# Query vs index

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/query-vs-index/103632>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Created:** [October 12, 2017, 2:09am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/query-vs-index/103632 "2017-10-12T02:09:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![cxbarbosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@cxbarbosa](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/cxbarbosa)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 2:09am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/query-vs-index/103632/1 "2017-10-12T02:09:30Z")

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This is probably an easy question so I apologize for this post,but there is just one thing I'm not understanding:

What does the querying do? It seems all of the mapping and filtering takes place in creating the index.  
After that you utilize cabana to structure out the dashboard.

Is there something you can do specifically with the queries or are the queries used to structure an index?

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**Author:** ![warkolm](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/warkolm/32/39224_2.png) [@warkolm](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/warkolm)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/query-vs-index/103632/2 "2017-10-12T02:38:53Z")

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When you build dashboards with Kibana, it populates those using queries.

So queries ask questions of the indexed data and then return the results of those questions.

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**Author:** ![cxbarbosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@cxbarbosa](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/cxbarbosa)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 12:17am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/query-vs-index/103632/3 "2017-10-13T00:17:49Z")

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So I index my data using curl, or dev tools.  
I can then run queries against the data in Dev tools, but I don't see what it does? It returns a result..but what do I do with the result?  
You build the dashboard in kibana based off of the index settings

im just not seeing how queries manipulates anything.

sorry for the easy question .

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**Author:** ![warkolm](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/warkolm/32/39224_2.png) [@warkolm](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/warkolm)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/query-vs-index/103632/4 "2017-10-13T00:31:44Z")

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> [@cxbarbosa](#):
>
> So I index my data using curl, or dev tools.

Yes, or Logstash or Filebeat or even something else you have that can send data to Elasticsearch.

> [@cxbarbosa](#):
>
> You build the dashboard in kibana based off of the index settings

The index settings simply tell Kibana which index it needs to be looking at.

> [@cxbarbosa](#):
>
> im just not seeing how queries manipulates anything.

Think of it this way - You put data in a database table, you then query that to get results, you then take those results and put them into a report or a dashboard or to pass to another application.  
Elasticsearch is no different, the logical process is the same.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/query-vs-index/103632/5 "2017-11-10T00:31:52Z")

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