Is it necessary to have the Publishing features enabled, to be able to Add and Use Content Search WebPart

Question

I am working on sharepoint server 2013. and i have added a Team site collection under the root http://servername/ and i did not enable the publishing site collection feature.

now i wanted to use the Content Search WebPart. so i read this article:-

https://nikpatel.net/2014/02/28/content-query-web-part-vs-content-by-search-web-part/

which mention that to have the content search web part available i have to enable the publishing features. but in my case i have a Team site collection and i did not enable the publishing features, but when i edit the home page >> Add WebPart >> content Rollout >> i can add and use the content Search web part, without having to enable the publishing features. so not sure if it is mandatory to enable the publishing features inside my site collection to be able to use the content Search WebPart as mentioned on the above link ??

Answer 1

Yes, it's not mandatory, you are right you can add the Content Search WebPart (CSWP) without activating publishing feature.

The Content Search WebPart requires that you have configured Search Application Service.

The publishing feature is required in case you need to use the Content Query Web Part (CQWP).