# vespa query

[](/en/reference/clients/vespa-cli/vespa_query.html.md "View as Markdown") 

## vespa query

Issue a query to Vespa

### Synopsis

Issue a query to Vespa.

Any parameter from [https://docs.vespa.ai/en/reference/api/query.html](https://docs.vespa.ai/en/reference/api/query.html) can be set by the syntax [parameter-name]=[value].

```
vespa query query-parameters [flags]
```

### Examples

```
$ vespa query 'yql=select * from music where album contains "head"' hits=5
$ vespa query --format=plain 'yql=select * from music where album contains "head"' hits=5
$ vespa query --file q-vector.json
$ vespa query --header='X-First-Name: Joe' 'yql=select * from music where album contains "head"' hits=5
```

### Options

```
--file string Read query parameters from the given JSON file and send a POST request, with overrides from arguments
      --format string Output format. Must be 'human' (human-readable) or 'plain' (no formatting) (default "human")
      --header strings Add a header to the HTTP request, on the format 'Header: Value'. This can be specified multiple times
  -h, --help help for query
  -T, --timeout int Timeout for the query in seconds (default 10)
  -v, --verbose Print the equivalent curl command for the query
  -w, --wait int Number of seconds to wait for service(s) to become ready. 0 to disable (default 0)
```

### Options inherited from parent commands

```
-a, --application string The application to use. Format "tenant.application.instance" - instance is optional (tenant required for cloud targets)
  -C, --cluster string The container cluster to use. This is only required for applications with multiple clusters
  -c, --color string Whether to use colors in output. Must be "auto", "never", or "always" (default "auto")
  -i, --instance string The instance of the application to use
  -q, --quiet Print only errors
  -t, --target string The target platform to use. Must be "local", "cloud", "hosted" or an URL (default "local")
  -z, --zone string The zone to use. This defaults to a dev zone (cloud only)
```

### SEE ALSO

- [vespa](vespa.html) - The command-line tool for Vespa.ai

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### On this page:

- [vespa query](#page-title)
- [vespa query](#vespa-query)
- [Synopsis](#synopsis)
- [Examples](#examples)
- [Options](#options)
- [Options inherited from parent commands](#options-inherited-from-parent-commands)
- [SEE ALSO](#see-also)