---
title: Introduction
weight: 1
---

This package allows you to filter, sort and include eloquent relations based on a request. The `QueryBuilder` used in this package extends Laravel's default Eloquent builder. This means all your favorite methods and macros are still available. Query parameter names follow the [JSON API specification](http://jsonapi.org/) as closely as possible.

Here's how we use the package ourselves in [Mailcoach](https://mailcoach.app).

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/380520777" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen></iframe>

## Basic usage

### Filter a query based on a request: `/users?filter[name]=John`:

```php
use Spatie\QueryBuilder\QueryBuilder;

$users = QueryBuilder::for(User::class)
    ->allowedFilters('name')
    ->get();

// all `User`s that contain the string "John" in their name
```

[Read more about filtering features like: partial filters, exact filters, scope filters, custom filters, ignored values, default filter values, ...](https://spatie.be/docs/laravel-query-builder/v5/features/filtering/)

### Including relations based on a request: `/users?include=posts`:

```php
$users = QueryBuilder::for(User::class)
    ->allowedIncludes('posts')
    ->get();

// all `User`s with their `posts` loaded
```

[Read more about include features like: including nested relationships, including relationship count, ...](https://spatie.be/docs/laravel-query-builder/v5/features/including-relationships/)

### Sorting a query based on a request: `/users?sort=id`:

```php
$users = QueryBuilder::for(User::class)
    ->allowedSorts('id')
    ->get();

// all `User`s sorted by ascending id
```

[Read more about sorting features like: custom sorts, sort direction, ...](https://spatie.be/docs/laravel-query-builder/v5/features/sorting/)

### Works together nicely with existing queries:

```php
$query = User::where('active', true);

$userQuery = QueryBuilder::for($query) // start from an existing Builder instance
    ->withTrashed() // use your existing scopes
    ->allowedIncludes('posts', 'permissions')
    ->where('score', '>', 42); // chain on any of Laravel's query builder methods
```

### Selecting fields for a query: `/users?fields=id,email`

```php
$users = QueryBuilder::for(User::class)
    ->allowedFields(['id', 'email'])
    ->get();

// the fetched `User`s will only have their id & email set
```

[Read more about selecting fields.](https://spatie.be/docs/laravel-query-builder/v5/features/selecting-fields/)

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