# The difference of query and filter **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [December 5, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/the-difference-of-query-and-filter/14739 "2013-12-05T20:36:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![J\_Schulz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/77aa72/32.png) [@J\_Schulz](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/J_Schulz)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/the-difference-of-query-and-filter/14739/1 "2013-12-05T20:36:40Z")
Hello together, does anyone know what is the exact difference between the following 2 requests? Both requests returns the same result. I read the elasticsearch docs about filter and query, but I didn't understand the exact difference. What is faster? What internally happends? What is the right way? From the docs about filters: "As a general rule, filters should be used instead of queries ... for queries on exact values" But I found tons of examples that uses "query -\> term -\> key -\> value". Why is it so? curl "[http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/\_search?pretty=true](http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/_search?pretty=true)" -d '{ "filter" : { "and" : [ { "term" : { "user\_id" : "2" } },{ "range" : { "time" : { "from" : 1385655592000, "to" : 1386260392000 } } } ] }, "sort" : { "time" : { "order" : "desc" } } }' curl "[http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/\_search?pretty=true](http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/_search?pretty=true)" -d '{ "query" : { "filtered" : { "query" : { "term" : { "user\_id" : "2" } }, "filter" : { "range" : { "time" : { "from" : 1385655592000, "to" : 1386260392000 } } } } }, "sort" : { "time" : { "order" : "desc" } } }' Cheers Jonny -- 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/df6ed558-1b8c-45cb-905c-152963870819%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/df6ed558-1b8c-45cb-905c-152963870819%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/df788c/32.png) [@Ivan](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/the-difference-of-query-and-filter/14739/2 "2013-12-05T20:49:05Z")
Two key differences stick out: 1. Filters do not contribute to the scoring. In your first example, since there is no query (essentially a match all behind the scenes), all the documents will have a score of 1.0. 2. Filters can be cached. Internally, filters are represented with bitsets. A filter check simply sees if the bit that represents that document/field is checked. This difference means filters can be faster than queries. In general, filters work best on fields where a full-text search will not be executed (such as the ones your provided). Cheers, Ivan On Thu, Dec 5, 2013 at 12:36 PM, J. Schulz [js.bloonix@gmail.com](mailto:js.bloonix@gmail.com) wrote: > Hello together, > > does anyone know what is the exact difference between the following 2 > requests? Both requests returns the same result. > > I read the elasticsearch docs about filter and query, but I didn't > understand the exact difference. > > What is faster? What internally happends? What is the right way? > > From the docs about filters: > > "As a general rule, filters should be used instead of queries ... for > queries on exact values" > > But I found tons of examples that uses "query -\> term -\> key -\> value". > Why is it so? > > curl "[http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/\_search?pretty=true](http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/_search?pretty=true)" -d '{ > "filter" : { > "and" : [ > { > "term" : { > "user\_id" : "2" > } > },{ > "range" : { > "time" : { > "from" : 1385655592000, > "to" : 1386260392000 > } > } > } > ] > }, > "sort" : { > "time" : { "order" : "desc" } > } > }' > > curl "[http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/\_search?pretty=true](http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/_search?pretty=true)" -d '{ > "query" : { > "filtered" : { > "query" : { > "term" : { "user\_id" : "2" } > }, > "filter" : { > "range" : { > "time" : { > "from" : 1385655592000, > "to" : 1386260392000 > } > } > } > } > }, > "sort" : { > "time" : { "order" : "desc" } > } > }' > > Cheers > Jonny > > -- > 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/df6ed558-1b8c-45cb-905c-152963870819%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/df6ed558-1b8c-45cb-905c-152963870819%40googlegroups.com) > . > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). -- 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/CALY%3DcQDwHX89\_q7rTN39z%2BNvMXcd1DwhP02ykFfZ5RQF97-m8w%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CALY%3DcQDwHX89_q7rTN39z%2BNvMXcd1DwhP02ykFfZ5RQF97-m8w%40mail.gmail.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**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:** [December 5, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/the-difference-of-query-and-filter/14739/3 "2013-12-05T20:50:31Z")
Using only filters is faster as filters are cached. That means that if you execute the same query (could be with different parameters), you will see that it's faster. -- David 😉 Twitter : @dadoonet / @elasticsearchfr / @scrutmydocs Le 5 déc. 2013 à 21:36, "J. Schulz" [js.bloonix@gmail.com](mailto:js.bloonix@gmail.com) a écrit : Hello together, does anyone know what is the exact difference between the following 2 requests? Both requests returns the same result. I read the elasticsearch docs about filter and query, but I didn't understand the exact difference. What is faster? What internally happends? What is the right way? From the docs about filters: "As a general rule, filters should be used instead of queries ... for queries on exact values" But I found tons of examples that uses "query -\> term -\> key -\> value". Why is it so? curl "[http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/\_search?pretty=true](http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/_search?pretty=true)" -d '{ "filter" : { "and" : [ { "term" : { "user\_id" : "2" } },{ "range" : { "time" : { "from" : 1385655592000, "to" : 1386260392000 } } } ] }, "sort" : { "time" : { "order" : "desc" } } }' curl "[http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/\_search?pretty=true](http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/_search?pretty=true)" -d '{ "query" : { "filtered" : { "query" : { "term" : { "user\_id" : "2" } }, "filter" : { "range" : { "time" : { "from" : 1385655592000, "to" : 1386260392000 } } } } }, "sort" : { "time" : { "order" : "desc" } } }' ## Cheers Jonny 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/df6ed558-1b8c-45cb-905c-152963870819%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/df6ed558-1b8c-45cb-905c-152963870819%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). -- 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/10A38EB3-D32D-4736-8248-A2C27A6E4DE1%40pilato.fr](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/10A38EB3-D32D-4736-8248-A2C27A6E4DE1%40pilato.fr). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**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:** [December 5, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/the-difference-of-query-and-filter/14739/4 "2013-12-05T20:52:13Z")
