Find documents (TypeScript)

Finds documents in a collection using filter and sort clauses, including vector search.

If you add or remove documents after starting the operation, the result might not reflect real-time changes in the data.

Ready to write code? See the examples for this method to get started. If you are new to the Data API, check out the quickstart.

Result

Returns a cursor (CollectionFindCursor<Schema, Schema>) for iterating over documents that match the specified filter and sort clauses.

The fields included in the returned documents depend on the subset of fields that were requested in the projection.

If requested and applicable, each document will also include a $similarity key with a numeric similarity score that represents the closeness of the sort vector and the document’s vector.

If requested when executing a vector search, the result will also include the sort vector.

You must iterate over the cursor to fetch matching documents. For details about iteration, see Iterate over found documents.

The cursor transitions through the following statuses: . initialized: no documents have been consumed . running: some but not all of the documents have been consumed . exhausted: all documents have been consumed

Parameters

Use the find method, which belongs to the Collection class.

Method signature

find(
  filter: CollectionFilter<Schema>,
  options?: {
    sort?: Sort,
    projection?: Projection,
    limit?: number,
    skip?: number
    includeSimilarity?: boolean,
    initialPageState?: string,
    timeout?: number | TimeoutDescriptor,
  },
): CollectionFindCursor<Schema, Schema>

Name Type Summary

Name	Type	Summary
`filter`	`CollectionFilter<Schema>`	An object that defines filter criteria using the Data API filter syntax. The method only finds documents that match the filter criteria. Filters can improve performance by reducing the number of documents that the Data API processes. You must use `&` to escape any `.` or `&` in field names in the filter clause. You cannot use `&` to escape any other characters. For more information, see Work with `.` and `&` in field names (TypeScript). For a list of available filter operators and more examples, see Filter operators for collections (TypeScript). Filters can use only indexed fields. If you apply selective indexing when you create a collection, you cannot reference non-indexed fields in a filter. For an example, see Use filters to find documents.
`options`	`CollectionFindOptions`	Optional. The options for this operation. See Properties of `options` for more details.

filter

CollectionFilter<Schema>

An object that defines filter criteria using the Data API filter syntax. The method only finds documents that match the filter criteria. Filters can improve performance by reducing the number of documents that the Data API processes.

You must use & to escape any . or & in field names in the filter clause. You cannot use & to escape any other characters. For more information, see Work with . and & in field names (TypeScript).

For a list of available filter operators and more examples, see Filter operators for collections (TypeScript).

Filters can use only indexed fields. If you apply selective indexing when you create a collection, you cannot reference non-indexed fields in a filter.

For an example, see Use filters to find documents.

options

CollectionFindOptions

Optional. The options for this operation. See Properties of options for more details.

Properties of `options`
Name	Type	Summary
`projection`	`Projection`	Optional. Controls which fields are included or excluded in the returned document. You must use `&` to escape any `.` or `&` in field names in the projection clause. You cannot use `&` to escape any other characters. For more information, see Work with `.` and `&` in field names (TypeScript). For more information, see Projections for collections (TypeScript). Default: The default projection for the collection. All fields prefixed with `$` are excluded by default and will only be returned if you include them in the projection. `_id` is included by default and will always be returned unless you exclude it from the projection. For examples, see Include only specific fields in the response and Exclude specific fields from the response.
`includeSimilarity`	`boolean`	Optional. Whether to include a `$similarity` property in the response. The `$similarity` value represents the closeness of the sort vector and the document’s vector. This parameter only applies if you use a vector search. For an example, see Include the similarity score with the result. Default: False
`sort`	`Sort`	Optional. Sorts documents by one or more fields, or performs a vector search. You must use `&` to escape any `.` or `&` in field names in the sort clause. You cannot use `&` to escape any other characters. For more information, see Work with `.` and `&` in field names (TypeScript). For more information, see Sort clauses for collections (TypeScript). Sort clauses can use only indexed fields. If you apply selective indexing when you create a collection, you cannot reference non-indexed fields in sort queries. For vector searches, this parameter can use `$vector`. For examples, see Use sorting to find documents and Use vector search to find documents.
`skip`	`number`	Optional. The number of documents to bypass (skip) before returning documents. The API excludes the first `n` documents matching the query, and the results begin at the `n+1` document. This parameter only applies if you also explicitly specify an ascending or descending sort criterion. This parameter is not valid with vector search. For an example, see Skip documents.
`limit`	`number`	Optional. The maximum number of documents to fetch. For vector search, a lower limit reduces the accuracy of the search and the time required for the search. For an example, see Limit the number of documents returned.
`initialPageState`	`string`	Optional. The `nextPageState` value from the response of `fetchNextPage()` called on a previous cursor. Used to manually request the next page of results. This is useful for cases where an external action triggers fetching the next page of results. For an example, see Iterate over found documents.
`timeout`	`number` \| `TimeoutDescriptor`	Optional. The timeout(s) to apply to this method. You can specify `requestTimeoutMs` and `generalMethodTimeoutMs`. Since this method issues a single HTTP request, these timeouts are equivalent. If you specify both, the minimum of the two will be used. For more information about the `TimeoutDescriptor`, see TypeScript client internals: TimeoutDescriptor. If you specify a number instead of a `TimeoutDescriptor` object, that number will be applied to both `requestTimeoutMs` and `generalMethodTimeoutMs`.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate how to find documents in a collection.

