---
title: Query syntax
slug: '1552'
canonical_url: https://docs.coveo.com/en/1552/
collection: searching-with-coveo
source_format: adoc
---
# Query syntax


The [Coveo query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/) is a set of semantic rules that can be used to compose advanced [queries](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/).
In other words, it allows you to refine your [queries](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) using purpose-built operators.

Although the [Coveo query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/) is disabled by default in the [`atomic-searchbox`](https://static.cloud.coveo.com/atomic/v3/storybook/index.html?path=/docs/atomic-search-box\--docs) component, it can be enabled by setting the `enable-query-syntax` attribute to `true`.

When performing [Search API](https://docs.coveo.com/en/13#operation/planSearchUsingPost) calls directly, the [query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/) is enabled by default.

The following tables list examples of different [Coveo query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/) features that can help build more relevant [queries](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/).
These features often leverage special characters, so be sure to also read on [using special characters in queries](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2744/).

## Basic queries

The following table lists examples of basic [query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/):

[%header,cols="2"]
|===
|[query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/) example
|Search results

|`term`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) containing `term`.

|`term1 term2`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) containing both `term1` and `term2`.

|[.code-text-red]`##"##term1 term2 term3##"##`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) containing the exact phrase between double quotes (see [Searching for a phrase](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1686/)).

|[.code-text-red]`##'##term1 term2 term3##'##`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) containing `term1`, `term2`, and `term3`.[.footnote]^[[1](#single-quotes1)]^

|[.code-text-red]`##+##term`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) containing exactly `term`, not other words sharing the same root (see [Searching for an exact term](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1815/)).

|[.code-text-red]`term1 #AND# term2`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) containing both `term1` and `term2` (see the [`AND`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1814#and) operator).

|[.code-text-red]`term1 #OR# term2`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) containing either `term1` or `term2` (see the [`OR`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1814#or) operator).

|[.code-text-red]`term1 #NOT# term2`  
[.code-text-red]`term1 ##-##term2`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) containing `term1` but not `term2` (see the [`NOT`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1814#not) operator).

|[.code-text-red]`term1 #NEAR:5# term2`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) in which `term1` and `term2` are no more than five terms apart (see the [`NEAR`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1814#near) operator).
|===

--
1. Single quotes aren't handled the same as double quotes.
Single quotes are interpreted as any other alphanumeric character except in [general query extensions](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1552#general-query-extensions), while double quotes [isolate phrases](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1686/).
--

## Field queries

The following table lists examples of [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) [query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/):

[cols="2",options="header"]
|===
|[query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/) example
|Search results

|[.code-text-red]`##@##[fieldname]`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) with any value in the specified [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/).

|[.code-text-red]`##from:##name`  
[.code-text-red]`##to:##"firstname lastname"`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) with `from` or `to` [fields](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) containing the specified name (see [Email operators](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1814#email-operators)).

|[.code-text-red]`##@title=##term`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) whose `title` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) value contains `term`.

|[.code-text-red]`##@date=##yesterday`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) whose `date` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) value is yesterday's date.

|[.code-text-red]`##@date=##2015/01/01..2015/03/31`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) with the `date` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) for a range of dates.

|[.code-text-red]`##pass:q[@size<=]##128`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) whose file `size` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) value is less than 128 bytes (see [Value range](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1814#value-range)).

|[.code-text-red]`##@author==(##bob##,##robert##,##rob##)##`  
[.code-text-red]`##@author==(##"bob jones"##,##"robert smith"##,##"rob johnson"##)##`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) whose `author` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) value is either of the numbered values (see [Parentheses and comma with field queries](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1814#field-parentheses-and-comma-with-field-queries)).[.footnote]^[[2](#numbered-value)]^
|===

--
2. When a numbered value contains more than one term, place the value between double quotes.
--

## Advanced field queries

The [Coveo query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/) includes special [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) operators to perform [advanced matches](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1897/).
The following table lists examples of advanced [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) [query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/):

> **Note**
>
> Advanced [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) [queries](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) work only with fields that have the [**Facet** option](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1833#facet-and-multi-value-facet) enabled.

