Base Filtering & Queries

Filtering is one of the most powerful features in Bases, allowing you to narrow down large datasets to exactly what you need. Lokus v1.3 supports comprehensive filtering with multiple operator types and complex query combinations.

Prerequisites: This guide builds on Bases Overview and Properties. Start there if you’re new to Bases.

Filter Types & Operators

Text Operators

Filter text-based properties with precision.

Available Operators:

equals           # Exact match (case-sensitive)
not_equals       # Not equal
contains         # Contains substring
not_contains     # Doesn't contain substring
starts_with      # Starts with text
ends_with        # Ends with text
is_empty         # No value or empty string
is_not_empty     # Has a value
matches_regex    # Regular expression match

Examples:

# Find notes titled exactly "Project Alpha"
title equals "Project Alpha"
 
# Find notes with "urgent" anywhere in title
title contains "urgent"
 
# Find notes starting with "WIP:"
title starts_with "WIP:"
 
# Find notes with empty description
description is_empty
 
# Find notes matching pattern
title matches_regex "^PRJ-\d{4}$"

Use Cases:

Finding specific projects by name
Identifying incomplete records
Pattern matching for codes/IDs
Text content searches

Tip: Use contains for flexible searches, equals for exact matches. Most searches benefit from contains.

Number Operators

Filter numeric properties with mathematical precision.

Available Operators:

equals                  # Equal to
not_equals              # Not equal to
greater_than            # >
greater_than_or_equal   # >=
less_than               # <
less_than_or_equal      # <=
between                 # Between two values (inclusive)
is_empty                # No value set
is_not_empty            # Has a value

Examples:

# High priority items (score > 80)
priority_score greater_than 80
 
# Budget between $10K and $50K
budget between 10000 50000
 
# Items with cost assigned
cost is_not_empty
 
# Exact quantity match
quantity equals 100
 
# Low stock items
stock_quantity less_than 10

Use Cases:

Budget filtering
Score/rating ranges
Quantity thresholds
Performance metrics

Warning: between is inclusive on both ends. between 10 20 includes both 10 and 20.

Date Operators

Filter date properties with both absolute and relative date logic.

Available Operators:

equals           # Exact date match
before           # Before date
after            # After date
between          # Between two dates
relative         # Relative to today (see below)
is_empty         # No date set
is_not_empty     # Has a date

Relative Date Options:

last 7 days      # Past week
last 30 days     # Past month
this week        # Current week (Mon-Sun)
this month       # Current calendar month
next week        # Upcoming week
next month       # Upcoming month
today            # Today only
yesterday        # Yesterday only
tomorrow         # Tomorrow only

Examples:

# Due today
due_date equals today
 
# Overdue items
due_date before today
 
# Due in the next week
due_date between today next_7_days
 
# Items due this month
due_date relative "this month"
 
# Recently modified
modified_date relative "last 7 days"
 
# No due date set
due_date is_empty

Use Cases:

Overdue task detection
Recently created/modified items
Upcoming deadlines
Scheduling and planning

Tip: Relative dates update automatically! “last 7 days” always means the most recent week, no manual updates needed.

Array Operators (Tags/Multi-Select)

Filter properties with multiple values.

Available Operators:

contains_any     # Contains any of the specified values
contains_all     # Contains all specified values
is_empty         # Empty array or no tags
is_not_empty     # Has at least one tag

Examples:

# Items tagged with "urgent" OR "high-priority"
tags contains_any ["urgent", "high-priority"]
 
# Items tagged with BOTH "web" AND "frontend"
tags contains_all ["web", "frontend"]
 
# Untagged items
tags is_empty
 
# Items with at least one category
categories is_not_empty

Use Cases:

Multi-category filtering
Skill matching
Tag-based organization
Feature flag filtering

Tip: Use contains_any for broad searches (OR logic), contains_all for specific combinations (AND logic).

Boolean (Checkbox) Operators

Filter true/false properties.

Available Operators:

is_true          # Value is true
is_false         # Value is false
is_empty         # No value set (neither true nor false)

Examples:

# Completed items
completed is_true
 
# Incomplete items
completed is_false
 
# Items without published status set
is_public is_empty
 
# Active items
is_active is_true

Use Cases:

Task completion status
Published/draft filtering
Active/inactive records
Feature toggles

Filter Groups

Combine multiple filters using logical operators to create complex queries.

AND Logic

All conditions must be true.

