Salesforce SOQL Query Cheat Sheet: Complete Reference for Developers

SOQL (Salesforce Object Query Language) is one of the most essential skills for any Salesforce Developer or Admin. This cheat sheet covers all the key SOQL syntax, operators, relationship queries, aggregate functions, and governor limits you need for day-to-day development and certification exams.

Basic SOQL Syntax

The basic structure of a SOQL query is: SELECT field1, field2 FROM ObjectName WHERE condition ORDER BY field LIMIT n

Example: SELECT Id, Name, Industry FROM Account WHERE Industry = 'Technology' ORDER BY Name ASC LIMIT 10

SOQL Comparison Operators

• = (equals), != (not equals)

• < (less than), > (greater than), <= (less or equal), >= (greater or equal)

• LIKE: pattern matching using % (wildcard for any characters) and _ (single character). Example: WHERE Name LIKE 'Sales%'

• IN / NOT IN: check against a list. Example: WHERE Industry IN ('Technology', 'Finance')

• INCLUDES / EXCLUDES: for multi-select picklist fields

Logical Operators

• AND: both conditions must be true. Example: WHERE Industry = 'Technology' AND AnnualRevenue > 1000000

• OR: at least one condition must be true

• NOT: negates a condition. Example: WHERE NOT Industry = 'Technology'

Relationship Queries

Child-to-Parent (Dot Notation)

Traverse from a child to its parent using dot notation on the relationship field name. Example: SELECT Id, Name, Account.Name, Account.Industry FROM Contact

Parent-to-Child (Nested Subquery)

Retrieve child records in a subquery using the child relationship name (plural). Example: SELECT Id, Name, (SELECT Id, LastName FROM Contacts) FROM Account

Aggregate Functions

• COUNT(): returns the number of rows. Example: SELECT COUNT() FROM Account WHERE Industry = 'Technology'

• COUNT(field): counts non-null values of a specific field

• SUM(field): total sum of a numeric field. Example: SELECT SUM(Amount) FROM Opportunity

• AVG(field): average of a numeric field

• MIN(field) / MAX(field): minimum or maximum value

• GROUP BY: groups results by a field. Example: SELECT Industry, COUNT(Id) FROM Account GROUP BY Industry

• HAVING: filter on aggregated results. Example: SELECT Industry, COUNT(Id) FROM Account GROUP BY Industry HAVING COUNT(Id) > 10

Date and DateTime Functions

• TODAY: WHERE CloseDate = TODAY

• THIS_WEEK, LAST_WEEK, NEXT_WEEK

• THIS_MONTH, LAST_MONTH, NEXT_MONTH

• THIS_YEAR, LAST_YEAR, NEXT_YEAR

• LAST_N_DAYS:n — Example: WHERE CreatedDate = LAST_N_DAYS:30

SOQL in Apex

In Apex, SOQL queries are written inline within square brackets. Example: List accounts = [SELECT Id, Name FROM Account WHERE Industry = 'Technology' LIMIT 50];

Use bind variables to inject Apex variables safely into queries. Example: String ind = 'Technology'; List accs = [SELECT Id FROM Account WHERE Industry = :ind];

Key SOQL Governor Limits

• Maximum SOQL queries per transaction: 100 (synchronous) / 200 (asynchronous)

• Maximum records returned per query: 50,000

• Maximum records retrieved via Database.getQueryLocator: 10,000,000 (used in Batch Apex)

• Avoid SOQL inside loops — this is the most common governor limit violation pattern

SOQL vs SOSL

SOQL queries a single object (with relationship traversal). Use it when you know which object to query. SOSL (Salesforce Object Search Language) searches across multiple objects simultaneously using a text search. Use SOSL when you need full-text search across objects like Account, Contact, and Lead at the same time.

Conclusion

Bookmark this SOQL cheat sheet as your go-to reference for development and exam prep. Mastering SOQL is foundational to Salesforce development — almost every Apex class, Flow, and integration you build will rely on efficient data queries. Follow SFDCPi for more Apex and developer reference guides.