Api Filtering Sorting

What it does

This skill enables AI agents to build flexible filtering and sorting systems for API endpoints, allowing them to handle complex queries efficiently. It provides guidance on constructing query parameters and implementing backend logic (using Node.js as an example) to process these requests securely and effectively. The system supports a range of operators for filtering data based on various criteria.

When to use it

• When building APIs that require users to filter and sort data.
• To implement secure and efficient API endpoints that prevent injection vulnerabilities.
• For scenarios where complex queries need to be handled without impacting performance.
• When you want to provide a standardized way for agents to request specific subsets of data from an API.

Key capabilities

• Query Parameter Syntax: Supports GET requests with parameters like /products?category=electronics&price[gte]=100&price[lte]=500&sort=-price,name.
• Filter Parsing: Parses query parameters to extract filter criteria and operator types (eq, ne, gt/gte, lt/lte, in, like).
• Sort Parsing: Parses sort parameters, handling ascending and descending order.
• Whitelist Enforcement: Allows only pre-defined fields for filtering and sorting.
• Input Validation: Validates data types of filter values (e.g., converting strings to numbers or booleans).

Example prompts

• "Generate a Node.js API endpoint that filters products by category 'electronics' and price between 100 and 500, sorted by price descending then name."
• "Show me how to implement filtering for the 'status' field using the 'ne' (not equals) operator in my API."
• “What’s the recommended syntax for sorting products alphabetically?”

Tips & gotchas

• The skill provides a Node.js implementation example, but the concepts are applicable to other backend languages.
• Security is paramount: always whitelist allowed filter fields and validate input types to prevent vulnerabilities.
• Performance can be improved by indexing frequently filtered columns in your database.