Use filters to find documents

You can use a filter to find documents that match specific criteria. For example, you can find documents with an is_checked_out value of false and a number_of_pages value less than 300.

For a list of available filter operators and more examples, see Filter operators for collections (TypeScript).

Filters can use only indexed fields. If you apply selective indexing when you create a collection, you cannot reference non-indexed fields in a filter.

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

(async function () {
  // Find documents
  const cursor = collection.find({
    $and: [{ is_checked_out: false }, { number_of_pages: { $lt: 300 } }],
  });

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Use vector search to find documents

To find the documents whose $vector value is most similar to a given vector, use a sort with the vector embeddings that you want to match. For more information, see Find data with vector search.

Vector search is only available for vector-enabled collections. For more information, see Create a collection that can store vector embeddings and $vector in collections (TypeScript).

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

// Find documents
(async function () {
  const cursor = collection.find(
    {},
    { sort: { $vector: [0.08, -0.62, 0.39] } },
  );

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Use lexicographical matching to find documents

Lexicographical matching is currently in public preview. Development is ongoing, and the features and functionality are subject to change. Hyper-Converged Database (HCD), and the use of such, is subject to the DataStax Preview Terms.

There are two ways to use lexicographical matching to find documents with the Data API:

Sort on the $lexical field to find the documents whose $lexical field value is most relevant to a given string of space-separated keywords or terms
Filter on the $lexical field with the $match operator to find the documents whose $lexical field value is a lexicographical match to the specified string of space-separated keywords or terms

You can use these strategies together or separately.

You can only use lexicographical matching on collections that have lexical enabled. For more information, see Create a collection that supports lexicographical matching.

Documents must have the $lexical field populated to be included in lexicographical matching. For examples, see Insert a document for retrieval with lexicographical matching and Insert documents for retrieval with lexicographical matching.

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

// Find documents
(async function () {
  const cursor = collection.find(
    { $lexical: { $match: "tree hill" } },
    { sort: { $lexical: "tree hill grassy" } },
  );

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Use sorting to find documents

You can use a sort clause to sort documents by one or more fields.

For more information, see Sort clauses for collections (TypeScript).

Sort clauses can use only indexed fields. If you apply selective indexing when you create a collection, you cannot reference non-indexed fields in sort queries.

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

// Find documents
(async function () {
  const cursor = collection.find(
    { "metadata.language": "English" },
    {
      sort: {
        rating: 1, // ascending
        title: -1, // descending
      },
    },
  );

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Use an empty filter to find all documents

To find all documents, use an empty filter.

You should avoid this if you have a large number of documents.

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

(async function () {
  // Find documents
  const cursor = collection.find({});

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Include the similarity score with the result

If you use a vector search to find documents, you can also include a $similarity property for each document in the result. The $similarity value represents the closeness of the sort vector and the document’s vector.

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

// Find documents
(async function () {
  const cursor = collection.find(
    {},
    {
      sort: { $vector: [0.08, -0.62, 0.39] },
      includeSimilarity: true,
    },
  );

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document.$similarity);
  }
})();

Include only specific fields in the response

To specify which fields to include or exclude in the returned documents, use a projection.

All fields prefixed with $ are excluded by default and will only be returned if you include them in the projection. _id is included by default and will always be returned unless you exclude it from the projection.

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

(async function () {
  // Find documents
  const cursor = collection.find(
    { "metadata.language": "English" },
    { projection: { is_checked_out: true, title: true } },
  );

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Exclude specific fields from the response

To specify which fields to include or exclude in the returned document, use a projection.

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

(async function () {
  // Find documents
  const cursor = collection.find(
    { "metadata.language": "English" },
    { projection: { is_checked_out: false, title: false } },
  );

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Limit the number of documents returned

Specify a limit to only fetch up to a certain number of documents.

