docs: document ES|QL Fast mode toggle for approximation (#7141)#7143
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docs: document ES|QL Fast mode toggle for approximation (#7141)#7143florent-leborgne wants to merge 13 commits into
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Promote the approximation content on the ES|QL-in-Kibana page to a dedicated section anchored `approximation-fast-mode` (the target of the in-product Learn more link), leading with the Fast mode UI toggle and keeping `SET approximation` as the query-level override. Add reciprocal cross-references from the Discover ES|QL tutorial, ES|QL visualizations, and the dashboard usage page. Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
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Elastic Docs Style Checker (Vale)Summary: 5 warnings, 1 suggestion found
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| explore-analyze/dashboards/using.md | 33 | Elastic.QuotesPunctuation | Place punctuation inside closing quotation marks. |
| explore-analyze/discover/try-esql.md | 389 | Elastic.QuotesPunctuation | Place punctuation inside closing quotation marks. |
| explore-analyze/query-filter/languages/esql-kibana.md | 491 | Elastic.Spelling | 'autocompletes' is a possible misspelling. |
| explore-analyze/query-filter/languages/esql-kibana.md | 502 | Elastic.QuotesPunctuation | Place punctuation inside closing quotation marks. |
| explore-analyze/visualize/esorql.md | 25 | Elastic.QuotesPunctuation | Place punctuation inside closing quotation marks. |
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Condense the new Fast mode section now that approximation via SET is already documented for 9.4. Clarify that turning Fast mode on doesn't force approximation (Elasticsearch falls back to exact execution when sampling wouldn't help) and correct the per-surface behavior: in Discover the button is always available but applies only to queries with exactly one STATS command, while in Dashboards it's disabled when no ES|QL visualization uses STATS. Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
Bold the Fast mode UI label, simplify the cross-references, and stop pinning the exact UI mechanics while the implementation is in flux. Remove the cross-reference from the ES|QL visualizations page (that page is about defining visualizations, not running them), note that small datasets run exactly, and reword the disabled state as "not available" for the dashboard case. Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
Re-add a cross-reference on the ES|QL visualizations page, framed for authors: a query with exactly one STATS command lets dashboard users turn on Fast mode for that visualization. Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
The fallback-to-exact and estimated-results caveats are properties of ES|QL approximation, not of the Fast mode toggle: SET approximation behaves identically. Move the caveat from the Fast mode subsection up to the section intro and phrase it method-agnostically. Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
Approximation accuracy and speed depend on the matched data and query, not on source dataset size. Drop the "small data set" framing and tie the exact-execution fallback to sampling not helping (for example, a selective filter already narrowing the matching data). Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
Tie the exact-execution fallback to "approximation wouldn't make the query faster" rather than describing approximation as just sampling. Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
Shorten the Fast mode and SET approximation subsection titles to a parallel "Use X" form, and switch the dashboard usage cross-reference to an auto-resolved link so its label matches the section title. Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
…7141) Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
florent-leborgne
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Jul 6, 2026
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Summary
This PR addresses #7141 by documenting the new Fast mode option that turns on ES|QL
STATSapproximation from the {{kib}} UI in Discover and dashboards.explore-analyze/query-filter/languages/esql-kibana.md: Promote the formerSET approximationsubsection to a dedicated section, Get faster results with approximateSTATS, anchoredapproximation-fast-mode(the exact target of the in-product Learn more link,queryESQLApproximateResults). The section covers the Fast mode UI option, a plain-language explanation of the two approximation output columns (_approximation_confidence_interval/_approximation_certified), and keepsSET approximationas the query-level override. Theapproximationbullet in theSETsettings list now points to the new section. The new content is kept concise because approximation viaSETis already documented for 9.4.explore-analyze/discover/try-esql.md: Reciprocal cross-reference near theSTATSgrouped-results section.explore-analyze/dashboards/using.md: Cross-reference in Search and filter your dashboard data, since the option sits next to the dashboard query bar.explore-analyze/visualize/esorql.md: Author-facing note explaining that a visualization whose query uses exactly oneSTATScommand can be sped up by dashboard users with Fast mode.Key behaviors documented:
_approximation_confidence_interval(<column>)(the range the exact value very likely falls within, at a 90% confidence level) and_approximation_certified(<column>)(whether that interval is reliable) for each approximated value. In Discover these show as extra columns in the results table.STATScommand.STATS; the option is not available when the dashboard has none. State is preserved on save/share.Resolves
Closes #7141
Verify before publishing
This is early-prep documentation for a feature in technical preview (Stack 9.5, serverless). The user-facing copy follows the product-side issue (#7141). The Kibana implementation has largely merged to
main— Fast mode component (#275371), Discover switch (#275510), Lens support (#275890), and Dashboards (#276173). Confirm against HEAD:STATS; in Dashboards confirm the exact disable condition (the draft says "visualizations that use oneSTATScommand" — verify whether the gate is "aSTATSvisualization" vs "exactly oneSTATS")._approximation_confidence_interval/_approximation_certifiedare paraphrased from the ES|QL approximation reference; the "zero-width interval = exact result" detail is drawn from adjacent sections of that page. Worth a sanity check by the ES author.SET approximationoverriding the toggle.Screenshots to add or update
explore-analyze/query-filter/languages/esql-kibana.md— new section: consider adding a screenshot of the {icon}boltFast mode option once the final UI design is settled, since the control is icon-only.