SUBSTRINGBEFORE - Query language in Cosmos DB (in Azure and Fabric)

The SUBSTRINGBEFORE function returns the substring before the first occurrence of a delimiter.

An Azure Cosmos DB system function that splits a string at the first delimiter and returns the prefix portion.

Syntax

SUBSTRINGBEFORE(<string_expr_1>, <string_expr_2>)

Arguments

Return types

Returns a string expression.

Examples

This section contains examples of how to use this query language construct.

Get the text before the first delimiter

In this example, the SUBSTRINGBEFORE function returns the portion before the first | character.

SELECT VALUE {
  prefix: SUBSTRINGBEFORE("contoso|north|2026", "|"),
  firstSegment: SUBSTRINGBEFORE("a/b/c", "/")
}

[
  {
    "prefix": "contoso",
    "firstSegment": "a"
  }
]

Get the text before a string delimiter

In this example, the SUBSTRINGBEFORE function returns the portion before the first :: delimiter.

SELECT VALUE {
  category: SUBSTRINGBEFORE("bike::touring::frame", "::")
}

[
  {
    "category": "bike"
  }
]

Remarks

• This function doesn't use the index.

Related content

• String functions
• SUBSTRING
• SUBSTRINGAFTER