Filters and sorting

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Filtering has two modes. Basic builds a query out of chips, which covers most questions. CQL hands you the raw query, which covers the rest.

Filter bar with a keyword box and chips for Contributors, Mention, Parent, Creator, Labels and Macros, with the Macros list open
Filters you have added sit as chips along the bar. Each chip opens its own list of values to match on, like the Macros list here.

You can start in Basic and switch to CQL to see what it built, which is the fastest way to learn the syntax.

#The filters Search itself provides

Text, Space, Contributors, Created, Updated, Mentions, Favorited by, Ancestor, Parent, Type and Label. Everything else in the filter list comes from another capability.

Filter picker with a Built in group listing Text, Contributors, Mentions, Parent, Creator, Labels and Macros, and an Approval group below
The built-in set comes first, then a group for each capability. The approval filters only appear where that capability is installed.

Add a filter with Select filters, then pick its values on the chip. Leave a chip empty and it is ignored.

#Basic or CQL

Mode

Use it when

Basic

The question fits chips: a space, a date range, a person, a label

CQL

You need a condition the chips cannot express, or you are copying a query from elsewhere

The button beside the column picker switches between the two. Its tooltip reads Switch to CQL in Basic mode and Switch to basic filters in CQL mode.

#Writing CQL

In CQL mode the chips are replaced by a single query field. It helps you write valid CQL as you type.

  • Suggestions. As you type, it offers field names (including fields from your installed capabilities), operators, functions and values such as labels, spaces, people and pages.

  • Problems are flagged. A mistake turns the field's border red and opens a short list of what is wrong, up to three at a time. If Confluence itself rejects the query, you see that too, for example Confluence rejected this query.

  • Multi-word values. Picking a suggestion while your cursor is inside an unquoted value of several words, such as space = New York, now replaces the whole value rather than just the first word (since 8 October 2026).

  • Long queries stay in the bar. A long query scrolls inside the field instead of pushing the column, mode and save buttons out of view (since 20 October 2026). Use the cursor keys or your trackpad to move along it.

  • Placeholders. {{SPACE_KEY}}, {{SPACE_ID}}, {{CONTENT_ID}}, {{CONTENT_TYPE}} and {{CONTENT_TITLE}} are swapped for the current space or page, where there is one, before the query runs. They are most useful in macros and space searches.

#Sorting

In Basic mode, use Configure sorting to sort by any sortable field, ascending or descending. Sorting on a Capable field only orders pages Confluence has indexed, so on a partly indexed site the rest are left out.

Sort menu with built in options Title, Created, Last updated and Author, then Approval options such as Approval Status
The options are grouped the same way as columns, so a capability such as Approval brings its own dates and statuses to sort by.

#A few things that catch people out

  • A CQL query with a leading wildcard matches nothing. Confluence does not support it, and it fails quietly.

  • Switching from CQL back to basic filters puts the chips back as they were. Edits you made in the CQL field are not turned into chips, so copy your query first if you want to keep it.

  • There is no separate Copy CQL button. Switch to CQL and copy the query from the field.

  • Filter choices and the CQL are saved with the saved search, just like columns.

Chips first. CQL when they run out.