Splunk Search

Use subsearch result as fulltext search in outer search

woezelmann
Engager

Is it possible to use the result value of a subsearch as a fulltext (or wildcard) search in the outer search. I have a subsearch like this:

servertype=abc "some search terms" | fields correlation_id

and now I want to use the resulting correlation ids to find other entries, but these entries do not have a dedicated correlation_id field, it is just somewhere inside the text, so this is not working

servertype=xyz "some other seach terms" [search servertype=abc "some search key" | fields correlation_id]

because splunk is searching for a correlation_id field, which does not exist.

This is a very simplified example, but I hope you get my problem.

Tags (2)
0 Karma
1 Solution

woodcock
Esteemed Legend

OK, this is funky but it works:

 ... | eval raw=_raw | search [search servertype=abc "some search terms" | eval raw= "*" . correlation_id . "*" | fields raw]

View solution in original post

marcoscala
Builder

Use this:

servertype=xyz "some other seach terms" [search servertype=abc "some search key" | fields correlation_id | rename correlation_id as search]

as stated here:
http://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/latest/Search/Changetheformatofsubsearchresults

606866581
Path Finder

I had to use ..... | rename correlation_id as query]

0 Karma

woodcock
Esteemed Legend

OK, this is funky but it works:

 ... | eval raw=_raw | search [search servertype=abc "some search terms" | eval raw= "*" . correlation_id . "*" | fields raw]

woezelmann
Engager

Great, now it works. Thank you very much!

0 Karma

woodcock
Esteemed Legend

This should work (but performance will be slow)

[servertype=abc "some search terms" | eval _raw = "*" . correlation_id . "*" | fields _raw]

But for some reason it does not and I don't know why!

0 Karma

woodcock
Esteemed Legend

Further testing is also strange:

|noop | stats count | eval _raw="*972*" | fields _raw | format
|noop | stats count | eval raw="*972*" | fields raw | format | replace "*raw*" with "*_raw*"

These should both create a field called search with value ( ( _raw="*972*" ) ) but they don't.

0 Karma
Got questions? Get answers!

Join the Splunk Community Slack to learn, troubleshoot, and make connections with fellow Splunk practitioners in real time!

Meet up IRL or virtually!

Join Splunk User Groups to connect and learn in-person by region or remotely by topic or industry.

Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

[Puzzles] Solve, Learn, Repeat: Matching cron expressions

This puzzle (first published here) is based on matching timestamps to cron expressions.All the timestamps ...

Design, Compete, Win: Submit Your Best Splunk Dashboards for a .conf26 Pass

Hello Splunkers,  We’re excited to kick off a Splunk Dashboard contest! We know that dashboards are a primary ...

May 2026 Splunk Expert Sessions: Security & Observability

Level Up Your Operations: May 2026 Splunk Expert Sessions Whether you are refining your security posture or ...