## Problem / Use case

Need to locate a string in logs when you’re not sure which key holds it.

## Query / Solution

```dataprime
source logs
| filter $d ~~ 'eu-west'
```

*Searches all top-level fields for the substring `eu-west` and returns matching events.*

### Equivalent query

An equivalent way of making the same query is to use `wildfind`.

```dataprime
source logs
| wildfind 'eu-west'
```

## Expected Output

```json
{
  "region": "eu-west-1a",
  "message": "Instance deployed"
}
```

Any document that contains the term anywhere among its root-level keys surfaces in the result set.

Note

Not shown here is the rest of the document.

## Variations

- **Combine with other filters**

```dataprime
source logs
| $d ~~ 'timeout' 
| filter $m.severity == 'Error'
```

### Alternate query

```dataprime
source logs
| wildfind 'timeout'
| filter $m.severity == 'Error'
```

- **Anchor to whole words** Use regex boundaries:

```dataprime
$d ~~ /\beu-west\b/
```

- **Wild-text vs. field-specific** Prefer `$d ~~` when you truly don’t know the location; otherwise use `field ~ 'text'` for better performance.

## TL;DR

`$d ~~ '<text>'` or `wildfind '<text>'`is for free-text hunting across every root field—quick, broad, and perfect when the key is a mystery.