How to filter SwiftData results with predicates
How to filter SwiftData results with predicates êŽë š
Updated for Xcode 15
SwiftDataâs #Predicate macro lets us filter a wide variety of operations: data loaded through @Query, custom FetchDescriptor configurations, and also deleting lots of model objects using delete(model:) on a model context. All work in exactly the same way: weâre given one object of our model type, and need to return true or false depending on whether that object should be in the final results.
For example, if we had Movie and Director models, we could load all movies directed by Ridley Scott like this:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.director.name == "Ridley Scott"
}) var movies: [Movie]
Note
#Predicate works almost identically in each of those three cases, so although the examples given here use @Query they are almost identical elsewhere. The only actual difference is that @Query sometimes struggles to get type inference correct, so we need to specify #Predicate<SomeModelType> explicitly there.
There are a handful of important things to know about using #Predicate.
First, itâs a macro that converts your Swift code into a serious of PredicateExpressions objects. This means your predicate is checked at compile time for type safety, unlike the older NSPredicate from Core Data.
This means what looks like pure Swift code is in fact being evaluated and converted into something else entirely â something that SwiftData can ultimately convert to SQL to run with its queries.
This process isnât perfect. Some things that are type-safe will crash at runtime, sometimes youâll find two almost identical predicates will behave differently, and many things just arenât supported.
We can use predicates to filter strings using contains(), so this would return all three Back to the Future movies:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.name.starts(with: "Back to the Future")
}) var movies: [Movie]
Tips
starts(with:) is supported in predicates, but hasPrefix() and hasSuffix() are not.
String comparisons such as starts(with:) and contains() are case-sensitive. If you try using movie.name.uppercased() youâll find uppercased() (and lowercased()) arenât supported in predicates, and if you try using movie.name.localizedUppercase that does compile but then crashes at runtime.
Instead, you should perform a case-insensitive case search like this:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.name.localizedStandardContains("JAWS")
}) var movies: [Movie]
You can create predicates that depend on relationships, for example showing only movies with a small cast:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.cast.count > 10
}) var movies: [Movie]
However, again here you need to be careful. This will work:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.cast.isEmpty
}) var movies: [Movie]
But this will cause a crash at runtime:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.cast.isEmpty == false
}) var movies: [Movie]
Cunningly, this will actually build and run correctly:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
!movie.cast.isEmpty
}) var movies: [Movie]
Yes, thatâs the same as writing movie.cast.isEmpty == false, but because it gets built differently by the #Predicate macro the result is a valid predicate.
If you need more complex logic, you can nest if conditions to a degree. For example, if we wanted to show all Steven Spielberg movies that cost more than $100,000,000 to make, we could use this predicate:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
if movie.director.name.contains("Steven") {
if movie.cost > 100_000_000 {
return true
} else {
return false
}
} else {
return false
}
}) var movies: [Movie]
However, we canât simplify that code to have a single return false, because predicates must be made up of a single expression. So this kind of code wonât compile:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
if movie.director.name.contains("Steven") {
if movie.cost > 100_000_000 {
return true
}
}
return false
}) var movies: [Movie]
Instead, we need to use Boolean operators such as AND (&&) and OR (||) to phrase our conditions in a single expression, like this:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.director.name.contains("Steven") && movie.cost > 100_000_000
}) var movies: [Movie]
You can also use a subset of relationship-querying methods. For example, if you wanted to avoid movies with Tom Cruise you would use this:
!movie.cast.contains { $0.name == "Tom Cruise" }
Again, using == false rather than ! will crash at runtime.
This also works if you want to refer to properties from the parent object. For example, this finds all movies where the director is also one of the acting cast:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.cast.contains { $0.name == movie.director.name }
}) var directorsWhoActMovies: [Movie]
Or you can use filter(), for example to search for movies that contain at least three child actors:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.cast.filter { $0.age < 18 }.count >= 3
}) var movies: [Movie]
However, Iâve found that attempting to read any deeper properties inside these relationship-querying methods will fail. For example, looking for movies where everyone has relatively short names will always silently fail even when there is matching data:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.cast.allSatisfy { $0.name.count <= 10 }
}) var movies: [Movie]
Or making a predicate to find movies where no cast member has been in more than three movies â this will also fail, except it will do so loudly with a full crash:
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.cast.filter { $0.movies.count > 3 }.isEmpty
}) var movies: [Movie]
One last thing to be aware of is that when youâre using @Query youâll find it difficult to refer to external values.
For example, if you want to look for movies that havenât been released yet, you need to be able to compare against Date.now. However, we canât create predicates that rely on external values, so we need to create a local copy of Date.now in order for it to be converted correctly:
static var now: Date { Date.now }
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Movie> { movie in
movie.releaseDate > now
}) var unreleasedMovies: [Movie]
If youâre using FetchDescriptor or delete(model:), just creating a local copy using let now = Date.now is enough.
