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Use the sort parameter to order results by a property: 
# Works sorted by citation count (highest first)
https://api.openalex.org/works?sort=cited_by_count:desc

# Sources in alphabetical order
https://api.openalex.org/sources?sort=display_name

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Common sortable fields

FieldDescription
display_nameAlphabetical order
cited_by_countNumber of citations
works_countNumber of works
publication_datePublication date (works only)
relevance_scoreSearch relevance (requires search filter)

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Sort direction

By default, sort is ascending. Append :desc for descending: 
# Ascending (default)
https://api.openalex.org/works?sort=publication_date

# Descending
https://api.openalex.org/works?sort=publication_date:desc

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Multiple sort keys

Sort by multiple properties using commas: 
# Sort by year descending, then by relevance score
https://api.openalex.org/works?search=bioplastics&sort=publication_year:desc,relevance_score:desc
Sorting by relevance_score requires an active search. An error is thrown otherwise.