openCypher in GSQL

openCypher is a popular open-source declarative query language for property graphs. More about openCypher can be found at openCypher.org.

TigerGraph supports the majority of openCypher features, embedded within its native GSQL language. This page lists the features currently supported and features not yet supported .

It also describes how the different schema models in OpenCypher vs. GSQL affect some queries.

From version 4.1.2, certain restrictions on the MATCH and WITH clauses have been eliminated.

openCypher Features in GSQL

Clauses

Clause	Description
DELETE	Delete graph elements — nodes and relationships. Any node to be deleted must also have all associated relationships explicitly deleted.
DETACH DELETE	Writing Delete a node or set of nodes. All associated relationships will automatically be deleted.
LIMIT	Reading sub-clause A sub-clause used to constrain the number of records in the output.
MATCH	Reading Specify the patterns to search for in the database. See below for restrictions before version 4.1.2.
MANDATORY MATCH	Reading Specify the patterns to search for in the database, and fail if no match is found.
OPTIONAL MATCH	Reading Specify the patterns to search for in the database while using nulls for missing parts of the pattern.
ORDER BY [ASC[ENDING] DESC[ENDING]]	Reading sub-clause A sub-clause following
RETURN or WITH	Specifying that the output should be sorted in either ascending (the default) or descending order.
RETURN … [AS]	Projecting Defines what to include in the query result set.
SKIP	Reading/Writing A sub-clause defining from which record to start including the records in the output.
WHERE	Reading sub-clause A sub-clause used to add constraints to the patterns in a MATCH clause, or to filter the results of a WITH clause.
WITH … [AS]	Projecting Allows query parts to be chained together, piping the results from one to be used as starting points or criteria in the next. See below for restrictions before version 4.1.2.

Clause

Description

DELETE

Delete graph elements — nodes and relationships.

Any node to be deleted must also have all associated relationships explicitly deleted.

DETACH DELETE

Writing Delete a node or set of nodes.

All associated relationships will automatically be deleted.

LIMIT

Reading sub-clause A sub-clause used to constrain the number of records in the output.

MATCH

Reading Specify the patterns to search for in the database.

See below for restrictions before version 4.1.2.

MANDATORY MATCH

Reading Specify the patterns to search for in the database, and fail if no match is found.

OPTIONAL MATCH

Reading Specify the patterns to search for in the database while using nulls for missing parts of the pattern.

ORDER BY [ASC[ENDING] DESC[ENDING]]

Reading sub-clause A sub-clause following

RETURN or WITH

Specifying that the output should be sorted in either ascending (the default) or descending order.

RETURN … [AS]

Projecting Defines what to include in the query result set.

SKIP

Reading/Writing A sub-clause defining from which record to start including the records in the output.

WHERE

Reading sub-clause A sub-clause used to add constraints to the patterns in a MATCH clause, or to filter the results of a WITH clause.

WITH … [AS]

Projecting Allows query parts to be chained together, piping the results from one to be used as starting points or criteria in the next.

See below for restrictions before version 4.1.2.

Operators

Operator	Description
%	Mathematical Modulo division
*	Mathematical Multiplication
+	Mathematical Addition
+	String Concatenation
+	List Concatenation
-	Mathematical Subtraction or unary minus
.	General Property access
/	Mathematical Division
<	Comparison Less than
< =	Comparison Less than or equal to
<>	Comparison Inequality
=	Comparison Equality
>	Comparison Greater than
>=	Comparison Greater than or equal to
AND	Boolean Conjunction
CONTAINS	String comparison Case-sensitive inclusion search
DISTINCT	General Duplicate removal
ENDS WITH	String comparison Case-sensitive suffix search
IN List	List element existence check
IS NOT NULL	Comparison Non-null check
IS NULL	Comparison null check
NOT	Boolean Negation
OR	Boolean Disjunction
STARTS WITH	String comparison Case-sensitive prefix search
XOR	Boolean Exclusive disjunction
[ ]	General Subscript (dynamic property access)
[ ]	List Subscript (accessing element(s) in a list)
^	Mathematical Exponentiation

Operator

Description

Mathematical Modulo division

Mathematical Multiplication

Mathematical Addition

String Concatenation

List Concatenation

Mathematical Subtraction or unary minus

General Property access

Mathematical Division

Comparison Less than

< =

Comparison Less than or equal to

Comparison Inequality

Comparison Equality

Comparison Greater than

Comparison Greater than or equal to

AND

Boolean Conjunction

CONTAINS

String comparison Case-sensitive inclusion search

DISTINCT

General Duplicate removal

ENDS WITH

String comparison Case-sensitive suffix search

IN List

List element existence check

IS NOT NULL

Comparison Non-null check

IS NULL

Comparison null check

NOT

Boolean Negation

Boolean Disjunction

STARTS WITH

String comparison Case-sensitive prefix search

XOR

Boolean Exclusive disjunction

[ ]

