How query works
/ Query, / EngineHow query works? #
A search request fans out from the coordinating node to every shard copy of the target collections, executes against a snapshot of the index, and merges ranked results back — this page walks that pipeline and the mechanisms that keep it fast:
graph LR
R["search request"] --> C("coordinator")
C -->|"one copy per shard group —
saturated nodes are skipped"| G0("shard group 0 — any copy")
C --> G1("shard group 1 — any copy")
C --> G2("shard group 2 — any copy")
G0 --> Q["top-K + aggs against the snapshot —
mutable layer + immutable segments"]
G1 --> Q
G2 --> Q
Q --> M("merge — rank, dedupe, paginate")
M --> H["hits and aggregations,
or partial results on timeout"]