Query Building
Ordering
Sort results and paginate with orderBy, limit, and offset
Ordering
Control the order and quantity of results with sorting, limiting, and pagination tools.
Overview
Use ordering to:
- Sort results by one or more columns
- Limit the number of returned rows
- Paginate through large datasets
- Remove duplicates with distinct
Query builder syntax
These examples use a typed standalone db client so the query builder stays the focus.
Order By
Sort results by column values in ascending or descending order.
Single Column Sort
const users = await db.table('users')
.select(['id', 'name', 'created_at'])
.orderBy('created_at', 'DESC')
.execute();Ascending Order
const products = await db.table('products')
.select(['id', 'name', 'price'])
.orderBy('price', 'ASC')
.execute();Default Direction
If you don't specify a direction, orderBy defaults to ascending ('ASC').
Multiple Column Sort
Chain multiple orderBy() calls for secondary sorting:
const users = await db.table('users')
.select(['id', 'name', 'country', 'created_at'])
.orderBy('country', 'ASC')
.orderBy('created_at', 'DESC')
.execute();
// Sorts by country first, then by created_at within each countrySort by Joined Columns
const results = await db.table('orders')
.innerJoin('users', 'orders.user_id', 'users.id')
.select([
'orders.id',
'users.name',
'orders.total',
])
.orderBy('users.name', 'ASC')
.orderBy('orders.total', 'DESC')
.execute();Sort Direction Options
| Direction | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
'ASC' | Ascending (lowest to highest) | orderBy('price', 'ASC') |
'DESC' | Descending (highest to lowest) | orderBy('created_at', 'DESC') |
Limit
Restrict the number of rows returned:
const latestUsers = await db.table('users')
.select(['id', 'name', 'created_at'])
.orderBy('created_at', 'DESC')
.limit(10)
.execute();Performance
Always use limit() with orderBy() for predictable results. Without orderBy(), the rows returned may vary.
Limit with Aggregations
const topCategories = await db.table('orders')
.innerJoin('products', 'orders.product_id', 'products.id')
.select(['products.category'])
.sum('orders.total', 'revenue')
.groupBy(['products.category'])
.orderBy('revenue', 'DESC')
.limit(10)
.execute();Offset
Skip a specified number of rows before returning results:
const page2 = await db.table('users')
.select(['id', 'name'])
.orderBy('id', 'ASC')
.limit(20)
.offset(20) // Skip first 20 rows
.execute();Offset Performance
Large offsets can be slow on big datasets. Consider keyset pagination for better performance.
Pagination
Combine limit() and offset() for pagination:
Basic Pagination
async function getUsers(page: number, pageSize: number) {
const offset = (page - 1) * pageSize;
return await db.table('users')
.select(['id', 'name', 'email'])
.orderBy('id', 'ASC')
.limit(pageSize)
.offset(offset)
.execute();
}
// Page 1
const page1 = await getUsers(1, 20);
// Page 2
const page2 = await getUsers(2, 20);Keyset Pagination (More Efficient)
Instead of offset, use the last seen value for better performance:
async function getUsersAfter(lastId: number, limit: number) {
return await db.table('users')
.select(['id', 'name', 'email'])
.where('id', 'gt', lastId)
.orderBy('id', 'ASC')
.limit(limit)
.execute();
}
// First page
const page1 = await getUsersAfter(0, 20);
const lastId = page1[page1.length - 1].id;
// Next page
const page2 = await getUsersAfter(lastId, 20);Pagination Strategy
- Small datasets: Use offset/limit (simple)
- Large datasets: Use keyset pagination (faster)
- Real-time: Use cursor-based pagination with time-based columns
Distinct
Remove duplicate rows from results:
const countries = await db.table('users')
.select(['country'])
.distinct()
.orderBy('country', 'ASC')
.execute();Distinct with Multiple Columns
const uniqueCombinations = await db.table('orders')
.select(['country', 'status'])
.distinct()
.execute();Distinct with Aggregations
