Filter Operators Reference¶

This page provides a complete reference for all filtering operators supported by the PAN Config Viewer API.

Operator Summary Table¶

Operator	Aliases	Type	Description
`contains`	-	Text	Substring match (default)
`eq`	`equals`	Any	Exact match
`ne`	`not_equals`	Any	Not equal
`starts_with`	-	Text	Prefix match
`ends_with`	-	Text	Suffix match
`not_contains`	-	Text	Doesn't contain substring
`gt`	`greater_than`	Numeric	Greater than
`lt`	`less_than`	Numeric	Less than
`gte`	`greater_than_or_equal`	Numeric	Greater or equal
`lte`	`less_than_or_equal`	Numeric	Less or equal
`in`	-	List	Value in list
`not_in`	-	List	Value not in list
`regex`	-	Text	Regular expression match
`exists`	-	Any	Field exists (optional fields)

Text Operators¶

contains (default)¶

Checks if the field contains the specified substring. This is the default operator when none is specified.

Syntax:

filter.field.contains=value
filter.field=value  # Same as above (default)

Examples:

# Find addresses with "server" in the name
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.name.contains=server
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.name=server  # Same result

# Find descriptions containing "production"
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.description.contains=production

Use Cases: - Partial name searches - Finding objects with specific keywords - Flexible string matching

eq / equals¶

Performs an exact match comparison.

Syntax:

filter.field.eq=value
filter.field.equals=value  # Alias

Examples:

# Find exact address by name
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.name.eq=web-server-01

# Find addresses of specific type
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.type.equals=fqdn

# Find TCP services
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/services?filter.protocol.equals=tcp

Use Cases: - Looking up specific objects - Filtering by exact enum values - Precise matching requirements

ne / not_equals¶

Excludes items that match the specified value.

Syntax:

filter.field.ne=value
filter.field.not_equals=value  # Alias

Examples:

# Find all non-TCP services
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/services?filter.protocol.ne=tcp

# Exclude specific device group
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.parent_device_group.not_equals=DMZ

# Find all non-disabled rules
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/rules/security?filter.disabled.ne=true

Use Cases: - Exclusion filters - Finding everything except specific values - Negative matching

starts_with¶

Matches values that begin with the specified prefix.

Syntax:

filter.field.starts_with=value

Examples:

# Find all 10.x.x.x addresses
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.ip.starts_with=10.

# Find all addresses starting with "srv-"
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.name.starts_with=srv-

# Find rules in trust zones
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/rules/security?filter.source_zone.starts_with=trust

Use Cases: - IP subnet filtering - Naming convention searches - Prefix-based categorization

ends_with¶

Matches values that end with the specified suffix.

Syntax:

filter.field.ends_with=value

Examples:

# Find all .com domains
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.fqdn.ends_with=.com

# Find all addresses ending with "-prod"
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.name.ends_with=-prod

# Find internal domains
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.fqdn.ends_with=.internal

Use Cases: - Domain filtering - Suffix-based categorization - Environment identification

not_contains¶

Excludes items containing the specified substring.

Syntax:

filter.field.not_contains=value

Examples:

# Find addresses without "test" in name
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.name.not_contains=test

# Exclude deprecated items
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/services?filter.description.not_contains=deprecated

# Find non-temporary rules
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/rules/security?filter.name.not_contains=temp

Use Cases: - Excluding test/temporary objects - Filtering out deprecated items - Negative substring matching

regex¶

Performs regular expression pattern matching.

Syntax:

filter.field.regex=pattern

Examples:

# Find servers with numeric suffix
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.name.regex=^srv-\d+$

# Find IP addresses in specific pattern
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.ip.regex=^10\.1\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}$

# Find rules with specific naming pattern
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/rules/security?filter.name.regex=^(ALLOW|DENY)-.*-[0-9]{4}$

Use Cases: - Complex pattern matching - Validation of naming conventions - Advanced string searches

Numeric Operators¶

gt / greater_than¶

Finds values greater than the specified number.

Syntax:

filter.field.gt=value
filter.field.greater_than=value  # Alias

Examples:

# Find high-port services
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/services?filter.port.gt=1024

# Find device groups with many devices
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/device-groups?filter.devices_count.gt=10

# Find large address groups
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/address-groups?filter.member_count.greater_than=50

lt / less_than¶

Finds values less than the specified number.

Syntax:

filter.field.lt=value
filter.field.less_than=value  # Alias

Examples:

# Find low-port services
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/services?filter.port.lt=1024

# Find small device groups
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/device-groups?filter.devices_count.less_than=5

gte / greater_than_or_equal¶

Finds values greater than or equal to the specified number.

