---
title: Querying records From Database
hide_title: true
---
import CopyToClipboardButton from '../../../src/components/copytoclipboardbutton';
# Querying records from database
## What you will learn in this guide
In this guide you will learn how to use the [Query Records](/nodes/data/cloud-data/query-records) node to create powerful database queries to retrieve **Records** from a database. You will also learn how to use the [Repeater](/nodes/ui-controls/repeater) node in combination with a [Record](/nodes/data/cloud-data/record) node to visualize the results of a query.
## Overview
We will go through the following steps in this guide
- Create a simple query
- List results as list items using a **Repeater** node
- Connecting data properties to visual nodes
To get most out of this guide, it's best that you are already familiar with how to set up a cloud backend, create **Classes** and **Records**. You can quickly learn that by going through the following guides:
- [Creating a Backend](/docs/guides/cloud-data/creating-a-backend)
- [Creating a Class](/docs/guides/cloud-data/creating-a-class)
- [Creating Records](/docs/guides/cloud-data/creating-new-database-records)
## What is a "Query"?
In the database world a Query is how you ask a database for a specific subset of records based on some conditions. In the case of Noodl, you ask your **Cloud Service** for all **Records** in a **Class** that fullfills one or more conditions. An example of a query, in words, would be "Give me all **Records** in the **Class** `Task` where the property `isDone` is false".
## Making a Query
First make sure you have started a project with an active Backend with some data available in one or more **Classes**. Following the previous cloud data guides, we will use a **Class** called `Task`, with a bunch of items with the properties `task` - a description of a task, and `isDone` - a boolean value that is either `true` (the task ha been completed) or `false` (the task is not completed yet).
Lets start with an empty project. You can for example use the "Hello World" template and remove the text node. Add a [Repeater](/nodes/ui-controls/repeater/) node as a child to the main **Group**. We will need the **Repeater** later to visualize the results of our query.
Then create a [Query Records](/nodes/data/cloud-data/query-records) node.
First we need to select which **Class** this **Query Records** node should be applied to. You do that by clicking the node and select a **Class** from the Class dropdown. You should expect to see all **Classes** you created in this dropdown. If you for some reason don't see them, you probably havent connected your project to the right cloud service.
Leave the other settings for now. Since we don't add any conditions ("filters" as they are called in Noodl) this query will return all **Records** in the `Task` Class. Or actually not always all, since Noodl will have a default limit on 100 **Records** for a Query, to avoid flooding the network if the **Class** contains a large amount of items. You can change the limit, by checking the `Use Limit` checkbox, but we will not touch that right now.
To get a first look at we get back from the Query, create an [Array](/nodes/data/array/array-node) node to store the results in. Then connect **Items** from the **Query Records** node to the **Items** input on the **Array**. You should immediately see the result of the query if you hover over the connection between the two nodes to see the debug info.
Noodl automatically runs **Query Records** as soon as they are created _unless_ the input signal **Do** is connected. Since queries and the result of queries are sent over network its sometimes important to control exactly when the query should be performed. In those cases connecting the **Do** signal to control when the query is performed is important. However, in this simple example we don't care about that so leaving it unconnected is fine.
## Visualising the query results using a Repeater node
To visualize the results we need to do a little bit of Noodling. We need to create a simple list item that can represent each **Record**.
Create a new visual component by clicking the "+" icon under components and then selecting `Visual Component`. Give the new component a good name, we will call our item "Task Item" as it will represent one task.
In the visual component add two nodes under the existing **Group** node, one [Checkbox](/nodes/ui-controls/checkbox) and one [Text](/nodes/basic-elements/text) node. The **Checkbox** will represent the `isDone` property, while the **Text** node holds the description of the task. Also clean up the layout by setting the **layout** of the **Group** to **Horizontal** and add som padding and margins. Also the label of the **Checkbox** was removed. (You can copy the nodes using the button on the image below and paste them into your project if you want to.)
The looks don't matter right now and if you work with different kind of data your list item will look a little different.
Next we go back to our main App and set the **Template** of the **Repeater** node to use our newly created Task Item.
Finally, we delete the **Array** node we created earlier and feed the result of the query results directly into the **Repeater** node by connecting **Items** in the **Query Records** node to the **Items** input in the **Repeater**.
After the connection is done you should see that your list now contains a bunch of items, in fact, it should contain as many items as your **Class** has.
The **Repeater** node has created one instance of the list item per **Record**.
The only problem is that the items does not show the content of the **Record**. To fix that we need to understand how the **Repeater** node deals with an **Array** of **Records**.
### Repeater and Records
To get the items to show the right data, we need to get hold of the **Record** holding the right data. We do this by using the [Record](/nodes/data/cloud-data/record) node. Add a **Record** node to the previously created list item. Click the node and make sure its **Class** is set to the class you want to display, in this guide we will point it to the `Task` Class.
Now the **Id** of the **Record** comes into play - we need to set it to the **Id** corresponding to the **Record** that the list item represent. It will obviously be different for each list item. Luckily, the **Repeater** node solves this. It will assign the right **Id** to the right list item. See image below.
The only thing we need to do is to tell the **Record** node to pick up its **Id** from the right place. Click the **Record** node again and change the **Id Source** to `From repeater`.
Now if you hover on the **Repeater** you should see that its filled with data for one of the list items.
### Connecting the Record properties
Finally, lets connect the data of the record - its properties - to our **Text** node and **Checkbox**.
You should now be able to see your **Records** in your app.
