# REST API: Population & Field Selection
The REST API by default does not populate any relations, media fields, components, or dynamic zones. It will return all fields for the model and while populating.
✏️ NOTE
Examples in this documentation use the qs library (opens new window) to generate URLs.
# Field selection
Queries can accept a fields parameter to select only some fields. By default, only the following types of fields are returned:
- String (string, text, richtext, enumeration, email, password, and uid)
- Date (date, time, datetime, timestamp)
- Number (integer, biginteger, float, decimal)
- Generic (boolean, array, json)
Field selection does not work on relational, media, component, or dynamic zone fields. To populate these fields, please refer to the population documentation.
Example request: Select only title & body fields
GET /api/users?fields[0]=title&fields[1]=body
const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
fields: ['title', 'body'],
}, {
encodeValuesOnly: true,
});
await request(`/api/users?${query}`);
Example response
{
"data": [
{
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"title": "test1",
"body": "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.",
}
}
],
"meta": {
// ...
}
}
💡 TIP
By default fields are selected except relations, media, dynamic zones, and components; but you can specify a wildcard * instead of an array.
# Population
Queries can accept a populate parameter to populate various field types:
It is also possible to combine population with multiple operators among various other operators to have much more control over the population.
✋ CAUTION
- By default Strapi will not populate any type of fields.
- It's currently not possible to return just an array of IDs. This is something that is currently under discussion
# Relation & Media fields
Queries can accept a populate parameter to explicitly define which fields to populate, with the following syntax option examples.
✋ CAUTION
If the users-permissions plugin is installed, the find permission must be enabled for the content-types that are being populated. If a role doesn't have access to a content-type it will not be populated.
# Populate 1 level for all relations
To populate one-level deep for all relations, use the * wildcard in combination with the populate parameter:
Example request
GET /api/articles?populate=%2A
const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
populate: '*',
}, {
encodeValuesOnly: true,
});
await request(`/api/articles?${query}`);
Example response
{
"data": [
{
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"title": "Test Article",
"slug": "test-article",
"body": "Test 1",
// ...
"headerImage": {
"data": {
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"name": "17520.jpg",
"alternativeText": "17520.jpg",
"formats": {
// ...
},
// ...
}
}
},
"author": {
// ...
},
"categories": {
// ...
}
}
}
],
"meta": {
// ...
}
}
# Populate 1 level: categories
To populate only specific relations one-level deep, use the relation name (e.g. categories) in combination with the populate parameter:
Example request
GET /api/articles?populate[0]=categories
const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
populate: ['categories'],
}, {
encodeValuesOnly: true,
});
await request(`/api/articles?${query}`);
Example response
{
"data": [
{
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"title": "Test Article",
// ...
"categories": {
"data": [
{
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"name": "Food",
// ...
}
}
]
}
}
}
],
"meta": {
// ...
}
}
# Populate 2 levels: author and author.company
To populate specific relations, one or several levels deep, use the LHS bracket notation for fields names in combination with the populate parameter. The qs library (opens new window) is helpful to build complex URLs:
Example request
GET /api/articles?populate[author][populate][0]=company
const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
populate: {
author: {
populate: ['company'],
}
}
}, {
encodeValuesOnly: true,
});
await request(`/api/articles?${query}`);
Example response
{
"data": [
{
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"title": "Test Article",
// ...
"author": {
"data": {
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"name": "Kai Doe",
// ...
"company": {
"data": {
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"name": "Strapi",
// ...
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
],
"meta": {
// ...
}
}
# Component & Dynamic Zones
The population parameter is used to explicitly define which Dynamic zones, components, and nested components to populate.
# Deeply populate a 2 level component & media
Example request
GET /api/articles?populate[0]=seoData&populate[1]=seoData.sharedImage&populate[2]=seoData.sharedImage.media
const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
populate: [
'seoData',
'seoData.sharedImage',
'seoData.sharedImage.media',
],
}, {
encodeValuesOnly: true,
});
await request(`/api/articles?${query}`);
Example response
{
"data": [
{
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"title": "Test Article",
// ...
"seoData": {
"id": 1,
"metaTitle": "Test Article",
// ...
"sharedImage": {
"id": 1,
"alt": "starSky",
"media": {
"data": [
{
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"name": "17520.jpg",
"formats": {
// ...
},
// ...
}
}
]
}
}
}
}
}
],
"meta": {
// ...
}
# Deeply populate a dynamic zone with 2 components
Example request
GET /api/articles?populate[testDZ][populate]=%2A
const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
populate: {
testDZ: {
populate: '*',
},
},
}, {
encodeValuesOnly: true,
});
await request(`/api/articles?${query}`);
Example response
{
"data": [
{
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"testString": "test1",
// ...
"testDZ": [
{
"id": 3,
"__component": "test.test-compo",
"testString": "test1",
"testNestedCompo": {
"id": 3,
"testNestedString": "testNested1"
}
},
{
"id": 1,
"__component": "test.test-compo2",
"testInt": 1
}
]
}
}
],
"meta": {
// ...
}
}
# Combining Population with other operators
By utilizing the population operator it's possible to combine other operators such as field selection & sort & pagination in the population queries. See the following complex population examples:
# Populate with field selection
Example request
GET /api/articles?fields[0]=title&fields[1]=slug&populate[headerImage][fields][0]=name&populate[headerImage][fields][1]=url
const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
fields: ['title', 'slug'],
populate: {
headerImage: {
fields: ['name', 'url'],
},
},
}, {
encodeValuesOnly: true,
});
await request(`/api/articles?${query}`);
Example response
{
"data": [
{
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"title": "Test Article",
"slug": "test-article",
"headerImage": {
"data": {
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"name": "17520.jpg",
"url": "/uploads/17520_73c601c014.jpg"
}
}
}
}
}
],
"meta": {
// ...
}
}
# Populate with filtering
Example request
GET /api/articles?populate[categories][sort][0]=name%3Aasc&populate[categories][filters][name][$eq]=Cars
const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
populate: {
categories: {
sort: ['name:asc'],
filters: {
name: {
$eq: 'Cars',
},
},
},
},
}, {
encodeValuesOnly: true,
});
await request(`/api/articles?${query}`);
Example response
{
"data": [
{
"id": 1,
"attributes": {
"title": "Test Article",
// ...
"categories": {
"data": [
{
"id": 2,
"attributes": {
"name": "Cars",
// ...
}
}
]
}
}
}
],
"meta": {
// ...
}
}