General Subscript (dynamic property access)

[ ]

List Subscript (accessing element(s) in a list)

Mathematical Exponentiation

Functions

Operator	Value type	Description
abs()	Numeric	Returns the absolute value of a number.
acos()	Numeric	Returns the arccosine of a number in radians.
asin()	Numeric	Returns the arcsine of a number in radians.
atan()	Numeric	Returns the arctangent of a number in radians.
atan2()	Numeric	Returns the arctangent2 of a set of coordinates in radians.
avg()	Numeric	Returns the average of a set of numeric values.
ceil()	Numeric	eturns the smallest floating point number that is greater than or equal to a number and equal to a mathematical integer.
coalesce()	Scalar	Returns the first non-null value in a list of expressions.
cos()	Numeric	Returns the cosine of a number.
cot()	Numeric	Returns the cotangent of a number.
count()	Numeric	Returns the number of values or records.
degrees()	Numeric	Converts radians to degrees.
e()	Numeric	Returns the base of the natural logarithm, e.
elementId()	Scalar	Returns the String id of a relationship or node.
exp()	Numeric	Returns e^n, where e is the base of the natural logarithm, and n is the value of the argument expression.
floor()	Numeric	Returns the largest floating point number that is less than or equal to a number and equal to a mathematical integer.
head()	Scalar	Returns the first element in a list.
id()	Scalar	Returns the id of a relationship or node.
labels()	List	Returns a list containing the string representations for all the labels of a node.
last()	Scalar	Returns the last element in a list.
left()	String	Returns a string containing the specified number of leftmost characters of the original string.
log()	Numeric	Returns the natural logarithm of a number.
log10()	Numeric	Returns the common logarithm (base 10) of a number.
lTrim()	String	Returns the original string with leading whitespace removed.
max()	Numeric	Returns the maximum value in a set of values.
min()	Numeric	Returns the minimum value in a set of values.
pi()	Numeric	Returns the mathematical constant pi.
radians()	Numeric	Converts degrees to radians.
rand()	Numeric	Returns a random floating point number in the range from 0 (inclusive) to 1 (exclusive); i.e. [0, 1).
range()	List	Returns a list comprising all integer values within a specified range.
replace()	String	Returns a string in which all occurrences of a specified string in the original string have been replaced by another (specified) string.
reverse()	String	Returns a string in which the order of all characters in the original string have been reversed.
right()	String	Returns a string containing the specified number of rightmost characters of the original string.
round()	Numeric	Returns the value of a number rounded to the nearest integer.
rTrim()	String	Returns the original string with trailing whitespace removed.
sign()	Numeric	Returns the signum of a number: 0 if the number is 0, -1 for any negative number, and 1 for any positive number.
sin()	Numeric	Returns the sine of a number.
size()	Numeric	Returns the number of items in a list. (When applied to a list)
split()	List	Returns a list of strings resulting from the splitting of the original string around matches of the given delimiter.
sqrt()	Numeric	Returns the square root of a number.
stDev()	Numeric	Returns the standard deviation for the given value over a group for a sample of a population.
stDevP()	Numeric	Returns the standard deviation for the given value over a group for an entire population
substring()	String	Returns a substring of the original string, beginning with a 0-based index start and length.
sum()	Numeric	Returns the sum of a set of numeric values.
tail()	List	Returns all but the first element in a list.
tan()	Numeric	Returns the tangent of a number.
timestamp()	Scalar	Returns the difference, measured in milliseconds, between the current time and midnight, January 1, 1970 UTC.
trim()	String	Returns the original string with leading and trailing whitespace removed.
toLower()	String	Returns the original string in lowercase.
toString()	String	Converts an integer, float or boolean value to a string.
toUpper()	String	Returns the original string in uppercase.
toBoolean()	Scalar	Converts a string value to a boolean value.
toFloat()	Scalar	Converts an integer or string value to a floating point number.
toInteger()	Scalar	Converts a floating point or string value to an integer value.
type()	Scalar	Returns the string representation of the relationship type.

