The easiest way to get familiar with the SQL plugin is to use **Query Workbench** in OpenSearch Dashboards to test various queries. To learn more, see [Workbench]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/search-plugins/sql/workbench/).
You can specify the [response format]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/search-plugins/sql/response-formats) as JDBC, standard OpenSearch JSON, CSV, or raw. By default, queries return data in JDBC format. The following query sets the format to JSON:
```json
POST _plugins/_sql?format=json
{
"query": "SELECT * FROM my-index LIMIT 50"
}
```
See the rest of this guide for more information about request parameters, settings, supported operations, and tools.