Queries
Queries are JSON strings that describe which documents to return. If the index doesn't exist, queries return null.
We recommend searching by field values directly because we automatically provide intelligent matching behavior out of the box:
// Basic searchawait index.query({ filter: { name: "headphones" },});// Search across multiple fields (implicit AND)await index.query({ filter: { name: "wireless", category: "electronics" },});// Search with exact values for non-text fieldsawait index.query({ filter: { inStock: true, price: 199.99 },});# Basic searchindex.query(filter={"name": "headphones"})# Search across multiple fields (implicit AND)index.query(filter={"name": "wireless", "category": "electronics"})# Search with exact values for non-text fieldsindex.query(filter={"inStock": True, "price": 199.99})# Search for a term in a specific fieldSEARCH.QUERY products '{"name": "headphones"}'# Search across multiple fields (implicit AND)SEARCH.QUERY products '{"name": "wireless", "category": "electronics"}'# Search with exact values for non-text fieldsSEARCH.QUERY products '{"inStock": true, "price": 199.99}'Response Format
The query response is an array of matching documents. Each document includes the Redis key, a relevance score, and the document content.
const results = await index.query({ filter: { name: "headphones" },});// results is an array of objects:// [// { key: "product:1", score: 5.23, data: { name: "Wireless Headphones", price: 99.99, ... } },// { key: "product:2", score: 3.11, data: { name: "Studio Headphones", price: 149.99, ... } },// ]results = index.query(filter={"name": "headphones"})# results is a list of objects:# [# QueryResult(key="product:1", score=5.23, data={"name": "Wireless Headphones", "price": 99.99, ...}),# QueryResult(key="product:2", score=3.11, data={"name": "Studio Headphones", "price": 149.99, ...}),# ]SEARCH.QUERY products '{"name": "headphones"}'# Response:# [# ["product:1", "5.23", [["$", "{\"name\": \"Wireless Headphones\", \"price\": 99.99}"]]],# ["product:2", "3.11", [["$", "{\"name\": \"Studio Headphones\", \"price\": 149.99}"]]]# ]When select / NOCONTENT is used, the response shape changes — see Controlling Output.
If no documents match, an empty array is returned. If the index doesn't exist, null is returned.
For a detailed breakdown of the raw response structure, see the Command Reference.
Smart Matching
When you provide a value directly to a field (without explicit operators), we automatically apply smart matching. For numeric, boolean, and date fields, this performs an exact equality check. For text fields, it works like this:
- Single-word values: Performs a term search, matching the word against tokens in the field.
- Multi-word values: Combines phrase matching, term matching, and fuzzy matching with different boost weights to rank exact phrases highest while still finding partial matches.
- Double-quoted phrases: Forces exact phrase matching (e.g.,
"\"noise cancelling\""matches only those words adjacent and in order).
For more control, use explicit operators like $phrase,
or $fuzzy.
Query Options
1. Pagination with Limit and Offset
Limit controls how many results to return. Offset controls how many results to skip. Together, they provide a way to paginate results.
| Parameter | Description | Default | Constraints |
|---|---|---|---|
LIMIT | Number of results to return | 10 | Must be between 1 and 1000 |
OFFSET | Number of results to skip | 0 | Must be non-negative |
LIMIT and OFFSET are separate keywords. This differs from RediSearch which uses the combined
LIMIT <offset> <count> syntax. Using LIMIT 0 10 will return an error.
// Page 1: first 10 results (with optional offset)const page1 = await index.query({ filter: { description: "wireless" }, limit: 10,});// Page 2: results 11-20const page2 = await index.query({ filter: { description: "wireless" }, limit: 10, offset: 10,});// Page 3: results 21-30const page3 = await index.query({ filter: { description: "wireless" }, limit: 10, offset: 20,});# Page 1: first 10 resultspage1 = index.query(filter={"description": "wireless"}, limit=10)# Page 2: results 11-20page2 = index.query(filter={"description": "wireless"}, limit=10, offset=10)# Page 3: results 21-30page3 = index.query(filter={"description": "wireless"}, limit=10, offset=20)# Page 1: first 10 results (with optional offset)SEARCH.QUERY products '{"description": "wireless"}' LIMIT 10# Page 2: results 11-20SEARCH.QUERY products '{"description": "wireless"}' LIMIT 10 OFFSET 10# Page 3: results 21-30SEARCH.QUERY products '{"description": "wireless"}' LIMIT 10 OFFSET 202. Sorting Results
Normally, search results are sorted in descending order of query relevance.