filters are faster. Ivan is as well faster than me! 😉 -- David 😉 Twitter : @dadoonet / @elasticsearchfr / @scrutmydocs Le 5 déc. 2013 à 21:50, David Pilato [david@pilato.fr](mailto:david@pilato.fr) a écrit : Using only filters is faster as filters are cached. That means that if you execute the same query (could be with different parameters), you will see that it's faster. -- David 😉 Twitter : @dadoonet / @elasticsearchfr / @scrutmydocs Le 5 déc. 2013 à 21:36, "J. Schulz" [js.bloonix@gmail.com](mailto:js.bloonix@gmail.com) a écrit : Hello together, does anyone know what is the exact difference between the following 2 requests? Both requests returns the same result. I read the elasticsearch docs about filter and query, but I didn't understand the exact difference. What is faster? What internally happends? What is the right way? From the docs about filters: "As a general rule, filters should be used instead of queries ... for queries on exact values" But I found tons of examples that uses "query -\> term -\> key -\> value". Why is it so? curl "[http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/\_search?pretty=true](http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/_search?pretty=true)" -d '{ "filter" : { "and" : [ { "term" : { "user\_id" : "2" } },{ "range" : { "time" : { "from" : 1385655592000, "to" : 1386260392000 } } } ] }, "sort" : { "time" : { "order" : "desc" } } }' curl "[http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/\_search?pretty=true](http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/_search?pretty=true)" -d '{ "query" : { "filtered" : { "query" : { "term" : { "user\_id" : "2" } }, "filter" : { "range" : { "time" : { "from" : 1385655592000, "to" : 1386260392000 } } } } }, "sort" : { "time" : { "order" : "desc" } } }' ## Cheers Jonny ## 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/df6ed558-1b8c-45cb-905c-152963870819%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/df6ed558-1b8c-45cb-905c-152963870819%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). 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/10A38EB3-D32D-4736-8248-A2C27A6E4DE1%40pilato.fr](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/10A38EB3-D32D-4736-8248-A2C27A6E4DE1%40pilato.fr). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). -- 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/EAA013AD-AAB1-43A0-8CDB-FEB7495D7EA9%40pilato.fr](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/EAA013AD-AAB1-43A0-8CDB-FEB7495D7EA9%40pilato.fr). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![J\_Schulz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/77aa72/32.png) [@J\_Schulz](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/J_Schulz)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:29am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/the-difference-of-query-and-filter/14739/5 "2013-12-06T10:29:06Z")
Great! Thank you for your explantation! 🙂 -- 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/5dd814cf-6b63-4d1c-871b-b35f9bb42f36%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/5dd814cf-6b63-4d1c-871b-b35f9bb42f36%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![Hannes\_Korte](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/hannes_korte/32/909_2.png) [@Hannes\_Korte](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Hannes_Korte)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:53am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/the-difference-of-query-and-filter/14739/6 "2013-12-06T10:53:03Z")
Hi, in addition to the mentioned differences, filters don't influence facets. So, if you want to compute facets only on the the filtered search results, you have to use a filtered query. Otherwise the facets are computed on the unfiltered results. Best regards Hannes On 05.12.2013 21:36, J. Schulz wrote: > Hello together, > > does anyone know what is the exact difference between the following 2 > requests? Both requests returns the same result. > > I read the elasticsearch docs about filter and query, but I didn't > understand the exact difference. > > What is faster? What internally happends? What is the right way? > > From the docs about filters: > > "As a general rule, filters should be used instead of queries ... for > queries on exact values" > > But I found tons of examples that uses "query -\> term -\> key -\> value". Why > is it so? > > curl "[http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/\_search?pretty=true](http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/_search?pretty=true)" -d '{ > "filter" : { > "and" : [ > { > "term" : { > "user\_id" : "2" > } > },{ > "range" : { > "time" : { > "from" : 1385655592000, > "to" : 1386260392000 > } > } > } > ] > }, > "sort" : { > "time" : { "order" : "desc" } > } > }' > > curl "[http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/\_search?pretty=true](http://localhost:9200/myapp/event/_search?pretty=true)" -d '{ > "query" : { > "filtered" : { > "query" : { > "term" : { "user\_id" : "2" } > }, > "filter" : { > "range" : { > "time" : { > "from" : 1385655592000, > "to" : 1386260392000 > } > } > } > } > }, > "sort" : { > "time" : { "order" : "desc" } > } > }' > > Cheers > Jonny -- 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/52A1AC8F.9000904%40hkorte.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/52A1AC8F.9000904%40hkorte.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**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, 2:02am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/the-difference-of-query-and-filter/14739/7 "2017-07-06T02:02:51Z")