Syntax:

filter.field.gte=value
filter.field.greater_than_or_equal=value  # Alias

Examples:

# Find services on port 8080 and above
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/services?filter.port.gte=8080

# Find device groups with at least 20 addresses
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/device-groups?filter.address_count.gte=20

lte / less_than_or_equal¶

Finds values less than or equal to the specified number.

Syntax:

filter.field.lte=value
filter.field.less_than_or_equal=value  # Alias

Examples:

# Find services on port 9000 and below
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/services?filter.port.lte=9000

# Find device groups with up to 10 devices
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/device-groups?filter.devices_count.lte=10

List Operators¶

in¶

Checks if the field value is in the specified list.

Syntax:

filter.field.in=value1,value2,value3

Examples:

# Find objects with specific tags
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.tag.in=production,staging

# Find rules with specific applications
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/rules/security?filter.application.in=web-browsing,ssl

# Find addresses in specific zones
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/rules/security?filter.source_zone.in=trust,dmz

Use Cases: - Multiple value matching - Tag-based filtering - Category searches

not_in¶

Excludes items where the field value is in the specified list.

Syntax:

filter.field.not_in=value1,value2,value3

Examples:

# Exclude specific tags
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.tag.not_in=test,deprecated

# Exclude untrusted zones
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/rules/security?filter.source_zone.not_in=untrust,internet

# Find non-standard services
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/services?filter.name.not_in=http,https,ssh

Special Operators¶

exists¶

Checks if an optional field exists (is not null).

Syntax:

filter.field.exists=true|false

Examples:

# Find addresses with descriptions
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.description.exists=true

# Find rules without log settings
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/rules/security?filter.log_setting.exists=false

# Find NAT rules with source translation
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/rules/nat?filter.source_translation.exists=true

Operator Compatibility Matrix¶

Field Type	Compatible Operators
String	`contains`, `not_contains`, `eq`, `ne`, `starts_with`, `ends_with`, `regex`, `exists`
Number	`eq`, `ne`, `gt`, `lt`, `gte`, `lte`, `exists`
Boolean	`eq`, `ne`, `exists`
Enum	`eq`, `ne`, `in`, `not_in`, `exists`
Array	`in`, `not_in`, `contains`, `not_contains`, `exists`
Object	`exists`

Case Sensitivity¶

By default, all text comparisons are case-insensitive. This applies to: - contains, not_contains - starts_with, ends_with - eq, ne (for strings) - in, not_in (for strings)

Value Formats¶

String Values¶

No quotes needed: filter.name=server
Spaces are preserved: filter.description=production server
Special characters are URL-encoded: filter.name=server%2D01

Numeric Values¶

Integers: filter.port=80
Can be compared as strings: filter.port=8080
Automatic type conversion: filter.count.gt=10

Boolean Values¶

Use true or false: filter.disabled=true
Case-insensitive: filter.disabled=True

List Values¶

Comma-separated: filter.tag.in=prod,staging,test
No spaces after commas: filter.zone.in=trust,dmz
URL-encode if needed: filter.tag.in=web%2Dserver,db%2Dserver

Regular Expressions¶

Standard regex syntax: filter.name.regex=^srv-\d+$
Escape special characters: filter.ip.regex=10\.0\.0\.\d+
Case-insensitive by default

Performance Tips¶

Fastest operators: eq, ne
Fast operators: starts_with, contains
Moderate operators: ends_with, in, not_in
Slowest operators: regex, complex not_contains

Common Mistakes¶

Wrong Operator for Field Type¶

# ❌ Wrong: Using numeric operator on string field
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.name.gt=100

# ✅ Correct: Use appropriate operator
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.name.contains=server

Missing URL Encoding¶

# ❌ Wrong: Special characters not encoded
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.name=server-01&test

# ✅ Correct: Properly encoded
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.name=server%2D01%26test

Incorrect List Format¶

# ❌ Wrong: Spaces in list
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.tag.in=prod, test, dev

# ✅ Correct: No spaces
GET /api/v1/configs/panorama/addresses?filter.tag.in=prod,test,dev

Filter Operators Reference¶

Operator Summary Table¶

Text Operators¶

contains (default)¶

eq / equals¶

ne / not_equals¶

starts_with¶

ends_with¶

not_contains¶

regex¶

Numeric Operators¶

gt / greater_than¶

lt / less_than¶

gte / greater_than_or_equal¶

lte / less_than_or_equal¶

List Operators¶

in¶

not_in¶

Special Operators¶

exists¶

Operator Compatibility Matrix¶

Case Sensitivity¶

Value Formats¶

String Values¶

Numeric Values¶

Boolean Values¶

List Values¶

Regular Expressions¶

Performance Tips¶

Common Mistakes¶

Wrong Operator for Field Type¶

Missing URL Encoding¶

Incorrect List Format¶

Next Steps¶