# Size = 0 w/ query\_then\_fetch vs count search\_type **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [August 13, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/size-0-w-query-then-fetch-vs-count-search-type/19271 "2014-08-13T20:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Andrew\_Ochsner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/andrew_ochsner/32/1287_2.png) [@Andrew\_Ochsner](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Andrew_Ochsner)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/size-0-w-query-then-fetch-vs-count-search-type/19271/1 "2014-08-13T20:54:12Z")
Hi: For some reason I remember someone saying (might have been during a training or git issue) that ElasticSearch would optimize a query\_then\_fetch search with size=0 to a count search. But now I can't find anywhere on the interwebs or in a quick search through the code. Does anyone know if this is the case or if it really is more important to specify count search\_type rather than size=0 (in this instance, it's in the context of wanting to do an aggregation and I don't care about the hits). Thanks in advance Andy O -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/b349267e-c01b-4fcb-9b2d-c80a14e5015f%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/b349267e-c01b-4fcb-9b2d-c80a14e5015f%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/size-0-w-query-then-fetch-vs-count-search-type/19271/2 "2017-07-06T01:08:47Z")