Advanced

The advanced query builder at openalex.org lets you build complex queries visually, without writing code. Where basic search covers the common cases, the advanced builder lets you combine filters, group them, and express conditions that don’t fit the point-and-click model.

How it works

You assemble a query by adding filter clauses and combining them with and / or, grouping with parentheses as needed. As you build, the builder shows you the query in OQL, the OpenAlex Query Language — so what you build always looks like a valid OQL query, and you can flip between the point-and-click builder and the OQL text.

Builder and OQL

The builder and OQL are two views of the same underlying query, but they don’t cover exactly the same ground. The builder always produces valid OQL — but the reverse isn’t true: not all valid OQL can be expressed as an advanced-builder shape. The builder covers the common shapes; some queries you can write in OQL by hand don’t have a builder representation.

So the two work together: use the builder for the shapes it covers, and drop into the OQL text when you need the full range. If you want the simpler no-code path instead, go back to basic.