The **Search** query builder, located on the **Explore** > **Query type** > **Search** in Grafana, provides drop-down lists and text fields to help you write a query.
The selections you make automatically generate a [TraceQL query](/docs/tempo/latest/traceql).
The builder lets you run the most common queries in as few clicks as possible. You don't need to know the underlying query language or database architecture to use it.
You can use the query builder to search trace data by resource service name, span name, duration, one or more tags. The examples on this page use the default filters.
{{<figuresrc="/media/docs/grafana/data-sources/tempo/query-editor/tempo-ds-query-builder-v11.png"class="docs-image--no-shadow"max-width="750px"caption="Screenshot of the Tempo Search query type">}}
| 1 | Data source | Use the data source drop-down list to select a Tempo data source. | Each data source has its own version of search. This **Search** is specific to the Tempo data source. |
| 2 | Query type | Select **Search**. | |
| 3 | Choose filter | Choose one or more of the filters. | Optional. You can execute an empty query in the Search tab. In TraceQL, `{}` is a valid query and is the default query to provide a list of all traces or spans. |
| 4 | Filters conditions | Select options for one or more filters. For example, you can define a filter where **Service Name** (`resource.service.name`) equals (`=`) `user`. | Optional. At least one tag or filter must be defined. |
| 5 | Tags and Aggregate by | Add tags for span, resource, or unscoped and define their conditions. Use **Aggregate by** to group results. | Optional. |
| 6 | TraceQL query | Displays the TraceQL query constructed by your selections. | This TraceQL query is executed when you select **Run query**. |
The field type determines the available operators.
For example, **Span Name** and **Service Name** are string fields so the comparison operators are equals (`=`), not equal (`!=`), matches regular expressions (`=~`), or doesn't match regular expression (`!~`).
When you select multiple values for the same filter, Grafana automatically changes the operator to the regular expression (regex) operator `=~` and concatenates the values with a `|`.
This capability only applies to fields with drop-down value selection.
For example, if you choose **Span Name**`= get` and then **Span Name**`= log_results_cache,` operator drop-down list changes from `=` to `=~` and both `get` and `log_results_cache` are listed in the **Span Name** field.
1.**Duration** only: Enter values and units for the range and choose comparison operators for the drop-downs. Units can be nanoseconds (`ns`), milliseconds (`ms`), seconds (`s`), minutes (`m`), and hours (`h`).
You can either select **Run query** to execute the query or define tags and then run the query.
Using **Aggregate by**, you can calculate RED metrics (total span count, percent erroring spans, and latency information) for spans of `kind=server` that match your filter criteria, grouped by one or more attributes.
This capability is based on the [metrics summary API](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-infrastructure/traces/metrics-summary-api/).
Metrics summary only calculates summaries based on spans received within the last hour.
For additional information, refer to [Traces to metrics: Ad-hoc RED metrics in Grafana Tempo with `Aggregate by`](https://grafana.com/blog/2023/12/07/traces-to-metrics-ad-hoc-red-metrics-in-grafana-tempo-with-aggregate-by/).
[Enable the `metricsSummary` feature toggle](/docs/grafana/latest/setup-grafana/configure-grafana/feature-toggles/) in Grafana to use this feature.
Your Grafana Tempo data source must also point to a Tempo database with the [Metrics Summary API](https://grafana.com/docs/tempo/latest/api_docs/metrics-summary/) enabled.
Contact Grafana Support to enable this feature in Grafana Cloud.
#### Use Aggregate by
When you use **Aggregate by**, the selections you make determine how the information is reported in the Table.
Every combination that matches selections in your data is listed in the table.
For example, **names** matching `GET /:endpoint` with a **span.http.user_agent** of `k6/0.46` appeared in 31,466 spans. Instead of being listed by traces and associated spans, the query results are grouped by the selections in **Aggregate by**.
The Tempo data source supports streaming responses to TraceQL queries so you can see partial query results as they come in without waiting for the whole query to finish.
When active, all configured Tempo data sources attempt to use streaming.
You can activate and control which Tempo data sources do and don't attempt to stream results at the per-data source level using the **Streaming** section of the Tempo data source configuration.
For more information, refer to the [Tempo data source](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/<GRAFANA_VERSION>/datasources/tempo/configure-tempo-data-source/#streaming) documentation.
Using **Span Filters**, you can use filters to refine results when viewing span details.
These filters are available when viewing details for a trace.
You can continue to apply filters until you have narrowed down your resulting spans to the select few you are most interested in.
**Service Name**, **Span Name**, **Duration**, and **Tags** have the same function and operation as the filters of the same name in the **Search** query builder.
In addition, you can search for a keyword, opt to **Show matches only**, opt to **Show critical path only**, and browse matches using **Prev** and **Next**.