Syntax:

Show entries where:
  status equals "Active"
  AND priority equals "High"
  AND assignee is_not_empty

Example:

Find high-priority active tasks that are assigned:
- Status = Active Yes
- Priority = High Yes
- Assignee = Sarah Yes
Result: Included

Use Cases:

Finding very specific items
Narrowing down large datasets
Strict criteria matching

OR Logic

Any condition can be true.

Syntax:

Show entries where:
  status equals "Urgent"
  OR priority equals "Critical"
  OR due_date before today

Example:

Find items needing attention (any of these):
- Status = Urgent Yes
- Priority = Normal No
- Due Date = Yesterday Yes
Result: Included (met OR condition)

Use Cases:

Broadening search results
Multiple acceptable criteria
“Any of these” scenarios

NOT Logic

Invert a condition.

Syntax:

Show entries where:
  NOT status equals "Cancelled"
  AND NOT status equals "Done"

Equivalent to:

status not_equals "Cancelled"
AND status not_equals "Done"

Use Cases:

Excluding specific values
“Everything except…” queries
Negative filtering

Nested Groups

Create complex logic with nested groups.

Example 1: Urgent items or overdue high-priority items

Show entries where:
  status equals "Urgent"
  OR (
    priority equals "High"
    AND due_date before today
  )

Breakdown:

Include if:
  Status is Urgent
  OR
  (Priority is High AND Due Date is in the past)

Example 2: Active projects in specific categories

Show entries where:
  status equals "Active"
  AND (
    category equals "Web"
    OR category equals "Mobile"
    OR category equals "API"
  )
  AND assignee is_not_empty

Breakdown:

Include if:
  Status is Active
  AND
  Category is Web, Mobile, or API
  AND
  Has an assignee

Tip: Use parentheses to group conditions clearly. This makes complex queries easier to understand and maintain.

Creating Filters

Method 1: Interactive Filter Builder

Open your Base
Click “Filter” button in toolbar
Click ”+ Add Filter”
Select property
Choose operator
Enter value(s)
Click Apply

Method 2: Quick Filters

Click any cell value to create instant filter:

Right-click a cell
Select “Filter by this value”
Filter applied immediately

Method 3: Text Query

Advanced users can type queries directly:

status:Active AND priority:High

Query Syntax:

property:value                    # Equals
property:!value                   # Not equals
property:>value                   # Greater than
property:<value                   # Less than
property:*partial*                # Contains
tag:#tagname                      # Has tag

Saved Filters

Creating Saved Filters

Save commonly-used filter combinations:

Configure your filters
Click “Save Filter” button
Name the filter (e.g., “Overdue High Priority”)
Optional: Set as default view
Click Save

Example Saved Filters:

"Active Tasks":
  - status equals "Active"
  - assignee is_not_empty
 
"Overdue Items":
  - due_date before today
  - completed is_false
 
"This Week":
  - due_date relative "this week"
  - status not_equals "Done"
 
"Unassigned High Priority":
  - priority equals "High"
  - assignee is_empty

Managing Saved Filters

Quick Switch:

Click filter dropdown
Select saved filter
View updates instantly

Edit Filter:

Select saved filter
Click “Edit” (pencil icon)
Modify filters
Save or Save As New

Delete Filter:

Select saved filter
Click “Delete” (trash icon)
Confirm deletion

Share Filter:

Right-click filter name
“Copy Filter Link”
Share with team members

Tip: Create saved filters for your most common workflows. Examples: “My Tasks”, “This Sprint”, “Needs Review”.

Pre-built Filters

Lokus includes useful pre-built filters:

All Items

# No filters (default)

Active Items

status not_equals "Done"
AND status not_equals "Cancelled"
AND status not_equals "Archived"

Completed Items

status equals "Done"
OR completed is_true

Overdue Items

due_date before today
AND completed is_false

Assigned to Me

assignee equals "{{current_user}}"

Unassigned

assignee is_empty

This Week

due_date relative "this week"

No Due Date

due_date is_empty

Sorting

Sort Options

Order your filtered results:

Sort Configuration:

sort:
  - property: priority
    direction: desc  # High to Low
  - property: due_date
    direction: asc   # Earliest to Latest
  - property: title
    direction: asc   # A to Z

Sort Types:

Alphabetical: A-Z or Z-A
Numeric: 0-9 or 9-0 (ascending/descending)
Date: Earliest-Latest or Latest-Earliest
Custom: Manual drag-and-drop order

Multi-Column Sorting

Sort by multiple properties:

Click first column header (primary sort)
Hold Cmd/Ctrl and click second header (secondary sort)
Hold Cmd/Ctrl and click third header (tertiary sort)

Example:

Sort by:
1. Priority (High → Low)
2. Due Date (Earliest → Latest)
3. Title (A → Z)

Result:
High Priority items first, ordered by due date
Medium Priority items next, ordered by due date
Low Priority items last, ordered by due date
Within each group, alphabetically by title

Manual Sorting

Custom drag-and-drop ordering:

Click “Manual Sort” toggle
Drag rows to reorder
Order persists across sessions
Click “Reset Sort” to return to automatic

Warning: Manual sort overrides automatic sorting. Use for custom prioritization, but remember to reset if you want automatic sorting later.

