Search Syntax Reference

SureDone uses a unified search syntax across the entire platform -- the same query language works in the UI, API, bulk exports, and automation engine. This reference covers the syntax as it applies to automations, where search is used in search, vendor_actions, suredone_actions, and order_update_search.

Basic Syntax

The general format for a search term is:

field:operatorvalue

Where field is a SureDone field name, operator is a comparison operator, and value is the value to compare against.

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Operators

Operator	Syntax	Description	Example
Equals	field:=value	Exact match	brand:=Nike
Not equals	field:-=value or field:!=value	Does not equal	status:-=draft
Greater than	field:>value	Strictly greater	price:>100
Greater than or equal	field:>=value	Greater or equal	stock:>=10
Less than	field:<value	Strictly less	weight:<5
Less than or equal	field:<=value	Less or equal	cost:<=50
Contains (LIKE)	field:value	Contains substring	title:camera
Not contains	field:-value	Does not contain	description:-discontinued
Is empty	field:=	Field is empty or null	upc:=
Is not empty	field:-= or field:!=	Field has any value	price:-=

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Boolean Logic

AND (Space-Separated)

Multiple conditions separated by spaces are combined with AND. All conditions must match.

stock:>0 condition:=New brand:=Acme

Matches items where stock > 0 AND condition is "New" AND brand is "Acme".

OR (Parentheses)

Conditions inside parentheses are combined with OR. Any condition can match.

(brand:=Nike brand:=Adidas brand:=Puma)

Matches items where brand is "Nike" OR "Adidas" OR "Puma".

Combining AND and OR

stock:>0 (brand:=Nike brand:=Adidas) condition:=New

Matches items where stock > 0 AND (brand is "Nike" OR "Adidas") AND condition is "New".

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Wildcards and Matching

Syntax	Behavior	Example
field:value	Contains (auto-wrapped with %value%)	title:widget
field:value%	Starts with	sku:ABC%
field:%value	Ends with	sku:%001
field:^value	Starts with (alternative)	sku:^ABC
field:value$	Ends with (alternative)	sku:001$
field:"exact phrase"	Exact phrase match	title:"Digital Camera"
field:*exact phrase*	Exact phrase match (alternative)	title:*Digital Camera*

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Special Values

Value	Description	Example
Empty after =	Field is empty/null	upc:=
Empty after -=	Field is not empty	upc:-=
Numeric values	Compared numerically for >, <, >=, <=	price:>19.99
Date strings	Parseable date for date fields	dateutc:>2024-01-01

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Field-to-Field Comparisons

When the value exactly matches another field name, the system compares the two fields against each other.

Example	Description
price:>cost	Items where price is greater than cost
saleprice:!=price	Items where sale price differs from regular price
stock:<reorderpoint	Items where stock is below reorder point

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Where Search Is Used in Automations

Location	Purpose	Applies To
file_configs[].search	Filter which items/orders are imported or exported	Products, Orders
vendor_actions[].search	Conditionally apply actions based on vendor item values	Products, Orders
suredone_actions[].search	Conditionally apply actions based on SureDone item values	Products, Orders
order_update_search	Only perform order/item updates when search matches	Orders

search in file_configs

For imports: only items/orders matching the search will be processed (created, updated, or removed). Non-matching items are ignored.

For exports: only items/orders matching the search will be included in the export file or API call.

"file_configs": [
  {
    "search": "stock:>0 condition:=New",
    "field_map": { "..." : "..." }
  }
]

search in actions

The search key within vendor_actions or suredone_actions determines whether the action functions in that block are applied to the current item. If the search matches, all functions in the same object execute.

"vendor_actions": [
  {
    "search": "vendorstock:=\"Out of Stock\"",
    "setValue": {"stock": 0}
  }
]

When search is omitted from an action block, the functions apply to every item.

order_update_search

Filters which orders receive the updates defined in order_update_export.

"order_update_search": "status:=approved",
"order_update_export": {
  "status": "exported"
}

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Date Filtering for Orders

Orders support dedicated date range fields in addition to search:

Field	Description	Example
orders_start_date	Export orders created after this date	"2024-01-01"
orders_end_date	Export orders created before this date	"2024-12-31"

"file_configs": [
  {
    "search": "status:=approved",
    "orders_start_date": "-7 days",
    "orders_end_date": "now"
  }
]

These accept any valid date/time string parseable by PHP's strtotime(), including relative dates like "-7 days", "-1 month", and "now".

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Common Search Examples

Products

Use Case	Search String
Active products with stock	stock:>0 status:=active
Specific brands (OR)	(brand:=Nike brand:=Adidas)
Products with a price set	price:-=
Products without a UPC	upc:=
High-value items	price:>=100
Title contains keyword	title:widget
SKU starts with prefix	sku:^ACME
Products needing restock	stock:<5
Specific condition, any brand in list	condition:=New (brand:=Nike brand:=Puma)
Exclude discontinued	status:-=discontinued

Orders

Use Case	Search String
Approved orders	status:=approved
Orders without tracking	shiptracking:=
Orders by payment method	payment:=PayPal
Shipped orders	status:=shipped
Orders from specific channel	channel:=ebay

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Tips

• All field names in search must use SureDone field names (the left side of field_map), not vendor field names.
• Fields used in search within actions must be mapped in field_map or field_run.
• Exact string matches with special characters should be quoted: title:="Widget (Blue)".
• Commas are stripped from numeric values before comparison.
• All string matching is case-insensitive -- brand:=Nike will match "nike", "NIKE", etc.
• The search field in file_configs overwrites any filters array on the same config -- do not use both.

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