[discrete]
[[esql-from]]
=== `FROM`

The `FROM` source command returns a table with up to 10,000 documents from a
data stream, index, or alias. Each row in the resulting table represents a
document. Each column corresponds to a field, and can be accessed by the name
of that field.

[source,esql]
----
FROM employees
----

You can use <<api-date-math-index-names,date math>> to refer to indices, aliases
and data streams. This can be useful for time series data, for example to access
today's index:

[source,esql]
----
FROM <logs-{now/d}>
----

Use comma-separated lists or wildcards to query multiple data streams, indices,
or aliases:

[source,esql]
----
FROM employees-00001,other-employees-*
----

Use the `METADATA` directive to enable <<esql-metadata-fields,metadata fields>>:

[source,esql]
----
FROM employees [METADATA _id]
----
