Filter queries restrict the data included (or excluded) in your report. A filter will test each value of your report: if the filter matches, the row is kept otherwise it's discarded.

Below we explain how to use the filter query syntax. If you have more in-depth questions, we recommend the official Google Analytics filter query syntax reference.

Filter syntax

name operator expression

name - the name of the dimension or metric to filter on. For example, ga:pageviews filters on the pageviews metric.
operator - the comparison (greater than, less than, equals, etc) to match ga:name. There are different operators for dimensions (words) or metrics (numbers).
expression - the number, to match against the metric or phrase to match against the dimension.

Filter syntax: name

You can use the Dimensions and Metrics Reference to find the ga:name for any dimension or metric.

The ga:name is the ID of a dimension or metric. For example, ga:pageview, ga:bounceRate, or ga:pagePath.

Filter syntax: metric operators

                         Metric Operators

Operator  Description           Example
----------------------------------------------------------------------

==        Equals                ga:timeOnPage==10

                                Return results where the time on 
                                the page is exactly ten seconds
                                    

!=        Does not equal        ga:timeOnPage!=10

                                Return results where the time on
                                the page is not ten seconds
                                    

>         Greater than          ga:timeOnPage>10

                                Return results where the time on 
                                the page is strictly greater than 
                                ten seconds
                                    

<         Less than             ga:timeOnPage<10

                                Return results where the time on 
                                the page is strictly less than ten
                                seconds
                                    

>=        Greater than or       ga:timeOnPage>=10
          equal to
                                Return results where the time on 
                                the page is ten seconds or more
                                    

<=        Less than or          ga:timeOnPage<=10
          equal to
                                Return results where the time on 
                                the page is ten seconds or less

Filter syntax: dimension operators

                         Dimensions Operators

Operator  Description           Example
----------------------------------------------------------------------

==        Exact match           ga:city==Irvine

                                Aggregate metrics where the city
                                is Irvine


!=        Does not match        ga:city!=Irvine

                                Aggregate metrics where the city
                                is not Irvine


=@        Contains substring    ga:city=@York

                                Aggregate metrics where the city
                                contains York


!@        Does not contain      ga:city!@York
          substring
                                Aggregate metrics where the city
                                does not contain York


=~        Contains a match      ga:city=~^New.*
          for the regular
          expression            Aggregate metrics where the city
                                starts with New
                                    

!~        Does not match        ga:city!~^New.*
          regular expression
                                Aggregate metrics where the city
                                does not start with New

Filter syntax: expressions

There are a couple of rules that you will want to keep in mind:

Semicolons: must be escaped with a backslash, like this \;
Commas: must be escaped with a backslash, like this \,
Regular expressions: always case-insensitive and cannot be longer than 128 characters

Filter syntax: combining filters

You can combine filters using OR and AND boolean logic.

Filter syntax: combining filters using `OR`

The OR operator is defined using a comma (,).

A few examples are:

Country is either United States OR Canada
ga:country==United%20States,ga:country==Canada

Firefox users on Windows OR Macintosh operating systems
ga:browser==Firefox;ga:operatingSystem==Windows,ga:operatingSystem==Macintosh

Filter syntax: combining filters using `AND`

The AND operator is defined using a semi-colon (;).

A few examples are:

Country is United States AND the browser is Firefox
ga:country==United%20States;ga:browser==Firefox

Operating system is (Windows OR Macintosh) AND browser is (Firefox OR Chrome)
ga:operatingSystem==Windows,ga:operatingSystem==Macintosh;ga:browser==Firefox,ga:browser==Chrome

Country is United States AND sessions are greater than 5
ga:country==United%20States;ga:sessions>5

Complete reference

Please visit the official Google Analytics filter query syntax reference for more details.

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Filter query syntax reference