Operator

Value type

Description

abs()

Numeric

Returns the absolute value of a number.

acos()

Numeric

Returns the arccosine of a number in radians.

asin()

Numeric

Returns the arcsine of a number in radians.

atan()

Numeric

Returns the arctangent of a number in radians.

atan2()

Numeric

Returns the arctangent2 of a set of coordinates in radians.

avg()

Numeric

Returns the average of a set of numeric values.

ceil()

Numeric

eturns the smallest floating point number that is greater than or equal to a number and equal to a mathematical integer.

coalesce()

Scalar

Returns the first non-null value in a list of expressions.

cos()

Numeric

Returns the cosine of a number.

cot()

Numeric

Returns the cotangent of a number.

count()

Numeric

Returns the number of values or records.

degrees()

Numeric

Converts radians to degrees.

e()

Numeric

Returns the base of the natural logarithm, e.

elementId()

Scalar

Returns the String id of a relationship or node.

exp()

Numeric

Returns e^n, where e is the base of the natural logarithm, and n is the value of the argument expression.

floor()

Numeric

Returns the largest floating point number that is less than or equal to a number and equal to a mathematical integer.

head()

Scalar

Returns the first element in a list.

id()

Scalar

Returns the id of a relationship or node.

labels()

List

Returns a list containing the string representations for all the labels of a node.

last()

Scalar

Returns the last element in a list.

left()

String

Returns a string containing the specified number of leftmost characters of the original string.

log()

Numeric

Returns the natural logarithm of a number.

log10()

Numeric

Returns the common logarithm (base 10) of a number.

lTrim()

String

Returns the original string with leading whitespace removed.

max()

Numeric

Returns the maximum value in a set of values.

min()

Numeric

Returns the minimum value in a set of values.

pi()

Numeric

Returns the mathematical constant pi.

radians()

Numeric

Converts degrees to radians.

rand()

Numeric

Returns a random floating point number in the range from 0 (inclusive) to 1 (exclusive); i.e. [0, 1).

range()

List

Returns a list comprising all integer values within a specified range.

replace()

String

Returns a string in which all occurrences of a specified string in the original string have been replaced by another (specified) string.

reverse()

String

Returns a string in which the order of all characters in the original string have been reversed.

right()

String

Returns a string containing the specified number of rightmost characters of the original string.

round()

Numeric

Returns the value of a number rounded to the nearest integer.

rTrim()

String

Returns the original string with trailing whitespace removed.

sign()

Numeric

Returns the signum of a number: 0 if the number is 0, -1 for any negative number, and 1 for any positive number.

sin()

Numeric

Returns the sine of a number.

size()

Numeric

Returns the number of items in a list. (When applied to a list)

split()

List

Returns a list of strings resulting from the splitting of the original string around matches of the given delimiter.

sqrt()

Numeric

Returns the square root of a number.

stDev()

Numeric

Returns the standard deviation for the given value over a group for a sample of a population.

stDevP()

Numeric

Returns the standard deviation for the given value over a group for an entire population

substring()

String

Returns a substring of the original string, beginning with a 0-based index start and length.

sum()

Numeric

Returns the sum of a set of numeric values.

tail()

List

Returns all but the first element in a list.

tan()

Numeric

Returns the tangent of a number.

timestamp()

Scalar

Returns the difference, measured in milliseconds, between the current time and midnight, January 1, 1970 UTC.

trim()

String

Returns the original string with leading and trailing whitespace removed.

toLower()

String

Returns the original string in lowercase.

toString()

String

Converts an integer, float or boolean value to a string.

toUpper()

String

Returns the original string in uppercase.

toBoolean()

Scalar

Converts a string value to a boolean value.

toFloat()

Scalar

Converts an integer or string value to a floating point number.

toInteger()

Scalar

Converts a floating point or string value to an integer value.

type()

Scalar

Returns the string representation of the relationship type.

Expressions

Expression	Description
CASE	A generic conditional expression, similar to if/else statements available in other languages.

openCypher Features Not Yet Supported

Clauses

Clause	Description
CALL […YIELD]	Reading/Writing Invoke a procedure deployed in the database.
CREATE	Writing create nodes and relationships.
MERGE	Reading/Writing Ensures that a pattern exists in the graph. Either the pattern already exists, or it needs to be created.
REMOVE	Writing Remove properties and labels from nodes and relationships.
SET	Writing Update labels on nodes and properties on nodes and relationships.
UNION	Set operations Combines the result of multiple queries. Duplicates are removed.
UNION ALL	Set operations Combines the result of multiple queries. Duplicates are retained.
UNWIND … [AS]	Projecting Expands a list into a sequence of records.

Clause

Description

CALL […YIELD]

Reading/Writing Invoke a procedure deployed in the database.

CREATE

Writing create nodes and relationships.

MERGE

Reading/Writing Ensures that a pattern exists in the graph. Either the pattern already exists, or it needs to be created.

REMOVE

Writing Remove properties and labels from nodes and relationships.

SET

Writing Update labels on nodes and properties on nodes and relationships.

UNION

Set operations Combines the result of multiple queries. Duplicates are removed.

UNION ALL

Set operations Combines the result of multiple queries. Duplicates are retained.

UNWIND … [AS]

Projecting Expands a list into a sequence of records.

