> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.openalex.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Select Fields

> Limit which fields are returned in API responses

Use the `select` parameter to return only specific fields:

```bash theme={"dark"}
https://api.openalex.org/works?select=id,doi,display_name
```

Response:

```json theme={"dark"}
{
  "results": [
    {
      "id": "https://openalex.org/W1775749144",
      "doi": "https://doi.org/10.1016/s0021-9258(19)52451-6",
      "display_name": "PROTEIN MEASUREMENT WITH THE FOLIN PHENOL REAGENT"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://openalex.org/W2100837269",
      "doi": "https://doi.org/10.1038/227680a0",
      "display_name": "Cleavage of Structural Proteins during the Assembly of the Head of Bacteriophage T4"
    }
  ]
}
```

## Limitations

**Root-level fields only.** You can select top-level fields but not nested properties:

```json theme={"dark"}
// Given this structure:
{
  "id": "https://openalex.org/W2138270253",
  "open_access": {
    "is_oa": true,
    "oa_status": "bronze",
    "oa_url": "http://www.pnas.org/content/74/12/5463.full.pdf"
  }
}
```

| Query                      | Works?     |
| -------------------------- | ---------- |
| `select=id,open_access`    | Yes        |
| `select=open_access.is_oa` | No (error) |

## Where `select` works

| Endpoint                       | Supported? |
| ------------------------------ | ---------- |
| List entities (`/works`, etc.) | Yes        |
| Single entity (`/works/{id}`)  | Yes        |
| Group by                       | No         |
| Autocomplete                   | No         |