It is possible to override this, and sort the results by a certain field in ascending or descending order.
Only fields defined as .fast() in the schema can be used as the sort field (enabled by default).
When using orderBy, the score in results reflects the sort field's value rather than relevance.
// Sort by price, cheapest firstawait products.query({ filter: { category: "electronics" }, orderBy: { price: "ASC" },});// Sort by date, newest firstawait articles.query({ filter: { author: "john" }, orderBy: { publishedAt: "DESC" },});// Sort by rating, highest first, which can be combined with LIMIT and OFFSETawait products.query({ filter: { inStock: true }, orderBy: { rating: "DESC" }, limit: 5,});# Sort by price, cheapest firstproducts.query(filter={"category": "electronics"}, order_by={"price": "ASC"})# Sort by date, newest firstarticles.query(filter={"author": "john"}, order_by={"publishedAt": "DESC"})# Sort by rating, highest firstproducts.query(filter={"inStock": True}, order_by={"rating": "DESC"}, limit=5)# Sort by price, cheapest firstSEARCH.QUERY products '{"category": "electronics"}' ORDERBY price ASC# Sort by date, newest firstSEARCH.QUERY articles '{"author": "john"}' ORDERBY publishedAt DESC# Sort by rating, highest first, which can be combined with LIMIT and OFFSETSEARCH.QUERY products '{"inStock": true}' ORDERBY rating DESC LIMIT 53. Controlling Output
By default, search results include document key, relevance score, and the contents of the document (including the non-indexed fields).
For JSON and string indexes, that means the stored JSON objects as whole. For hash indexes, it means all fields and values.
// Example: Return documents without contentawait products.query({ select: {}, filter: { name: "headphones" },});# Return documents without contentproducts.query(select={}, filter={"name": "headphones"})# Return only keys and scoresSEARCH.QUERY products '{"name": "headphones"}' NOCONTENT// Example: Return only `name` and `price`await products.query({ select: { name: true, price: true }, filter: { name: "headphones" },});# Return only `name` and `price`products.query(select={"name": True, "price": True}, filter={"name": "headphones"})# Return specific fields onlySEARCH.QUERY products '{"name": "headphones"}' SELECT 2 name priceWhen using aliased fields, use the actual document field name (not the alias) when selecting fields to return. This is because aliasing happens at the index level and does not modify the underlying documents.
4. Score Function
Score function lets you tweak the relevance scores of search results using numeric field values from your documents. This is useful when you want to incorporate signals like popularity, recency, or price into the final ranking.
Only .fast() fields of type i64, u64, or f64 can be used with score function.
Field Values
Each FIELDVALUE entry references a numeric field and optionally configures
how its value is transformed before being applied to the score:
MODIFIER(default:none) — A mathematical transformation applied to the field value before use:
| Modifier | Description |
|---|---|
none | Use the field value as-is, with no transformation. |
log | Common logarithm (log base 10). |
log1p | Common logarithm of 1 + value. |
log2p | Common logarithm of 2 + value. |
ln | Natural logarithm (log base e). |
ln1p | Natural logarithm of 1 + value. |
ln2p | Natural logarithm of 2 + value. |
square | Square of the value (value²). |
sqrt | Square root of the value. |
reciprocal | Reciprocal of the value (1 / value). |
-
FACTOR(default:1.0) — A float multiplier applied after the modifier transformation. -
MISSING(default:0.0) — A float fallback value used when:- The field value is missing from the document.
- The field value is invalid for the chosen modifier (e.g., a negative value with
log).
If both the field value and the missing value are invalid for the modifier, the final contribution is
MISSING * FACTOR.
Combine Mode
When multiple FIELDVALUE entries are specified, COMBINEMODE controls how their results are combined:
multiply(default) — Multiply all field value results together.sum— Add all field value results together.
Score Mode
SCOREMODE controls how the combined field value result is applied to the original query relevance score:
multiply(default) — Multiply the original score by the combined result.sum— Add the combined result to the original score.replace— Replace the original score with the combined result entirely.
