LINQ to ES|QL: Write C#, query Elasticsearch

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Starting with v9.3.4 and v8.19.18, the Elasticsearch .NET client includes a Language Integrated Query (LINQ) provider that translates C# LINQ expressions into Elasticsearch Query Language (ES|QL) queries at runtime. Instead of writing ES|QL strings by hand, you compose queries using Where, Select, OrderBy, GroupBy, and other standard operators. The provider takes care of translation, parameterization, and result deserialization, including per-row streaming that keeps memory usage constant, regardless of result set size.

Your first query

Start by defining a plain old CLR object (POCO) that maps to your Elasticsearch index. Property names are resolved to ES|QL column names through standard System.Text.Json attributes, like [JsonPropertyName], or through a configured JsonNamingPolicy. The same source serialization rules that apply across the rest of the client apply here as well.

With the type in place, a query looks like this:

The provider translates this into the following ES|QL:

A few details to note:

• Property name resolution: p.Price becomes price_usd because of the [JsonPropertyName] attribute, and p.Brand becomes brand following the default camelCase naming policy.
• Parameter capturing: The C# variables minPrice and brand are captured as named parameters (?minPrice, ?brand). They’re sent separately from the query string in the JSON payload, which prevents injection and enables server-side query plan caching.
• Streaming: QueryAsync<T> returns IAsyncEnumerable<T>. Rows are materialized one at a time as they arrive from Elasticsearch.

You can also inspect the generated query and its parameters without executing it:

How does this work? A quick LINQ refresher

The mechanism that makes LINQ providers possible is the distinction between IEnumerable<T> and IQueryable<T>.

When you call .Where(p => p.Price > 100) on an IEnumerable<T>, the lambda compiles to a Func<Product, bool>, a regular delegate that the runtime executes in-process. This is LINQ-to-Objects.

When you call the same method on an IQueryable<T>, the C# compiler wraps the lambda in an Expression<Func<Product, bool>> instead. This is a data structure that represents the structure of the code rather than its executable form. The expression tree can be inspected, analyzed, and translated into another language at runtime.

The IQueryProvider interface is the extension point. Any provider can implement CreateQuery<T> and Execute<T> to translate these expression trees into a target language. Entity Framework uses this to emit SQL. The LINQ to ES|QL provider uses it to emit ES|QL.

The expression tree for the query above looks like this:

Expression tree for the example query.

The tree is nested inside out: Take wraps OrderByDescending, which wraps Where, which wraps From, which wraps the root EsqlQueryable<Product> constant. The Where predicate is itself a subtree of BinaryExpression nodes for the &&, >=, and == operators, with MemberExpression leaves for property accesses and closure captures for the minPrice and brand variables. This is the data structure that the provider walks to produce the final ES|QL.

Under the hood: The translation pipeline

The path from a LINQ expression to query results follows a six-stage pipeline:

Translation pipeline overview.

1. Expression tree capture

When you chain .Where(), .OrderBy(), .Take() and other operators on an IQueryable<T>, the standard LINQ infrastructure builds an expression tree. EsqlQueryable<T> implements IQueryable<T> and delegates to EsqlQueryProvider.

2. Translation

When the query is executed (by enumerating, calling ToList(), or using await foreach), the EsqlExpressionVisitor walks the expression tree inside out. It dispatches each LINQ method call to a specialized visitor:

During translation, C# variables referenced in expressions are captured as named parameters.

3. Query model

The visitors don’t produce strings directly. Instead, they produce QueryCommand objects, an immutable intermediate representation. A FromCommand, a WhereCommand, a SortCommand, and a LimitCommand, each representing one ES|QL processing command. These are collected into an EsqlQuery model.

Query model and command pattern.

This intermediate model is decoupled from both the expression tree and the output format. It can be inspected, intercepted (via IEsqlQueryInterceptor), or modified before formatting.

4. Formatting

EsqlFormatter visits each QueryCommand in order and produces the final ES|QL string. Each command becomes one line, separated by the pipe (|) operator that ES|QL uses to chain processing commands. Identifiers containing special characters are automatically escaped with backticks.

5. Execution

The formatted ES|QL string and captured parameters are sent to Elasticsearch’s /_query endpoint as a JSON payload. The IEsqlQueryExecutor interface abstracts the transport layer, which is where the layered package architecture comes into play.

6. Materialization

EsqlResponseReader streams the JSON response without buffering the entire result set into memory. A ColumnLayout tree, precomputed once per query, maps flat ES|QL column names (like address.street, address.city) to nested POCO properties. Each row is assembled into a T instance and yielded one at a time via IEnumerable<T> or IAsyncEnumerable<T>.

The layered architecture

The LINQ to ES|QL functionality is split across three packages:

Package architecture.
Elastic.Esql is the pure translation engine. It has zero HTTP dependencies and contains the expression visitors, query model, formatter, and response reader. You can use it stand alone to build and inspect ES|QL queries without an Elasticsearch connection, which is useful for testing, query logging, or building your own execution layer.

Elastic.Clients.Esql is a lightweight stand-alone ES|QL client. It adds HTTP execution on top of Elastic.Esql via Elastic.Transport. If your application only needs ES|QL and none of the other Elasticsearch APIs, this is the minimal dependency option.

Elastic.Clients.Elasticsearch is the full Elasticsearch .NET client. It also builds on Elastic.Esql and exposes the LINQ provider through the client.Esql namespace. This is the recommended entry point for most applications.

Both execution-layer packages provide their own implementation of IEsqlQueryExecutor, the strategy interface that bridges translation and transport.

All three packages are compatible with Native AOT when used with a source-generated JsonSerializerContext. For the full client, see the Native AOT documentation.

Beyond the basics

The example above covered filtering, sorting, and pagination. The provider supports a broader set of operations.

Aggregations

GroupBy, combined with aggregate functions in Select, translates to ES|QL STATS ... BY:

Projections

Select, with anonymous types generates EVAL, KEEP, and RENAME commands:

Rich function library

Over 80 ES|QL functions are available through the EsqlFunctions class, covering date/time, string, math, IP, pattern matching, and scoring. Standard Math.* and string.* methods are also translated:

LOOKUP JOIN

Cross-index lookups translate to ES|QL LOOKUP JOIN:

Raw ES|QL escape hatch

For ES|QL features not yet covered by the LINQ provider, you can append raw fragments:

Server-side async queries

For long-running queries, submit them for background processing on the server:

Server-side async queries are especially useful for long-running analytical queries / large dataset processing that might exceed typical timeout thresholds, or in timeout-sensitive environments with load balancers, API gateways, or proxies that enforce strict HTTP timeouts. Async queries avoid connection drops by decoupling submission from result retrieval.

Getting started

LINQ to ES|QL is available starting from:

• Elastic.Clients.Elasticsearch v9.3.4 (9.x branch)
• Elastic.Clients.Elasticsearch v8.19.18 (8.x branch)

Install from NuGet:

dotnet add package Elastic.Clients.Elasticsearch

The entry points are on client.Esql:

For the full feature reference, including query options, multifield access, nested objects, and multivalue field handling, see the LINQ to ES|QL documentation.

Conclusion

LINQ to ES|QL brings the full expressiveness of C# LINQ to Elasticsearch's ES|QL query language, letting you write strongly typed, composable queries without handcrafting query strings. With automatic parameter capturing, streaming materialization, and a layered package architecture that scales from stand-alone translation to the full Elasticsearch client, it fits naturally into .NET applications of any size. Install the latest client, point your LINQ expressions at an index, and let the provider handle the rest.