DQL Syntax Reference

Complete formal syntax and clause reference for Basalt's Dataview Query Language engine.

Query Headers

TABLE

TABLE [WITHOUT ID] [expr [AS "Column Name"]], ...

• Emits a structured tabular grid.
• By default, includes file.name as the first column link. Use WITHOUT ID to suppress the automatic note column.

LIST

LIST [expr]

• Emits an unordered list of notes with optional computed text appended.

TASK

TASK

• Collects and renders checklist tasks embedded in notes matching the source and filter conditions.

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Clauses

FROM

Specifies the initial universe of notes to include.

Source Expression	Meaning
""	All notes in the vault
#tag	Notes containing #tag or nested #tag/*
"Folder"	Notes located inside Folder/
[[Note Title]]	Notes linking to [[Note Title]]
outgoing([[Note Title]])	Notes linked from [[Note Title]]

Boolean Combinations: Sources can be combined with AND, OR, NOT, and parentheses:

FROM (#work OR #freelance) AND !"Archive"

WHERE

Filters candidate rows by boolean predicates:

WHERE status = "in-progress" AND priority > 1

FLATTEN

Unrolls an array into individual rows or binds a computed expression:

FLATTEN tags AS tag
FLATTEN length(file.inlinks) AS backlink_count

GROUP BY

Partitions rows by field values into aggregate groups:

GROUP BY category
GROUP BY file.folder

Note: In grouped queries, note values are accessible via the rows collection (e.g. rows.file.name).

SORT

Orders rows by one or more expressions:

SORT file.mtime DESC, rating ASC

• Default direction is ASC (ascending).
• Null values sort lowest in ascending order.

LIMIT

Truncates output to at most n rows:

LIMIT 25

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Expressions & Operators

Operators

Operator	Type	Description
=, !=	Equality	Strict equality / inequality
<, <=, >, >=	Relational	Comparison across typed values
AND, OR	Logical	Logical conjunction and disjunction
NOT, !	Logical	Logical negation
+, -	Arithmetic	Numeric addition / string concatenation

Built-in Functions

Function	Signature	Description
contains	contains(haystack, needle)	Returns true if needle is in string or array
length	length(x)	Returns array length or string character count

Aggregate Functions (GROUP BY context only)

Function	Signature	Description
count	count(rows)	Total rows in current group
length	length(rows)	Synonym for count(rows)
sum	sum(rows.<field>)	Numeric sum of field across group
avg / average	avg(rows.<field>)	Arithmetic mean
min	min(rows.<field>)	Minimum value
max	max(rows.<field>)	Maximum value

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Standard Note Properties (file.*)

Every note row exposes these metadata fields:

Field	Type	Description
file.name	string	File name without .md extension
file.path	string	Full path relative to vault root
file.folder	string	Directory containing the file
file.size	number	Size in bytes
file.ctime	date	Creation timestamp
file.mtime	date	Last modified timestamp
file.tags	array	All tags in frontmatter and body
file.outlinks	array	Links originating from this note
file.inlinks	array	Backlinks referencing this note
file.tasks	array	Embedded checklist tasks