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

(async function () {
  // Find documents
  const cursor = collection.find(
    { "metadata.language": "English" },
    { limit: 10 },
  );

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Skip documents

You can specify a number of documents to skip (bypass) before returning documents.

You can only do this if your find explicitly includes an ascending or descending sort criterion. You cannot do this in conjunction with vector search.

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

// Find documents
(async function () {
  const cursor = collection.find(
    { "metadata.language": "English" },
    {
      sort: {
        rating: 1, // ascending
        title: -1, // descending
      },
      skip: 5,
    },
  );

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Use filter, sort, and projection together

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

(async function () {
  // Find documents
  const cursor = collection.find(
    {
      $and: [{ is_checked_out: false }, { number_of_pages: { $lt: 300 } }],
    },
    {
      sort: {
        rating: 1, // ascending
        title: -1, // descending
      },
      projection: {
        is_checked_out: true,
        title: true,
      },
    },
  );

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Iterate over found documents

Use a for loop and the next() method on the cursor to iterate over the found documents. The client will periodically fetch more documents until no matching documents remain.

Alternatively, you can use the initialPageState parameter to fetch a specific page of results. This is useful for cases where an external action triggers fetching the next page of results. For example, you might use this feature if you implement a "Load More" button or an infinite scroll interface.

If you need a list of all results, call toArray(). However, the time and memory required for this operation depend on the number of results. This is not recommended when you expect a large number of documents.

Example using for and next():

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

(async function () {
  // Find documents
  const cursor = collection.find({
    $and: [{ is_checked_out: false }, { number_of_pages: { $lt: 300 } }],
  });

  // Get the next item in the cursor
  console.log(await cursor.next());

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Example using initialPageState:

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

// Create the filter
const filter = {
  $and: [{ is_checked_out: false }, { number_of_pages: { $lt: 300 } }],
};

(async function () {
  // Get the first page
  const cursor1 = collection.find(filter);
  const page1 = await cursor1.fetchNextPage();
  const results1 = page1.result;
  for (const document of results1) {
    console.log(document);
  }
  const paginationState1 = page1.nextPageState;

  // Get the next page
  if (paginationState1) {
    const cursor2 = collection.find(filter, {
      initialPageState: paginationState1,
    });
    const page2 = await cursor2.fetchNextPage();
    const results2 = page2.result;
    for (const document of results2) {
      console.log(document);
    }
    const paginationState2 = page2.nextPageState;
  }
})();

Work with `.` and `&` in field names

You must use & to escape any . or & in field names when the field is used in a filter, sort, projection, update, or indexing clause. Dot notation, which is used to reference nested fields, should not be escaped. For more information, see Work with . and & in field names (TypeScript).

For example, in the following document, you would use escaping like this: areas.r&&d, costs.price&.usd, and costs.price&.cad.

{
  "areas": {
    "r&d": true,
    "design": false
  },
  "costs": {
    "price.usd": 100,
    "price.cad": 90
  }
}

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

// Find a document
(async function () {
  const cursor = collection.find(
    {
      $and: [{ "areas.r&&d": false }, { "costs.price&.usd": { $lt: 300 } }],
    },
    {
      sort: {
        "costs.price&.usd": 1, // ascending
      },
      projection: {
        "areas.r&&d": true,
        "costs.price&.cad": true,
      },
    },
  );

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

You can also use the escapeFieldNames function provided by the client:

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
  escapeFieldNames,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get an existing collection
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});
const collection = database.collection("COLLECTION_NAME");

// Find a document
(async function () {
  const cursor = collection.find(
    {
      $and: [
        { [escapeFieldNames("areas", "r&d")]: false },
        { [escapeFieldNames("costs", "price.usd")]: { $lt: 300 } },
      ],
    },
    {
      sort: {
        [escapeFieldNames("costs", "price.usd")]: 1, // ascending
      },
      projection: {
        [escapeFieldNames("areas", "r&d")]: true,
        [escapeFieldNames("costs", "price.cad")]: true,
      },
    },
  );

  // Iterate over the found documents
  for await (const document of cursor) {
    console.log(document);
  }
})();

Client reference

For more information, see the client reference.

Find documents (TypeScript)

Result

Parameters

Examples

Use filters to find documents

Use vector search to find documents

Use lexicographical matching to find documents

Use sorting to find documents

Use an empty filter to find all documents

Include the similarity score with the result

Include only specific fields in the response

Exclude specific fields from the response

Limit the number of documents returned

Skip documents

Use filter, sort, and projection together

Iterate over found documents

Work with `.` and `&` in field names

Client reference

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