Add KQL query DSL docs

docs/reference/query-languages/query-dsl/query-dsl-kql-query.md

@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+---
+navigation_title: "KQL"
+mapped_pages:
+  - https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/query-dsl-kql-query.html
+applies_to:
+  stack: preview 9.0, ga 9.1
+  serverless: all
+---
+
+# KQL query [query-dsl-kql-query]
+
+Returns documents matching a provided KQL expression. The value of the `query` parameter is parsed using the
+[Kibana Query Language (KQL)](/reference/query-languages/kql.md) and rewritten
+into standard Query DSL.
+
+Use this query when you want to accept KQL input (for example from a Kibana search bar) directly in Elasticsearch.
+
+## Example request [kql-query-example]
+
+The following example returns documents where `service.name` is `"checkout-service"` and `http.response.status_code` is `200`.
+
+```console
+GET /_search
+{
+  "query": {
+    "kql": {
+      "query": "service.name: \"checkout-service\" AND http.response.status_code: 200"
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+## Top-level parameters for `kql` [kql-top-level-params]
+
+`query`
+:   (Required, string) The KQL expression to parse. See the
+[KQL language reference](/reference/query-languages/kql.md) for supported
+syntax.
+
+`case_insensitive`
+:   (Optional, boolean) If `true`, performs case-insensitive matching for field names and keyword / text terms.
+    Defaults to `false`.
+
+`default_field`
+:   (Optional, string) Default field (or field pattern with wildcards) to target when a bare term in the query
+    string does not specify a field. Supports wildcards (`*`).
+
+    Defaults to the [`index.query.default_field`](/reference/elasticsearch/index-settings/index-modules.md#index-query-default-field)
+    index setting (default value is `*`). The value `*` expands to all fields that are eligible for term queries
+    (metadata fields excluded). Searching *all* eligible fields can be expensive on mappings with many fields and
+    is subject to the `indices.query.bool.max_clause_count` limit.
+
+    Like other queries, this implicit expansion does not traverse [nested](/reference/elasticsearch/mapping-reference/nested.md)
+    documents.
+
+`time_zone`
+:   (Optional, string) [UTC offset](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UTC_time_offsets) or
+    [IANA time zone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones) used to interpret date literals
+    (for example `@timestamp > now-2d`). Does not change the value of `now` (which is always system UTC) but affects
+    rounding and the interpretation of explicit date strings.
+
+`boost`
+:   (Optional, float) Standard query *boost*. Defaults to `1.0`.
+
+`_name`
+:   (Optional, string) A name to identify this query in the response's `matched_queries`.
+
+## Syntax reference
+
+The `kql` query accepts a single KQL expression string in the `query` parameter. All language elements (field matching,
+wildcards, boolean logic, ranges, nested scoping) are defined in the
+[KQL language reference](/reference/query-languages/kql.md). This page does not
+duplicate that syntax.
+
+## Additional examples [kql-examples]
+
+### Case-insensitive matching (log level)
+
+```console
+GET /_search
+{
+  "query": {
+    "kql": {
+      "query": "log.level: ErRoR",
+      "case_insensitive": true
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+### Using a default field pattern
+
+Search any field under the `logs` object for the term `timeout`:
+
+```console
+GET /_search
+{
+  "query": {
+    "kql": {
+      "query": "timeout",
+      "default_field": "logs.*"
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+### Date range with time zone
+
+```console
+GET /_search
+{
+  "query": {
+    "kql": {
+      "query": "@timestamp >= ""2025-10-01"" AND @timestamp < ""2025-10-02""",
+      "time_zone": "Europe/Paris"
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+### Nested field query
+```console
+GET /_search
+{
+  "query": {
+    "kql": {
+      "query": "events.stack:{ file: \"app.js\" AND line: 42 }"
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+## When to use `kql` vs `query_string`
+
+Use `kql` for user-facing search boxes where you want a concise, filter-oriented syntax and to avoid Lucene’s
+advanced operators (fuzzy, regexp, proximity, inline boosting). Use [`query_string`](./query-dsl-query-string-query.md)
+or [`simple_query_string`](./query-dsl-simple-query-string-query.md) when those advanced features are required.
+
+## Notes and limitations
+
+* The parsed KQL expression is rewritten into standard Query DSL and participates in scoring unless wrapped in a
+  filter context (for example inside a `bool.filter`). Adjust relevance with `boost` if needed.
+* Large wildcard expansions (in field names or terms) can hit the `indices.query.bool.max_clause_count` safeguard.
+* Nested documents require the KQL nested syntax (`path:{ ... }`); terms are not correlated across separate nested
+  objects automatically.
+* Unsupported syntax (such as fuzzy operators) results in a parse error.
+
+## See also [kql-see-also]
+
+* [KQL language reference](/reference/query-languages/kql.md)
+* [Default field setting](/reference/elasticsearch/index-settings/index-modules.md#index-query-default-field)

docs/reference/query-languages/toc.yml

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ toc:
           - file: query-dsl/query-dsl-multi-match-query.md
           - file: query-dsl/query-dsl-query-string-query.md
           - file: query-dsl/query-dsl-simple-query-string-query.md
+          - file: query-dsl/query-dsl-kql-query.md
       - file: query-dsl/geo-queries.md
         children:
           - file: query-dsl/query-dsl-geo-bounding-box-query.md