In and not-in queries in Firebase - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Sometimes you want to find documents in a database where a field matches one of several values or does not match certain values. In and not-in queries help you filter data easily without checking each value one by one.

When you want to find users whose status is either 'active' or 'pending' in a single query.

When you need to exclude products that belong to certain categories from your search results.

When you want to get orders that match any of a list of order IDs.

When you want to filter events that are not in a list of canceled event IDs.

When you want to quickly check if a field matches any value from a small list without multiple queries.

Commands

This command queries the 'users' collection to find documents where the 'status' field is either 'active' or 'pending'. It uses the 'in' operator to match any value in the list.

Terminal

firebase firestore:query --collection=users --where="status in ['active','pending']"

Expected Output

Document ID: user123, status: active

Document ID: user456, status: pending

→

--collection - Specifies which collection to query

→

--where - Defines the filter condition for the query

This command queries the 'products' collection to find documents where the 'category' field is not any of the values in the list. It uses the 'not-in' operator to exclude those categories.

Terminal

firebase firestore:query --collection=products --where="category not-in ['electronics','furniture']"

Expected Output

Document ID: prod789, category: clothing

Document ID: prod101, category: toys

→

--collection - Specifies which collection to query

→

--where - Defines the filter condition for the query

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: 'in' finds documents matching any value in a list, while 'not-in' excludes documents matching any value in a list.

Common Mistakes

Using 'in' or 'not-in' with more than 10 values in the list

Firestore limits 'in' and 'not-in' queries to 10 values max, so the query will fail if exceeded.

Split the values into multiple queries or use other filtering methods.

Trying to combine 'in' and 'not-in' on the same field in one query

Firestore does not allow multiple inequality filters on the same field in a single query.

Run separate queries or adjust your data model.

Summary

Use 'in' queries to find documents where a field matches any value in a list.

Use 'not-in' queries to exclude documents where a field matches any value in a list.

Remember Firestore limits these queries to 10 values per list and does not allow combining them on the same field.

Practice

1.

What does the in query do in Firebase Firestore?

easy

A. Finds documents where a field is null

B. Finds documents where a field does not exist

C. Finds documents where a field matches exactly one value only

D. Finds documents where a field matches any value in a given list

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of in query

   The in query checks if a field's value matches any value from a list of values.

2. Step 2: Compare with other options

   Null fields and non-existent fields describe different query types, while limiting to exactly one value is incorrect for in.

3. Final Answer:

   Finds documents where a field matches any value in a given list -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   in query = matches any value in list [OK]

Hint: Remember: 'in' means match any value from a list [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing 'in' with 'not-in' query
• Thinking 'in' matches only one value
• Assuming 'in' checks for field existence

2.

Which of the following is the correct syntax for a not-in query in Firestore?

db.collection('users').where('age', ___, [18, 21, 25])

easy

A. 'notin'

B. 'not-in'

C. 'not_in'

D. 'nin'

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall Firestore query operators

   Firestore uses exact strings for operators; the correct operator for excluding values is 'not-in'.

2. Step 2: Check each option's validity

   'notin', 'not_in', and 'nin' are invalid syntax and will cause errors.

3. Final Answer:

   'not-in' -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Correct operator syntax = 'not-in' [OK]

Hint: Use exact operator strings: 'not-in' with hyphen [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'notin' or 'not_in' instead of 'not-in'
• Missing quotes around operator
• Using unsupported operators like 'nin'

3.

Given this Firestore query:

db.collection('products').where('category', 'in', ['books', 'games']).get()

Which documents will be returned?

medium

A. Documents where category is either 'books' or 'games'

B. Documents where category is not 'books' or 'games'

C. Documents where category is exactly 'booksgames'

D. All documents regardless of category

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the 'in' query behavior

   The query filters documents where the 'category' field matches any value in the list ['books', 'games'].

2. Step 2: Analyze each option

   Documents where category is either 'books' or 'games' matches the query logic. Documents where category is not 'books' or 'games' is the opposite. Documents where category is exactly 'booksgames' is a concatenation, which is incorrect. All documents regardless of category ignores the filter.

3. Final Answer:

   Documents where category is either 'books' or 'games' -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   'in' query returns matching values in list [OK]

Hint: Think: 'in' means any value inside the list [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing 'in' with 'not-in'
• Assuming concatenation of list values
• Ignoring the filter and expecting all documents

4.

What is wrong with this Firestore query?

db.collection('orders').where('status', 'not-in', ['shipped', 'delivered', 'pending', 'cancelled', 'new', 'processing', 'confirmed', 'refunded', 'returned', 'failed', 'on_hold']).get()

It throws an error. Why?

medium

A. The 'not-in' operator cannot be used with more than 10 values in the list

B. The field 'status' does not exist in the collection

C. The 'not-in' operator is not supported in Firestore

D. The list has more than 20 values, exceeding Firestore limits

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall Firestore limits on 'not-in' queries

   Firestore limits 'not-in' and 'in' queries to a maximum of 10 values in the list.

2. Step 2: Count values in the list

   The list has 11 values, exceeding the 10-value limit for 'not-in' queries.

3. Step 3: Consider other options

   The list has more than 20 values, exceeding Firestore limits is incorrect because the list has 11 values. The 'not-in' operator is not supported in Firestore is wrong because 'not-in' is supported. The field 'status' does not exist in the collection is unrelated to the error.

4. Final Answer:

   The 'not-in' operator cannot be used with more than 10 values in the list -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   'not-in' max 10 values limit causes errors [OK]

Hint: Check list size: 'not-in' max 10 values allowed [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming 'not-in' supports unlimited list size
• Blaming field existence without checking
• Confusing 'not-in' support in Firestore

5.

You want to find all users whose role is neither 'admin' nor 'moderator' nor 'guest'. Which Firestore query is correct?

hard

A. db.collection('users').where('role', '!=', ['admin', 'moderator', 'guest']).get()

B. db.collection('users').where('role', 'in', ['admin', 'moderator', 'guest']).get()

C. db.collection('users').where('role', 'not-in', ['admin', 'moderator', 'guest']).get()

D. db.collection('users').where('role', 'not-in', 'admin,moderator,guest').get()

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the requirement

   You want users whose role is NOT any of the listed roles. This means excluding those roles.

2. Step 2: Choose the correct operator and syntax

   The 'not-in' operator excludes documents with any value in the list. db.collection('users').where('role', 'not-in', ['admin', 'moderator', 'guest']).get() uses correct syntax with a list. db.collection('users').where('role', 'in', ['admin', 'moderator', 'guest']).get() includes only those roles, which is opposite. db.collection('users').where('role', '!=', ['admin', 'moderator', 'guest']).get() uses '!=' which does not accept lists. db.collection('users').where('role', 'not-in', 'admin,moderator,guest').get() uses a string instead of a list, which is invalid.

3. Final Answer:

   db.collection('users').where('role', 'not-in', ['admin', 'moderator', 'guest']).get() -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Use 'not-in' with list to exclude multiple values [OK]

Hint: Use 'not-in' with array to exclude multiple values [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using '!=' with a list instead of a single value
• Passing a string instead of an array for 'not-in'
• Using 'in' instead of 'not-in' for exclusion