# Querying

This page compares ToriiDB's three scan operations and covers key globbing with `KEYS` and how results are limited and ordered.

## Scan Operations

| Operation | Matches against | Result items | Ordering |
|---|---|---|---|
| `Keys(pattern)` | Top-level key names | key | Lexicographic |
| `Find(op, value, limit)` | Entire raw value | key | Newest first |
| `Query(filter, limit)` | Fields of JSON documents | `key: rawValue` | Newest first |

All three hold the database read lock and skip expired entries and `__torii:*` keys.

## KEYS

```text
KEYS *
KEYS user:*
KEYS cache:?
```

Patterns use Go `path.Match` (`*`, `?`, `[...]`). An invalid pattern matches nothing. Dot notation is not interpreted.

The daemon's `keys` op adds paging and the `entries` op adds substring and time filters; see [Socket Daemon](/socket-daemon-filtering).

## Limits and Ordering

`FIND` and `QUERY` sort by `UpdatedAt` (or `CreatedAt` when unset) descending, then by result text. A trailing `LIMIT <n>` with `n > 0` truncates after sorting; otherwise all matches are returned. More than 1024 keys are scanned in parallel blocks of 1024 and merged before sorting.

## Related Pages

- [Operators and FIND](/querying-operators)
- [QUERY Expressions](/querying-query)
- [Server-Side Filtering](/socket-daemon-filtering)