const stats = await db.table('events')
.select(['user_id'])
.distinctCount('event_type', 'unique_events')
.groupBy(['user_id'])
.orderBy('unique_events', 'DESC')
.limit(10)
.execute();Common Patterns
Latest Records
const latestOrders = await db.table('orders')
.select(['id', 'user_id', 'total', 'created_at'])
.orderBy('created_at', 'DESC')
.limit(50)
.execute();Top N by Value
const topSpenders = await db.table('orders')
.select(['user_id'])
.sum('total', 'lifetime_value')
.groupBy(['user_id'])
.orderBy('lifetime_value', 'DESC')
.limit(100)
.execute();Most Recent Items Per User
const latestEvents = await db.table('events')
.select(['user_id'])
.max('created_at', 'last_event')
.groupBy(['user_id'])
.orderBy('last_event', 'DESC')
.limit(50)
.execute();Random Sample
const sample = await db.table('users')
.select(['id', 'name'])
.orderBy('rand()', 'ASC')
.limit(100)
.execute();Unique Values in Column
const countries = await db.table('users')
.select(['country'])
.where('country', 'isNotNull')
.distinct()
.orderBy('country', 'ASC')
.execute();Sort by Expression
const results = await db.table('products')
.select(['id', 'name', 'price', 'discount'])
.orderBy(selectExpr('price * (1 - discount)'), 'ASC')
.execute();Multiple Sorting Strategies
Primary and Secondary Sort
const results = await db.table('orders')
.select(['id', 'status', 'total', 'created_at'])
.orderBy('status', 'ASC')
.orderBy('total', 'DESC')
.orderBy('created_at', 'ASC')
.execute();
// Sorts by status first, then by total within each status,
// then by created_at within same totalConditional Sorting
const results = await db.table('products')
.select(['id', 'name', 'price', 'stock'])
.orderBy(selectExpr('if(stock > 0, 0, 1)'), 'ASC') // In stock first
.orderBy('price', 'ASC')
.execute();Type Safety
TypeScript ensures you sort by valid columns:
// ✅ Valid - column exists
await db.table('users')
.orderBy('created_at', 'DESC')
.execute();
// ❌ Error - column doesn't exist
await db.table('users')
.orderBy('invalid_column', 'ASC') // TypeScript error
.execute();
// ✅ Valid - can sort by joined columns after joining
await db.table('orders')
.innerJoin('users', 'orders.user_id', 'users.id')
.orderBy('users.name', 'ASC')
.execute();
// ❌ Error - can't sort by unjoined table
await db.table('orders')
.orderBy('users.name', 'ASC') // TypeScript error
.execute();Performance Considerations
Sort Performance
- Sorting requires reading all matching rows
- Use
limit()to reduce work after sorting - Create indexes on frequently-sorted columns
- Consider
final()for ClickHouse-specific optimizations
Efficient Large Dataset Pagination
// ❌ Slow with large offsets
const page1000 = await db.table('events')
.orderBy('created_at', 'DESC')
.limit(20)
.offset(20000) // Skips 20,000 rows
.execute();
// ✅ Faster - use keyset pagination
const lastTimestamp = '2024-01-15 10:00:00';
const page1000 = await db.table('events')
.where('created_at', 'lt', lastTimestamp)
.orderBy('created_at', 'DESC')
.limit(20)
.execute();Examples
Leaderboard
const leaderboard = await db.table('game_scores')
.select(['user_id'])
.sum('score', 'total_score')
.count('id', 'games_played')
.groupBy(['user_id'])
.orderBy('total_score', 'DESC')
.limit(100)
.execute();Recent Activity Feed
const activityFeed = await db.table('events')
.select(['id', 'type', 'user_id', 'created_at'])
.orderBy('created_at', 'DESC')
.limit(50)
.execute();Browse Products with Pagination
async function browseProducts(category: string, page: number) {
const pageSize = 24;
const offset = (page - 1) * pageSize;
return await db.table('products')
.select(['id', 'name', 'price', 'image_url'])
.where('category', 'eq', category)
.where('in_stock', 'eq', true)
.orderBy('price', 'ASC')
.limit(pageSize)
.offset(offset)
.execute();
}Unique Email Domains
const domains = await db.table('users')
.select([selectExpr('splitByChar(\\'@\\', email)[2]', 'domain')])
.distinct()
.orderBy('domain', 'ASC')
.execute();