Fetch Posts

This guide will show you how to fetch Post data in different ways.

Lens Post data has a rich structure that includes the following information:

To illustrate how to fetch posts, we will use the following fragments, which includes the most common fields of a Post:

fragment Post on Post {  id  author {    ...Account  }  timestamp  app {    address    metadata {      name      logo    }  }  metadata {    ...PostMetadata  }  root {    ...ReferencedPost  }  quoteOf {    ...ReferencedPost  }  commentOn {    ...ReferencedPost  }  stats {    ...PostStats  }}

In the end of this guide, we will expand on some of the Post fields that are not fully covered in the example above.

import { postId } from "@lens-protocol/client";import { fetchPost } from "@lens-protocol/client/actions";
import { client } from "./client";
const result = await fetchPost(client, {  post: postId("01234…"),});
if (result.isErr()) {  return console.error(result.error);}
const post = result.value;

import { fetchPosts } from "@lens-protocol/client/actions";
import { client } from "./client";
const result = await fetchPosts(client, {  filter:{    searchQuery: "Hello, World!"  }});
if (result.isErr()) {  return console.error(result.error);}
// items: Array<Post>const { items, pageInfo } = result.value;

See the Pagination guide for more information on how to handle paginated results.

List all posts that reference a specific post (e.g., comments, quotes, reposts).

query {  postReferences(    request: {      referencedPost: "42"      referenceTypes: [COMMENT_ON]
      # optional, control visibily of hidden posts      # visibilityFilter: PostVisibilityFilter! = VISIBLE    }  ) {    items {      ... on Post {        ...Post      }
      ... on Repost {        ...Repost      }    }    pageInfo {      prev      next    }  }}

See the Pagination guide for more information on how to handle paginated results.

In this section we will expand on some of the Post fields that are not covered in the examples above.

The slug field of a Post is a unique identifier that can be used to reference the Post in places where length is a concern.

type Post = {  id: PostId;  slug: PostId;};

The typical use of a Post slug is to create a URL that points to the Post. For example:

https://lens.xyz/posts/13z23jpf7nz3kk6tn8h

where 13z23jpf7nz3kk6tn8h is the Post slug.

The metadata field of any Post contains the Post Metadata object that was linked to the post at the time of creation.

union PostMetadata =    ArticleMetadata  | AudioMetadata  | CheckingInMetadata  | EmbedMetadata  | EventMetadata  | ImageMetadata  | LinkMetadata  | LivestreamMetadata  | MintMetadata  | SpaceMetadata  | StoryMetadata  | TextOnlyMetadata  | ThreeDMetadata  | TransactionMetadata  | VideoMetadata

The mentions field of a Post contains a list of all the accounts or groups mentioned in the Post content.

fragment Post on Post {  mentions {    ... on AccountMention {      ...AccountMention    }
    ... on GroupMention {      ...GroupMention    }  }}

Use the replace field to get the replacement information for the mentioned account.

The stats field of a Post contains the aggregated statistics of the Post, such as the total number of bookmarks, comments, reposts, quotes, reactions.

fragment Post on Post {  stats {    bookmarks # Int!    comments # Int!    reposts # Int!    quotes # Int!    collects # Int!    upvotes: reactions(request: { type: UPVOTE }) # Int!    downvotes: reactions(request: { type: DOWNVOTE }) # Int!  }}

Use the reactions field to get the number of reactions of a specific type like shown in the example above.

In essence a Post Action is smart contract that can be attached to a Lens Post to expand its functionality.

The actions field of a Post contains a list of possible actions that can be performed on a given Post.

fragment Post on Post {  actions {    ... on SimpleCollectActionSettings {      ...SimpleCollectActionSettings    }
    ... on UnknownActionSettings {      ...UnknownActionSettings    }  }}

Lens API helps to make a distinction between protocol-native actions and community-defined actions, by giving a clear name to the former and leaving the latter as an UnknownActionSettings type.

See the Post Actions guide for more information on how to use this field to execute actions on a Post.

The Lens schema allows logged-in users to fetch details about available actions and actions already taken, via the operations field.

type Post = {  operations: LoggedInPostOperations | null;};
type LoggedInPostOperations = {  id: ID;  canComment: OperationValidationOutcome;  canQuote: OperationValidationOutcome;  canRepost: OperationValidationOutcome;  hasBookmarked: boolean;  hasCommented: BooleanValue;  hasQuoted: BooleanValue;  hasUpvoted: boolean; // hasReacted(request: { type: UPVOTE })  hasDownvoted: boolean; // hasReacted(request: { type: DOWNVOTE })  hasReported: boolean;  hasReposted: BooleanValue;  isNotInterested: boolean;};

The LoggedInPostOperations type specifies both the actions the user can perform (e.g., canComment, canRepost) and the actions already taken (e.g., hasReacted, hasCommented).

{  "operations": {    "canComment": {      "restrictedSignerRequired": false,      "extraChecksRequired": []    },    "canDelete": {      "restrictedSignerRequired": false,      "extraChecksRequired": []    },    "canEdit": {      "restrictedSignerRequired": false,      "extraChecksRequired": []    },    "canQuote": {      "restrictedSignerRequired": false,      "extraChecksRequired": []    },    "canRepost": {      "restrictedSignerRequired": false,      "extraChecksRequired": []    },    "hasBookmarked": true,    "hasCommented": {      "optimistic": true,      "onChain": false    },    "hasQuoted": {      "optimistic": false,      "onChain": true    },    "hasUpvoted": true,    "hasDownvoted": false,    "hasReported": false,    "hasReposted": {      "optimistic": true,      "onChain": false    },    "isNotInterested": false  }}

Where:

Fields returning an OperationValidationOutcome give information on the feasibility of the operation. More details in the Querying Data guide.

Fields returning a BooleanValue are operations that settles on-chain but could be optimistically assumed to be done.

fragment BooleanValue on BooleanValue {  optimistic # true if the operation is optimistically assumed to be done  onChain # true if the operation is settled on-chain}