Searching for custom column #rating with calibredb gives unkown sort field

[Far_Pen_6884]

Hi all,

I use a custom boolean/float column named **#rating** (so I can store half-star values) instead of Calibre’s built-in rating column. When I try to search and sort by that custom column from the command line with calibredb I get errors like:

• "Unknown sort field: #rating"
• "Unknown fields: #rating"

Examples:

This fails:

calibredb list --search '#rating:True' --fields=rating,title,authors --sort-by='#rating'
Unknown sort field: #rating

This also fails:

calibredb list --search '#rating:True' --fields=#rating,title,authors --sort-by=rating
Unknown fields: #rating

This works but is useless to me because it shows the built-in column (all None for my books):

calibredb list --search '#rating:True' --fields=rating,title,authors --sort-by=rating

What I want

• Search for books that have a value in my custom **#rating** column.
• List title/authors and the custom **#rating** value.
• Sort the results by my custom **#rating** values (in descending order).

Notes / what I’ve tried

• I’ve tried quoting the column name, with and without the leading hash, and with/without spaces.
• I’ve tried using the GUI to confirm the custom column name and type — it exists and contains values (including halves like 3.5).
• I suspect calibredb either doesn’t accept custom column names with a leading “#” for --sort-by, or it expects a different syntax for custom columns.

Is there a supported way to reference custom columns (including those starting with “#”) in calibredb --fields, --search and --sort-by? If so, what is the exact syntax?

[Far_Pen_6884]

As a workaround I believe I could copy all values from my custom #rating column to the default rating column, rounding either up or down to the closest full star value. Then I can just use the rating column that is working without problem. I've made another thread for that.

[BetterRed]

Moderator Notice
@Far_Pen_6884

I moved your posts here :



BR

[chaley]

You can display custom columns by replacing the '#' with a '*' as documented under --fields in the calibredb list documentation and help text. Example using #my_rating instead of #rating:

calibredb --with-library=. list --fields=*my_rating,title --sort-by=rating --ascending

However, you are currently not able to sort by a custom column. I've submitted changes to fix that. With my changes (assuming they are accepted by Kovid) you can use

calibredb --with-library=. list --fields=*my_rating,title --sort-by=*my_rating --ascending

[chaley]

The changes are in calibre source and will be in the next preview/release.