SHMARQL

The query editor

The query editor at /query is the place to try SPARQL. It has a code editor with syntax highlighting, a box to choose the profile, and a results table.

Running a query

  1. Choose the profile to query. Start typing its name or title and pick it from the list. The box shows the address the query goes to (/sparql/<key>).
  2. Type or paste a query.
  3. Press Run query, or Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter on a Mac).

The status line shows the number of rows and how long the query took.

Try it with the Wikidata profile:

# Paintings by Johannes Vermeer, oldest first
SELECT ?painting ?paintingLabel ?year WHERE {
  ?painting wdt:P170 wd:Q41264 ;
            wdt:P31 wd:Q3305213 .
  OPTIONAL { ?painting wdt:P571 ?date . BIND(YEAR(?date) AS ?year) }
  SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en". }
}
ORDER BY ?year

Reading the results

  • SELECT queries give a table. IRIs are links to the entity viewer, in the same profile. Long values are shortened; hover to see all of it. Language tags are shown after the text (for example @en).
  • ASK queries show true or false.
  • CONSTRUCT and DESCRIBE queries show the returned RDF as text.
  • Errors from the endpoint (a syntax error, a timeout) appear in red, with the HTTP status.

Sharing a query

The address in the browser's address bar always contains the current query and profile, for example:

/query?profile=479c34c9a197&query=SELECT%20...

Copy it to share the query, or put it in a link. Without profile, the default profile is used. The ▶ links on SPARQL examples in the documentation work the same way.

More examples to try

How many paintings Wikidata has for five painters of the Dutch Golden Age:

SELECT ?painter ?painterLabel ?paintings WHERE {
  {
    SELECT ?painter (COUNT(?painting) AS ?paintings) WHERE {
      VALUES ?painter { wd:Q5598 wd:Q41264 wd:Q167654 wd:Q205863 wd:Q314889 }
      ?painting wdt:P170 ?painter ; wdt:P31 wd:Q3305213 .
    }
    GROUP BY ?painter
  }
  SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en". }
}
ORDER BY DESC(?paintings)

Does the Rijksmuseum have a painting by Vermeer?

ASK { ?painting wdt:P170 wd:Q41264 ; wdt:P195 wd:Q190804 . }

Everything Wikidata says about The Night Watch, as RDF:

CONSTRUCT { wd:Q219831 ?p ?o } WHERE { wd:Q219831 ?p ?o }