[cols="2",options="header"]
|===
|[query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/) example
|Search results

|[.code-text-red]`@title=##'##term1 term2 term3##'##`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) whose `title` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) contains `'term1`, `term2`, or `term3'`.[.footnote]^[[3](#single-quotes2)]^

|[.code-text-red]`@author ##~= "##name##"##`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) whose `author` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) contains a value with a fuzzy match for `name`.

|[.code-text-red]`@author ##%= "##name##"##`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) whose `author` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) value phonetically matches `name`.

|[.code-text-red]`@syssite ##/= "##^(?:[0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}$##"##`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) whose `syssite` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) contains a string matching an IP address regular expression (regex).

|`filetype:artist [[@artistid] [[@albumid] songtitle:love ] genre:rock ]`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) corresponding to an `artist` whose rock albums have at least one song with the word **love** in its title.

|[.code-text-red]`@title #<># "Enterprise Search"`
|Returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) whose `title` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) defines, but doesn't contain, `"Enterprise Search"` (see [Excludes](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1814#excludes)).
|===

--
3. Single quotes aren't handled the same as double quotes.
Single quotes are interpreted as any other alphanumeric character except in [general query extensions](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1552#general-query-extensions), while double quotes [isolate phrases](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1686/).
--

## General query extensions

The [Coveo query syntax](https://docs.coveo.com/en/181/) uses [query extensions](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1462/), which are built-in elements of the [query extension language](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1415/).

> **Note**
>
> There are some [query extensions](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1397/) that return values instead of results.
> These must be used in conjunction with other [queries](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) to return results.

### `$q`

When using the following syntax:

`term1 $q() term2`

All [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) containing `term1`, `term2`, and the [basic query expression (`q`)](https://docs.coveo.com/en/178/) are returned.

> **Note**
>
> This syntax is almost never used in the [basic query expression](https://docs.coveo.com/en/178/).

For more information, see [`$q`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1462#q).

### `$qf`

When using the following syntax:

`$qf(function:'dist(@latitude, @longitude, 46.8167, -71.2167)', fieldName: 'distance')`

The [query](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) and the [query extension](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1397/) adds a dynamic [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) called distance that calculates the distance between each [item](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) and the entered coordinates (meters).

For more information, see [`$qf`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1462#qf).

### `$qre`

When using the following syntax:

`$qre(expression:@sfaccountname=='MyCompany', modifier:'100')`

The [query](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) and the [query extension](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1397/) boosts [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) with the `sfaccountname` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) with the `MyCompany` value by a value of `100`.

For more information, see [`$qre`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1462#qre).

### `$qrf`

When using the following syntax:

`$qrf(expression:'sqrt(@sfarticleviewcount)', normalizeWeight: true)`

The [query](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) and the [query extension](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1397/) boosts [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) by the square root of the value of their `sfarticleviewcount` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/).
This boost is normalized to avoid completely overriding the [index](https://docs.coveo.com/en/204/) ranking.

For more information, see [`$qrf`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1462#qrf).

### `$weight`

When using the following syntax:

`$weight(name:'Adjacency', value:'7')`

The [query](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) and the [query extension](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1397/) changes the ranking so that term proximity (adjacency) is more important when ordering results.

For more information, see [`$weight`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1462#weight).

### `$sort`

When using the following syntax:

`$sort(criteria: 'datedescending')`

The [query](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) and the [query extension](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1397/) sorts the results by date, in descending order.

For more information, see [`$sort`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1462#sort).

### `$fold`

When using the following syntax:

`$fold(field:'@sysconversationsubjectid', range:'5')`

The [query](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) and the [query extension](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1397/) additionally loads up to `5` child [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) that share the same value as other results for the `sysconversationsubjectid` field.

For more information, see [`$fold`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1462#fold).

### `$loadParent`

When using the following syntax:

`$loadParent(parent:'@permanentid', child:'@parentid')`

The [query](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) returns all [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) and the [query extension](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1397/) additionally loads the [item](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) parents.
An [item](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) is considered to be the parent of another [item](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) when its `permanentid` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) value is the same as the other [item](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/)’s `parentid` [field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) value.

For more information, see [`$loadParent`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1462#loadparent).

### `$quoteVar`

When using the following syntax:

`$quoteVar(value: myValue)`

The [query](https://docs.coveo.com/en/231/) returns `myValue` between double quotes.

For more information, see [`$quoteVar`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1462#quotevar).