Grouping (Coming v1.4)

Group By Property

Organize filtered entries into groups:

Example:

Group by: Status
 
├─ Backlog (5 items)
│  ├─ Task A
│  ├─ Task B
│  └─ Task C
│
├─ In Progress (3 items)
│  ├─ Task D
│  └─ Task E
│
└─ Done (12 items) [collapsed]
   └─ (Hidden)

Multi-Level Grouping

Group by: Status → Priority
 
├─ In Progress
│  ├─ High (2 items)
│  │  ├─ Task A
│  │  └─ Task B
│  └─ Medium (1 item)
│     └─ Task C
│
└─ Done
   └─ High (3 items)
      └─ ...

Group Aggregations

Show statistics per group:

Status: In Progress (3 items)
  Total Hours: 15h
  Average: 5h per item
  Assignees: Sarah, John
 
Status: Done (12 items)
  Total Hours: 48h
  Average: 4h per item
  Completion Rate: 100%

Advanced Query Examples

Example 1: This Week’s Priorities

Show entries where:
  (
    due_date relative "this week"
    OR priority equals "High"
  )
  AND status not_equals "Done"
  AND assignee equals "{{current_user}}"

Use Case: See your high-priority work and this week’s deadlines

Example 2: Stale Projects

Show entries where:
  status equals "Active"
  AND modified_date before "{{today-30d}}"
  AND assignee is_not_empty

Use Case: Find active projects not updated in 30+ days

Example 3: Urgent Attention Needed

Show entries where:
  (
    due_date before today
    OR priority equals "Critical"
  )
  AND completed is_false
  AND (
    status equals "Blocked"
    OR assignee is_empty
  )

Use Case: Overdue or critical items that are blocked or unassigned

Example 4: Ready to Start

Show entries where:
  status equals "Todo"
  AND assignee is_not_empty
  AND tags contains_any ["ready", "approved"]
  AND due_date is_not_empty

Use Case: Tasks ready to be worked on (assigned, approved, scheduled)

Example 5: Portfolio View

Show entries where:
  category contains_any ["Web", "Mobile", "API"]
  AND budget greater_than 10000
  AND (
    status equals "Active"
    OR status equals "Planning"
  )

Use Case: Major projects in specific categories

Performance Tips

Optimize Filters for Large Datasets

Do: -Use specific filters early (e.g., folder source) -Filter by indexed properties (status, dates) -Use equals instead of contains when possible -Limit results with pagination -Enable Quantum Search

Don’t: -Use only contains with wildcards on large datasets -Create overly complex nested groups (3+ levels) -Use regex filters on non-indexed fields -Leave filters too broad (returning 1,000+ results)

Filter Execution Order

Filters execute in this order for best performance:

Source filters (folder, tag)
Indexed properties (status, dates, booleans)
Simple comparisons (equals, not_equals)
Range comparisons (greater_than, between)
String operations (contains, starts_with)
Complex operations (regex, nested groups)

Tip: Put more restrictive filters first. “status equals Active” before “title contains Project” performs better.

Troubleshooting

Filters Not Working

Issue: No results or wrong results

Solutions:

Check filter logic (AND vs OR)
Verify property names match YAML
Ensure values are correctly formatted
Check for empty/null values
Refresh Base index (Cmd/Ctrl + R)

Slow Filter Performance

Issue: Filters take too long to apply

Solutions:

Reduce number of entries (use source filters)
Enable Quantum Search
Simplify complex nested groups
Use indexed properties when possible
Close other Bases to free memory

Filter Not Saving

Issue: Saved filter doesn’t persist

Solutions:

Ensure filter has a name
Check for permission issues
Verify workspace is syncing properly
Try duplicating the view first

What’s Next?

Views - Learn how filters work with different view types
Properties - Understand property types for better filtering
MCP Integration - Use AI to create complex filters
Examples - See real-world filtering scenarios

Properties MCP Integration