Filter Rules

Filter rules control which items are returned in a query. They are used in:

• Items API — ?filter[field][operator]=value
• Permissions — restrict which rows a role can access
• Workflow assignments — determine which items match a workflow

Syntax

Filters follow this pattern:

filter[<field>][<operator>]=<value>

For nested (relational) fields, use dot notation:

filter[author.status][_eq]=active

As a JSON object (for POST bodies or permissions config):

{
  "field": { "_operator": "value" }
}

Shorthand Equality

When a filter field value is a primitive (string, number, boolean) instead of an operator object, it is treated as _eq:

{ "status": "published" }

is equivalent to:

{ "status": { "_eq": "published" } }

Comparison Operators

Logical Operators

Combine multiple conditions with _and or _or:

{
  "_or": [
    { "status": { "_eq": "published" } },
    { "author": { "_eq": "$CURRENT_USER" } }
  ]
}

{
  "_and": [
    { "status": { "_eq": "published" } },
    { "views": { "_gte": 100 } }
  ]
}

As query parameters (URL-encoded):

?filter[_and][0][status][_eq]=published&filter[_and][1][views][_gte]=100

Relational Filters

Filter by fields on related records using dot notation:

?filter[author.status][_eq]=active
?filter[tags.name][_in]=javascript,typescript
?filter[comments.approved][_eq]=true

Supported relation types: M2O (many-to-one), M2M (many-to-many), O2M (one-to-many).

_has Operator

The _has operator controls whether parent rows with no matching children are included in results. It converts a left-outer join to an inner join, so only rows with at least one matching related record are returned.

Standalone usage — only return items that have at least one related role:

{ "roles": { "_has": true } }

Combined with conditions — only return items that have at least one role with status=active:

{ "roles": { "_has": true, "status": { "_eq": "active" } } }

Without _has, a left-outer join is used: parent rows are returned even if no related rows match the filter conditions.

Dynamic Variables

Use these special values in permission rules and API queries to create row-level access control:

Example — let users only read their own records:

{ "user_id": { "_eq": "$CURRENT_USER" } }

Example — restrict to items belonging to the current user’s team:

{ "team_id": { "_eq": "$CURRENT_USER.team_id" } }

Array Values

For _in, _nin, _between, and _nbetween, pass a comma-separated string or a JSON array:

?filter[status][_in]=draft,published

{ "status": { "_in": ["draft", "published"] } }