback:logback-core:jar:1.4.14:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-to-slf4j:jar:2.21.1:compile
[INFO] | | \- org.slf4j:jul-to-slf4j:jar:2.0.12:compile
[INFO] | +- jakarta.annotation:jakarta.annotation-api:jar:2.1.1:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework:spring-core:jar:6.1.4:compile
[INFO] | | \- org.springframework:spring-jcl:jar:6.1.4:compile
[INFO] | \- org.yaml:snakeyaml:jar:2.2:compile
[INFO] +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-test:jar:3.2.3:test
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-test:jar:3.2.3:test
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-test-autoconfigure:jar:3.2.3:test
[INFO] | +- com.jayway.jsonpath:json-path:jar:2.9.0:test
[INFO] | +- jakarta.xml.bind:jakarta.xml.bind-api:jar:4.0.1:test
[INFO] | | \- jakarta.activation:jakarta.activation-api:jar:2.1.2:test
[INFO] | +- net.minidev:json-smart:jar:2.5.0:compile
[INFO] | | \- net.minidev:accessors-smart:jar:2.5.0:compile
[INFO] | | \- org.ow2.asm:asm:jar:9.3:compile
[INFO] | +- org.assertj:assertj-core:jar:3.24.2:test
[INFO] | | \- net.bytebuddy:byte-buddy:jar:1.14.12:runtime
[INFO] | +- org.awaitility:awaitility:jar:4.2.0:test
[INFO] | +- org.hamcrest:hamcrest:jar:2.2:test
[INFO] | +- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter:jar:5.10.2:test
[INFO] | | +- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:jar:5.10.2:test
[INFO] | | | +- org.opentest4j:opentest4j:jar:1.3.0:test
[INFO] | | | +- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-commons:jar:1.10.2:test
[INFO] | | | \- org.apiguardian:apiguardian-api:jar:1.1.2:test
[INFO] | | +- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-params:jar:5.10.2:test
[INFO] | | \- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-engine:jar:5.10.2:test
[INFO] | | \- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-engine:jar:1.10.2:test
[INFO] | +- org.mockito:mockito-core:jar:5.7.0:test
[INFO] | | +- net.bytebuddy:byte-buddy-agent:jar:1.14.12:test
[INFO] | | \- org.objenesis:objenesis:jar:3.3:test
[INFO] | +- org.mockito:mockito-junit-jupiter:jar:5.7.0:test
[INFO] | +- org.skyscreamer:jsonassert:jar:1.5.1:test
[INFO] | | \- com.vaadin.external.google:android-json:jar:0.0.20131108.vaadin1:test
[INFO] | +- org.springframework:spring-test:jar:6.1.4:test
[INFO] | \- org.xmlunit:xmlunit-core:jar:2.9.1:test
[INFO] +- io.springfox:springfox-spring-webflux:jar:3.0.0:compile
[INFO] | +- com.fasterxml:classmate:jar:1.6.0:compile
[INFO] | +- org.slf4j:slf4j-api:jar:2.0.12:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.plugin:spring-plugin-core:jar:2.0.0.RELEASE:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.plugin:spring-plugin-metadata:jar:2.0.0.RELEASE:compile
[INFO] | +- io.springfox:springfox-spi:jar:3.0.0:runtime
[INFO] | +- io.springfox:springfox-schema:jar:3.0.0:runtime
[INFO] | +- io.springfox:springfox-core:jar:3.0.0:runtime
[INFO] | \- io.springfox:springfox-spring-web:jar:3.0.0:runtime
[INFO] | \- io.github.classgraph:classgraph:jar:4.8.83:runtime
[INFO] +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-webflux:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-json:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | | +- com.fasterxml.jackson.datatype:jackson-datatype-jdk8:jar:2.15.4:compile
[INFO] | | +- com.fasterxml.jackson.datatype:jackson-datatype-jsr310:jar:2.15.4:compile
[INFO] | | \- com.fasterxml.jackson.module:jackson-module-parameter-names:jar:2.15.4:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-reactor-netty:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | | \- io.projectreactor.netty:reactor-netty-http:jar:1.1.16:compile
[INFO] | | +- io.netty:netty-codec-http:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | | +- io.netty:netty-common:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | | +- io.netty:netty-buffer:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | | +- io.netty:netty-transport:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | | +- io.netty:netty-codec:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | | \- io.netty:netty-handler:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | +- io.netty:netty-codec-http2:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | +- io.netty:netty-resolver-dns:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | | +- io.netty:netty-resolver:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | | \- io.netty:netty-codec-dns:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | +- io.netty:netty-resolver-dns-native-macos:jar:osx-x86_64:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | | \- io.netty:netty-resolver-dns-classes-macos:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | +- io.netty:netty-transport-native-epoll:jar:linux-x86_64:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | | +- io.netty:netty-transport-native-unix-common:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | | \- io.netty:netty-transport-classes-epoll:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | \- io.projectreactor.netty:reactor-netty-core:jar:1.1.16:compile
[INFO] | | \- io.netty:netty-handler-proxy:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | | \- io.netty:netty-codec-socks:jar:4.1.107.Final:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework:spring-web:jar:6.1.4:compile
[INFO] | \- org.springframework:spring-webflux:jar:6.1.4:compile
[INFO] | \- io.projectreactor:reactor-core:jar:3.6.3:compile
[INFO] +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-tomcat:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:jar:10.1.19:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-el:jar:10.1.19:compile
[INFO] | | \- org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-websocket:jar:10.1.19:compile
[INFO] | \- org.springframework:spring-webmvc:jar:6.1.4:compile
