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$select

The $select query option specifies which properties to include in the response. This is useful for reducing payload size and improving performance by only returning the data you need.

Basic Usage​

GET /users?$select=id,name,email

Returns only the id, name, and email fields for each user.

Syntax​

$select=field1,field2,field3

Multiple fields are separated by commas.

Examples​

Select Single Field​

GET /products?$select=name

Response:

{
  "@odata.context": "Product",
  "value": [{ "name": "Laptop" }, { "name": "Phone" }, { "name": "Tablet" }]
}

Select Multiple Fields​

GET /users?$select=id,firstName,lastName,email

Response:

{
  "@odata.context": "User",
  "value": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "firstName": "John",
      "lastName": "Doe",
      "email": "john@example.com"
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "firstName": "Jane",
      "lastName": "Smith",
      "email": "jane@example.com"
    }
  ]
}

Select All Fields (Default)​

When $select is not specified, all fields are returned:

GET /users

Combining with Other Query Options​

With $filter​

GET /users?$select=id,name,email&$filter=age gt 18

Returns only id, name, and email for users older than 18.

With $orderby​

GET /products?$select=name,price&$orderby=price desc

Returns name and price, sorted by price descending.

With $expand​

GET /orders?$select=id,orderDate&$expand=items($select=productName,quantity)

Returns order id and orderDate, with expanded items showing only productName and quantity.

With $top and $skip​

GET /users?$select=id,name&$top=10&$skip=20

Returns id and name for 10 users, skipping the first 20.

Best Practices​

  1. Always use $select in production - Reduces payload size and improves performance
  2. Select only what you need - Avoid selecting unnecessary fields
  3. Use with $expand - Apply $select to expanded entities to minimize nested data
// Good - only fetch needed fields
GET / users ? $select = id, name, email;

// Avoid - fetching all fields when only a few are needed
GET / users;

Notes​

  • Field names are case-sensitive and must match your model property names
  • Invalid field names will result in an error
  • The $select option applies to the main entity; use nested $select within $expand for related entities