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The Query Builder’s sort() method allows you to control the order of results in your queries.

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Overview

Sort your query results by one or more fields: 
// Sort by creation date (newest first)
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("createdAt", "desc")
  .get();

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Sort Direction

DirectionDescriptionExample
ascAscending (A-Z, 0-9).sort("title", "asc")
descDescending (Z-A, 9-0).sort("createdAt", "desc")

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Single Field Sorting

Sort by a single field: 
// Ascending order
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("title", "asc")
  .get();

// Descending order
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("createdAt", "desc")
  .get();

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Multiple Field Sorting

Sort by multiple fields by chaining sort() calls: 
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("status", "asc")
  .sort("createdAt", "desc")
  .get();

// SQL equivalent:
// ORDER BY status ASC, createdAt DESC
The sort order is determined by the order you call sort(). The first call has the highest priority.

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String Sorting

Sort text fields alphabetically: 
// A to Z
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("title", "asc")
  .get();

// Z to A
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("title", "desc")
  .get();

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Number Sorting

Sort numeric fields: 
// Lowest to highest
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("views", "asc")
  .get();

// Highest to lowest (most popular first)
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("views", "desc")
  .get();

​
Date Sorting

Sort by date fields: 
// Oldest first
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("createdAt", "asc")
  .get();

// Newest first
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("createdAt", "desc")
  .get();

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Sorting with Filtering

Combine sorting with filtering: 
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .filter("status", "=", "published")
  .sort("createdAt", "desc")
  .get();

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Sorting Relations

Sort on expanded relations: 
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .expand("author")
  .sort("author.name", "asc")
  .sort("createdAt", "desc")
  .get();

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Common Patterns

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Latest Items First

const latestPosts = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("createdAt", "desc")
  .first();

const popularPosts = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("views", "desc")
  .page(1, 10)
  .get();

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Alphabetical

const alphabeticalPosts = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("title", "asc")
  .get();

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Priority Sorting

Sort by priority, then by date: 
const tasks = await client.records
  .query("tasks")
  .sort("priority", "desc")
  .sort("createdAt", "asc")
  .get();

// Results are sorted by priority first,
// then by creation date within each priority level

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Null Handling

Fields with null values are sorted last: 
// Posts with publishedAt come first (newest to oldest)
// Posts with null publishedAt come last
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("publishedAt", "desc")
  .get();

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Complete Example

import { SnackBaseClient } from "@snackbase/sdk";

const client = new SnackBaseClient({
  baseUrl: "https://api.example.com",
});

async function getSortedPosts() {
  // Get published posts, sorted by most viewed, then by date
  const results = await client.records
    .query("posts")
    .filter("status", "=", "published")
    .sort("views", "desc")
    .sort("createdAt", "desc")
    .page(1, 20)
    .get();

  console.log(`Found ${results.total} posts`);

  results.items.forEach((post) => {
    console.log(`${post.views} views - ${post.title}`);
  });
}

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Performance Considerations

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1. Sort on Indexed Fields

For better performance, sort on indexed fields: 
// Good - createdAt is typically indexed
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("createdAt", "desc")
  .get();

// May be slower - title may not be indexed
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("title", "asc")
  .get();

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2. Limit Results with Pagination

Always paginate sorted queries: 
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("views", "desc")
  .page(1, 20)
  .get();

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3. Combine Filtering and Sorting

Filter before sorting to reduce the result set: 
// Good - filter reduces data before sorting
const results = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .filter("status", "=", "published")
  .sort("views", "desc")
  .get();

// Less efficient - sorts all data
const allPosts = await client.records
  .query("posts")
  .sort("views", "desc")
  .get();

const publishedPosts = allPosts.items.filter(p => p.status === "published");

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Reference

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sort(field, direction?)

Add sorting to the query. Parameters:
  • field (string) - Field name to sort by
  • direction (string) - Sort direction: "asc" or "desc" (default: "asc")
Returns: QueryBuilder<T> - The query builder for chaining

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Next Steps