Operators

N/A

Functions

Function	Value Type	Description
collect()	Numeric	Returns a list containing the values returned by an expression.
endNode()	Scalar	Returns the end node of a relationship.
exists()	Boolean	Returns true if a match for the pattern exists in the graph, or if the specified property exists in the node, relationship or map.
keys()	List	Returns a list containing the string representations for all the property names of a node, relationship, or map.
length()	Numeric	Returns the length of a path.
nodes()	List	Returns a list containing all the nodes in a path.
percentileCont()	Numeric	Returns the percentile of the given value over a group using linear interpolation.
percentileDisc()	Numeric	Returns the percentile of the given value over a group using a rounding method.
properties()	Map	Returns a map containing all the properties of a node or relationship.
relationships()	List	Returns a list containing all the relationships in a path.
reverse()	List	Returns a list in which the order of all elements in the original list have been reversed.
size() of a pattern expression	Numeric	Returns the number of subgraphs matching the pattern expression.
size() of a string	Numeric	Returns the size of a string.
startNode()	Scalar	Returns the start node of a relationship.

Function

Value Type

Description

collect()

Numeric

Returns a list containing the values returned by an expression.

endNode()

Scalar

Returns the end node of a relationship.

exists()

Boolean

Returns true if a match for the pattern exists in the graph, or if the specified property exists in the node, relationship or map.

keys()

List

Returns a list containing the string representations for all the property names of a node, relationship, or map.

length()

Numeric

Returns the length of a path.

nodes()

List

Returns a list containing all the nodes in a path.

percentileCont()

Numeric

Returns the percentile of the given value over a group using linear interpolation.

percentileDisc()

Numeric

Returns the percentile of the given value over a group using a rounding method.

properties()

Map

Returns a map containing all the properties of a node or relationship.

relationships()

List

Returns a list containing all the relationships in a path.

reverse()

List

Returns a list in which the order of all elements in the original list have been reversed.

size() of a pattern expression

Numeric

Returns the number of subgraphs matching the pattern expression.

size() of a string

Numeric

Returns the size of a string.

startNode()

Scalar

Returns the start node of a relationship.

Syntax

These were limitations before 4.1.2 – certain openCypher syntax were not supported:

Queries with a WITH clause that does not implicitly group by exactly one vertex variable.

0 vertex variables as group key

MATCH (u:User {name: "John"}) // find all users with the same friend count as John
WITH     u.friendCount AS fc   // note, u not included in group key list
MATCH  (o:User {friendCount: fc})
…

More than 1 vertex variables as group key

MATCH (u1) -[:communication]- (x) -[:communication]- (u2)
WITH     u1, u2, COUNT(x) // we support only u1 or only u2 in list
…

Queries introducing path variables

MATCH p = (u1) -[e1:communication]- (x) -[e2:communication]- (u2)	// p is path var
…

Queries whose MATCH pattern does not include at least one vertex variable from immediately preceding WITH clause.

MATCH (u:user) -[:communication]- (o)
WITH     u, …
MATCH (x) -[:communication]-(y)		// this pattern must refer to u
…

Queries with disconnected MATCH pattern fragments

MATCH (x:user), (y:user)
WHERE x.friendCount = y.friendCount
…

Pattern fragments (x:user) and (y:user) are not connected by edge traversal or by sharing vertex variables.

OpenCypher vs. GSQL Schema Models

GSQL, the language and storage engine, is strongly typed and schema-first:

Every vertex and edge belongs to a previously defined type.
Each type had a characteristics set of properties (attributes); there are no optional properties.

OpenCypher is schema-optional:

A vertex or edge may have a label.
A label may be associated with characteristic set of properties.
An individual vertex or edge could have additional properties.

This fundamental difference impacts how OpenCypher queries behave in each system.

Example

Consider the following OpenCypher query:

MATCH (p)
RETURN p.firstName, p.year

How GSQL OpenCypher mode Interprets This Query

Since GSQL OpenCypher enforces a predefined schema, the query:

Only considers vertex types that contain both firstName and year attributes
Returns values only if both attributes exist in a given vertex type

If a vertex type does not have both attributes, it is ignored entirely.

How OpenCypher Interprets This Query

OpenCypher does not enforce a schema, so the query:

Processes all vertex types, regardless of their attributes
Returns values for existing attributes but returns NULL for attributes that do not exist

Key Considerations

For users migrating from OpenCypher to GSQL OpenCypher, it is important to understand that:

In GSQL, queries must align with the predefined schema.
Unlike OpenCypher, GSQL does not return NULL for missing attributes: if a vertex does not contain all required attributes, it is not included in the result.
A query attempting to access a non-existent attribute in GSQL may either return no results or be rejected if no matching vertex type exists.

By understanding this distinction, users can write more effective OpenCypher queries tailored to GSQL OpenCypher’s schema-first approach.