// Boost results by a popularity fieldawait products.query({ filter: { name: "headphones" }, scoreFunc: "popularity",});// Use log1p modifier to dampen high popularity values, with a factor of 2await products.query({ filter: { name: "headphones" }, scoreFunc: { field: "popularity", modifier: "log1p", factor: 2.0, },});// Fallback to 1.0 when the field is missing or invalidawait products.query({ filter: { name: "headphones" }, scoreFunc: { field: "popularity", modifier: "log1p", missing: 1.0, },});// Combine two field values: boost by popularity and recencyawait products.query({ filter: { name: "headphones" }, scoreFunc: { fields: [ { field: "popularity", modifier: "log1p" }, { field: "recencyScore", modifier: "sqrt" }, ], combineMode: "sum", },});// Replace the original score entirely with the combined resultawait products.query({ filter: { name: "headphones" }, scoreFunc: { field: "rating", scoreMode: "replace", },});# Boost results by a popularity fieldproducts.query(filter={"name": "headphones"}, score_func="popularity")# Use log1p modifier to dampen high popularity values, with a factor of 2products.query( filter={"name": "headphones"}, score_func={"field": "popularity", "modifier": "log1p", "factor": 2.0},)# Fallback to 1.0 when the field is missing or invalidproducts.query( filter={"name": "headphones"}, score_func={"field": "popularity", "modifier": "log1p", "missing": 1.0},)# Combine two field values: boost by popularity and recencyproducts.query( filter={"name": "headphones"}, score_func={ "fields": [ {"field": "popularity", "modifier": "log1p"}, {"field": "recencyScore", "modifier": "sqrt"}, ], "combineMode": "sum", },)# Replace the original score entirely with the combined resultproducts.query( filter={"name": "headphones"}, score_func={"field": "rating", "scoreMode": "replace"},)# Boost results by a popularity fieldSEARCH.QUERY products '{"name": "headphones"}' SCOREFUNC FIELDVALUE popularity# Use log1p modifier to dampen high popularity values, with a factor of 2SEARCH.QUERY products '{"name": "headphones"}' SCOREFUNC FIELDVALUE popularity MODIFIER log1p FACTOR 2.0# Fallback to 1.0 when the field is missing or invalidSEARCH.QUERY products '{"name": "headphones"}' SCOREFUNC FIELDVALUE popularity MODIFIER log1p MISSING 1.0# Combine two field values: boost by popularity and recencySEARCH.QUERY products '{"name": "headphones"}' SCOREFUNC COMBINEMODE sum FIELDVALUE popularity MODIFIER log1p FIELDVALUE recencyScore MODIFIER sqrt# Replace the original score entirely with the combined resultSEARCH.QUERY products '{"name": "headphones"}' SCOREFUNC SCOREMODE replace FIELDVALUE ratingSCOREFUNC cannot be used together with ORDERBY. Since ORDERBY overrides the relevance
score with the sort field's value, combining it with score function is not supported.
5. Highlighting
Highlighting allows you to see why a document matched the query by marking the matching portions of the document's fields.
By default, <em> and </em> are used as the highlight tags.
// Highlight matching termsawait products.query({ filter: { description: "wireless noise cancelling" }, highlight: { fields: ["description"] },});// Custom open and close highlight tagsawait products.query({ filter: { description: "wireless" }, highlight: { fields: ["description"], preTag: "!!", postTag: "**" },});# Highlight matching termsproducts.query( filter={"description": "wireless noise cancelling"}, highlight={"fields": ["description"]},)# Custom open and close highlight tagsproducts.query( filter={"description": "wireless"}, highlight={"fields": ["description"], "preTag": "!!", "postTag": "**"},)# Highlight matching termsSEARCH.QUERY products '{"description": "wireless noise cancelling"}' HIGHLIGHT FIELDS 1 description# Custom open and close highlight tagsSEARCH.QUERY products '{"description": "wireless"}' HIGHLIGHT FIELDS 1 description TAGS !! **Note that highlighting only works for operators that resolve to terms, such as term or phrase queries.
When using aliased fields, use the alias name (not the actual document field name) when specifying fields to highlight. The highlighting feature works with indexed field names, which are the aliases.