docs: document ES|QL data source and fields browsers in Discover (#5701)#6082
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florent-leborgne merged 10 commits intomainfrom Apr 27, 2026
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docs: document ES|QL data source and fields browsers in Discover (#5701)#6082florent-leborgne merged 10 commits intomainfrom
florent-leborgne merged 10 commits intomainfrom
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Adds a "Browse data sources and fields" section to the ES|QL Kibana overview describing the Browse indices/Browse fields autocomplete entries and the FROM/TS badge. Adds a tagged tip in the Discover ES|QL tutorial pointing to the new browsers. Made-with: Cursor
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Vale Linting ResultsSummary: 1 warning found
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| File | Line | Rule | Message |
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| explore-analyze/discover/try-esql.md | 108 | Elastic.Spelling | 'subqueries' is a possible misspelling. |
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The data source and fields browsers are Discover-only. Keep the broader ES|QL editor page (esql-kibana.md) light with a one-line cross-reference, and document the feature in detail on try-esql.md as a new H2 placed right after the get-started tutorial. Made-with: Cursor
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It appears that this feature should remain Discover-specific for the time being - reshuffling to better locate the information |
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Co-authored-by: Florent LB <florent.leborgne@elastic.co>
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leemthompo
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Apr 24, 2026
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| When you write a query, the {{esql}} editor includes two interactive browsers that help you find available data sources and field names: | ||
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| - **Data source browser**: lists the data sources of the following types that you can query: **Alias**, **Index**, **Integration**, **Lookup Index**, **Stream**, and **Timeseries**. Selections are inserted into the `FROM` or `TS` command and existing sources stay preserved. When the query starts with `TS`, only time series data sources are listed. |
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there's a nascent external data sources project afoot in ES|QL which might result in a confusing naming collision here
wonder if we could use different terminologies here, something like this maybe:
- Index type browser: lists the indices and data stream types available to query:
Otherwise, "index abstractions" is the internal umbrella term we're using for these
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Yeah we've been chatting about this in some internal threads with @stratoula and some more folks. We didn't land on any decision but I think we at least had a common opinion that data source is the right name there, it can be external at some point, sure.
It doesn't make much sense to try to use some synonyms that will end up confusing users more than having clear terminology with well defined nouns and clear qualifiers/adjectives for identifying the differences.
Kind of what we failed to do with serverless projects and hosted deployments and to this day we're still struggling with it :D
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Docs review summary
Focus areas
- Style and clarity: Two minor issues — awkward phrasing ("stay preserved") and empty link text. Both have inline suggestions.
- Jargon: No Elastic-internal jargon found in the changed sections.
- Frontmatter and applies_to: Page-level frontmatter is intact on both files. The new section in
try-esql.mduses a correct fenced{applies_to}block after the heading. The inline{applies_to}tags inesql-kibana.mdare appropriate for paragraph-level scoping. - Content type fit: The new section is a focused how-to reference block, well-placed alongside existing Discover-only editor sections. The cross-link from
esql-kibana.mdis appropriately minimal. - Parent issue satisfaction: Closes #5701. The PR documents both the data source browser and the fields browser, both entry points (autocomplete menu and FROM/TS badge), and the main-query-only constraint. The issue appears fully satisfied.
Nits
try-esql.mdline 108: Vale flaggedsubqueriesas a possible misspelling. It is standard SQL terminology and likely a false positive, but the CI comment is already tracking it.
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| {applies_to}`stack: ga 9.4` {applies_to}`serverless: ga` In **Discover**, the editor also includes interactive browsers for selecting data sources and field names from the autocomplete menu. Refer to [](/explore-analyze/discover/try-esql.md#discover-esql-resource-browsers) for details. |
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The empty link text [](...) is an accessibility issue — screen readers will announce the raw URL or file path instead of meaningful text.
Suggest explicit link text:
Suggested change
| {applies_to}`stack: ga 9.4` {applies_to}`serverless: ga` In **Discover**, the editor also includes interactive browsers for selecting data sources and field names from the autocomplete menu. Refer to [](/explore-analyze/discover/try-esql.md#discover-esql-resource-browsers) for details. | |
| {applies_to}`stack: ga 9.4` {applies_to}`serverless: ga` In **Discover**, the editor also includes interactive browsers for selecting data sources and field names from the autocomplete menu. Refer to [Browse indices and fields from the editor](/explore-analyze/discover/try-esql.md#discover-esql-resource-browsers) for details. |
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| When you write a query, the {{esql}} editor includes two interactive browsers that help you find available data sources and field names: | ||
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| - **Data source browser**: lists the data sources of the following types that you can query: **Alias**, **Index**, **Integration**, **Lookup Index**, **Stream**, and **Timeseries**. Selections are inserted into the `FROM` or `TS` command and existing sources stay preserved. When the query starts with `TS`, only time series data sources are listed. |
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"existing sources stay preserved" is awkward phrasing — "stay" is redundant alongside "preserved".
Suggested change
| - **Data source browser**: lists the data sources of the following types that you can query: **Alias**, **Index**, **Integration**, **Lookup Index**, **Stream**, and **Timeseries**. Selections are inserted into the `FROM` or `TS` command and existing sources stay preserved. When the query starts with `TS`, only time series data sources are listed. | |
| - **Data source browser**: lists the data sources of the following types that you can query: **Alias**, **Index**, **Integration**, **Lookup Index**, **Stream**, and **Timeseries**. Selections are inserted into the `FROM` or `TS` command and existing sources are preserved. When the query starts with `TS`, only time series data sources are listed. |
This was referenced Apr 28, 2026
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#6188) ## Summary Follow-up to #6082, which addressed parent issue #5701 but didn't explicitly close the two sibling issues #6068 and #6072. This PR adds the two behavioral details from #6072 that weren't covered: - the data source browser supports **multi-select** (add/remove several sources in one session) - sources already present in the query appear **pre-selected** These are the only details from #6068 and #6072 worth documenting; other behaviors (replace/deselect for the fields browser, no-preselection, formatting-preserving inserts) are either self-evident from the UI or already implied by the existing wording. ## Resolves Closes #6068 Closes #6072 Made with [Cursor](https://cursor.com)
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Summary
This PR addresses #5701 with the following changes:
explore-analyze/discover/try-esql.md: Adds a new H2Browse indices and fields from the editorright after the get-started tutorial, scoped tostack: ga 9.4/serverless: ga. Documents:TS-only filtering for time series sources, and the formatting-preserving insert behavior.FROM/TSbadge.The section sits naturally next to the existing Discover-only editor sections (
Create and edit lookup indices from queries,Add variable controls to your Discover queries).explore-analyze/query-filter/languages/esql-kibana.md: Adds a single Discover-specific sentence at the end ofAutocomplete and in-app helpcross-linking to the new section intry-esql.md. The detailed content lives on the Discover page since the feature is Discover-only for now.Resolves
Closes #5701