---
schema_version: "1"
id: 4dfb48faaf38607bfff4adc8790104b641d4f65c7386ef32ceada8c56d887c3c
title: data query
collection: developer
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/developer/current/en-us/salesforcedx/sfclireference/guides/data/cli_reference_data_query.md
canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-cli-reference/guide/cli_reference_data_query.html
source_site: developer.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: aa8897acd6681b1822357d425567780e390d7715dcaeb928ad70e7347c8b06f0
products:
- Salesforce CLI Command Reference
- salesforcedx
---
# data query
Execute a SOQL query.
## Description for data query
Specify the SOQL query at the command line with the --query flag or read the query from a file with the --file flag.
If your query returns more than 10,000 records, prefer to use the `sf data export bulk` command instead. It runs the query using Bulk API 2.0, which has higher limits than the default API used by the command.
## Aliases for data query
`force:data:soql:query`
## Flags
| Flag Name (Long) | Flag Name (Short) | Description |
|------------------|-------------------|-------------|
| ‑‑all‑rows | N/A | **Type:** Boolean
Include deleted records. By default, deleted records are not returned. |
| ‑‑api‑version | N/A | **Type:** Value
Override the api version used for api requests made by this command |
| ‑‑file | ‑f | **Type:** Value
File that contains the SOQL query. |
| ‑‑flags‑dir | N/A | **Type:** Value
Import flag values from a directory. |
| ‑‑json | N/A | **Type:** Boolean
Format output as json. |
| ‑‑output‑file | N/A | **Type:** Value
File where records are written; only CSV and JSON output formats are supported. |
| ‑‑query | ‑q | **Type:** Value
SOQL query to execute. |
| ‑‑result‑format | ‑r | **Type:** Value
**Valid Values:** `human`, `csv`, `json`
**Default value:** `human`
Format to display the results; the --json flag overrides this flag. |
| ‑‑target‑org | ‑o | **Type:** Value
**Required**
Username or alias of the target org. Not required if the `target-org` configuration variable is already set. |
| ‑‑use‑tooling‑api | ‑t | **Type:** Boolean
Use Tooling API so you can run queries on Tooling API objects. |
## Examples for data query
Specify a SOQL query at the command line; the command uses your default org:
```shell
sf data query --query "SELECT Id, Name, Account.Name FROM Contact"
```
Read the SOQL query from a file called "query.txt" and write the CSV-formatted output to a file; the command uses the org with alias "my-scratch":
```shell
sf data query --file query.txt --output-file output.csv --result-format csv --target-org my-scratch
```
Use Tooling API to run a query on the ApexTrigger Tooling API object:
```shell
sf data query --query "SELECT Name FROM ApexTrigger" --use-tooling-api
```