[INFO] +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | | \- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | +- io.micrometer:micrometer-observation:jar:1.12.3:compile
[INFO] | | \- io.micrometer:micrometer-commons:jar:1.12.3:compile
[INFO] | \- io.micrometer:micrometer-jakarta9:jar:1.12.3:compile
[INFO] | \- io.micrometer:micrometer-core:jar:1.12.3:compile
[INFO] | \- org.latencyutils:LatencyUtils:jar:2.0.3:runtime
[INFO] +- org.springframework.data:spring-data-elasticsearch:jar:5.2.0:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework:spring-tx:jar:6.1.4:compile
[INFO] | +- org.springframework.data:spring-data-commons:jar:3.2.3:compile
[INFO] | +- co.elastic.clients:elasticsearch-java:jar:8.10.4:compile
[INFO] | | +- com.google.code.findbugs:jsr305:jar:3.0.2:compile
[INFO] | | +- jakarta.json:jakarta.json-api:jar:2.1.3:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.eclipse.parsson:parsson:jar:1.0.0:compile
[INFO] | | \- io.opentelemetry:opentelemetry-api:jar:1.31.0:runtime
[INFO] | | \- io.opentelemetry:opentelemetry-context:jar:1.31.0:runtime
[INFO] | +- org.elasticsearch.client:elasticsearch-rest-client:jar:8.10.4:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.httpcomponents:httpasyncclient:jar:4.1.5:compile
[INFO] | | \- org.apache.httpcomponents:httpcore-nio:jar:4.4.16:compile
[INFO] | +- com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core:jar:2.15.4:compile
[INFO] | \- com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:jar:2.15.4:compile
[INFO] | \- com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-annotations:jar:2.15.4:compile
[INFO] +- Internal-package:compile
[INFO] | +- org.opensearch:opensearch:jar:1.3.9:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.opensearch:opensearch-core:jar:1.3.9:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.opensearch:opensearch-secure-sm:jar:1.3.9:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.opensearch:opensearch-x-content:jar:1.3.9:compile
[INFO] | | | +- com.fasterxml.jackson.dataformat:jackson-dataformat-smile:jar:2.15.4:compile
[INFO] | | | +- com.fasterxml.jackson.dataformat:jackson-dataformat-yaml:jar:2.15.4:compile
[INFO] | | | \- com.fasterxml.jackson.dataformat:jackson-dataformat-cbor:jar:2.15.4:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.opensearch:opensearch-geo:jar:1.3.9:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-core:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-analyzers-common:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-backward-codecs:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-grouping:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-highlighter:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-join:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-memory:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-misc:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-queries:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-queryparser:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-sandbox:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-spatial-extras:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-spatial3d:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.apache.lucene:lucene-suggest:jar:8.10.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.opensearch:opensearch-cli:jar:1.3.9:compile
[INFO] | | | \- net.sf.jopt-simple:jopt-simple:jar:5.0.4:compile
[INFO] | | +- com.carrotsearch:hppc:jar:0.8.1:compile
[INFO] | | +- joda-time:joda-time:jar:2.12.2:compile
[INFO] | | +- com.tdunning:t-digest:jar:3.2:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.hdrhistogram:HdrHistogram:jar:2.1.9:compile
[INFO] | | \- net.java.dev.jna:jna:jar:5.5.0:compile
[INFO] | +- org.opensearch.client:spring-data-opensearch:jar:1.3.0:compile
[INFO] | | \- org.opensearch.client:opensearch-rest-high-level-client:jar:2.11.0:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.opensearch.client:opensearch-rest-client:jar:2.11.0:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.opensearch.plugin:mapper-extras-client:jar:2.11.0:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.opensearch.plugin:parent-join-client:jar:2.11.0:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.opensearch.plugin:aggs-matrix-stats-client:jar:2.11.0:compile
[INFO] | | +- org.opensearch.plugin:rank-eval-client:jar:2.11.0:compile
[INFO] | | \- org.opensearch.plugin:lang-mustache-client:jar:2.11.0:compile
[INFO] | | \- com.github.spullara.mustache.java:compiler:jar:0.9.10:compile

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632/7 "2024-04-03T19:23:47Z")

</div>

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---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![thatelasticguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@thatelasticguy](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/thatelasticguy)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 7:26pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632/8 "2024-04-03T19:26:35Z")

</div>

Does that mean the request should not contain those forward slashes?  
I see the `ElasticsearchConfiguration` class from `org.springframework.data.elasticsearch.client.elc` using `JacksonJsonMapper` class, maybe it's coming from there.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DavidTurner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/davidturner/32/22453_2.png) [@DavidTurner](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/DavidTurner)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632/9 "2024-04-03T20:20:41Z")

</div>

> [@thatelasticguy](#):
>
> Does that mean the request should not contain those forward slashes?

Correct (except that they're backslashes).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/es-search-failed-x-content-parse-exception-2-4-unexpected-character-code-92-was-expecting-double-quote/356632/10 "2024-05-01T20:21:01Z")

</div>

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