About querying

This section provides general information about querying using the REST API.

Overview

Data from the query is returned in the JSON format unless specified otherwise in the individual reference. You can specify a supported data format with an ACCEPT header.

A GET request that returns a large amount of data can stress the database server and cause performance degradation for all users.

Minimizing the load

Here are some ways to minimize the load of a GET request.

Specify how the returned data are paged. See Page data (limit, offset, total_count).
Retrieve only the fields you need by using a fields clause. See Select fields (fields)

Filter the instances to be returned with a query clause. See Query.

Tip: You can set the order in which resources are returned. See Sort results (order_by).