Find data with filters
Filters are a foundational way to find data in any database. They are best for matching an exact value or range of values, such as finding a user by their user ID.
In Astra DB Serverless, you can use filters alone or with sorting.
Find data in the Astra Portal
In the Astra Portal, you can use the Data Explorer to apply simple metadata filters to collections in Serverless (Vector) databases.
For Serverless (Non-Vector) databases and tables in Serverless (Vector) databases, you can use the built-in CQL shell to execute CQL statements that use WHERE and ORDER BY clauses.
For required permissions, see Ways to find data in Astra DB Serverless.
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Data Explorer
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CQL shell
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In the Astra Portal, go to Databases, and then select a Serverless (Vector) database.
The Data Explorer isn’t available for Serverless (Non-Vector) databases. Instead, you can use the CQL shell and drivers.
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Click Data Explorer.
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Select a Keyspace and Collection.
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If you selected a vector-enabled collection, click Add Filter. For non-vector collections, the first filter is automatically added.
For vector-enabled collections, you can combine filters with vector search. For more information, see Find data with vector search.
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For Key, select the field to filter on.
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For Condition, select a filter condition, such as is or is not. Available filters depend on the Key field’s data type. For more information about filter operators, see Filter operators for collections.
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For Value, enter the filter value.
Conditions like is, is not, and contains require an exact, case-sensitive match on the Value.
Filter example:
isFor this example, assume that you have the following filter:
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Key:
character -
Condition:
is -
Value:
Lassie
This filter returns all documents where the
characterfield is exactlyLassie. It doesn’t return documents with values likelassieorLassie Come Home, which are not exact, case-sensitive matches.Filter example:
is notFor this example, assume that you have the following filter:
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Key:
color -
Condition:
is not -
Value:
red
This filter returns all documents where the
colorfield isn’t exactlyred. However, it can return documents containingRedandreddish, which are not exact, case-sensitive matches. -
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To add more filters, click Add Filter.
Additional filters are appended together with the
andoperator. For other operators, you must use the Data API.To remove a filter, click delete Delete.
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Click Apply.
The Records section updates based on your filters. Click Table and JSON to view the documents in table format or JSON format.
For information about the built-in CQL shell and executing CQL statements, see Cassandra Query Language (CQL) for Astra DB.
Find data with the Data API
With the Data API and clients, you use filter and sort clauses to find data in collections and tables.
Any Data API command that involves finding data accepts one or both of these clauses.
For more information and examples, see the following Data API documentation.
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Collections
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Tables
To learn about filter operators and sort clauses, see:
For Data API commands and examples, see:
To learn about filter operators and sort clauses, see:
For Data API commands and examples, see:
If you are new to the Data API, see Get started with the Data API.
Find data with CQL and drivers
Broadly speaking, you use the CQL WHERE and ORDER BY clauses to filter and sort data, and there are many ways to create complex CQL statements to find data quickly and efficiently.
For information about writing and executing CQL statements, see the following:
