[[modules-scripting]]
= Scripting

[partintro]
--
With scripting, you can evaluate custom expressions in {es}. For example, you
could use a script to return "script fields" as part of a search request or
evaluate a custom score for a query.

The default scripting language is <<modules-scripting-painless, `Painless`>>.
Additional `lang` plugins enable you to run scripts written in other languages.
Everywhere a script can be used, you can include a `lang` parameter
to specify the language of the script.

[discrete]
== General-purpose languages

These languages can be used for any purpose in the scripting APIs,
and give the most flexibility.

[cols="<,<,<",options="header",]
|=======================================================================
|Language
    |Sandboxed
    |Required plugin

|<<modules-scripting-painless, `painless`>>
    |yes
    |built-in

|=======================================================================

[discrete]
== Special-purpose languages

These languages are less flexible, but typically have higher performance for
certain tasks.

[cols="<,<,<,<",options="header",]
|=======================================================================
|Language
    |Sandboxed
    |Required plugin
    |Purpose

|<<modules-scripting-expression, `expression`>>
    |yes
    |built-in
    |fast custom ranking and sorting

|<<search-template, `mustache`>>
    |yes
    |built-in
    |templates

|<<modules-scripting-engine, `java`>>
    |n/a
    |you write it!
    |expert API

|=======================================================================

[WARNING]
.Scripts and security
=================================================

Languages that are sandboxed are designed with security in mind. However, non-
sandboxed languages can be a security issue, please read
<<modules-scripting-security, Scripting and security>> for more details.

=================================================
--

include::scripting/using.asciidoc[]

include::scripting/fields.asciidoc[]

include::scripting/security.asciidoc[]

include::scripting/painless.asciidoc[]

include::scripting/expression.asciidoc[]

include::scripting/engine.asciidoc[]
