Each element within the returned array is sorted using native UTF-8 sorting according to the contents of the key portion of the emitted content. The basic order of output is as follows:

You can reverse the order of the returned view information by using the descending query value set to true. For example, Retrieving the list of recipes using the by_title (limited to 5 records) view:

{
   "offset" : 0,
   "rows" : [
      {
         "id" : "3-tiersalmonspinachandavocadoterrine",
         "key" : "3-tier salmon, spinach and avocado terrine",
         "value" : [
            null,
            "3-tier salmon, spinach and avocado terrine"
         ]
      },
      {
         "id" : "Aberffrawcake",
         "key" : "Aberffraw cake",
         "value" : [
            null,
            "Aberffraw cake"
         ]
      },
      {
         "id" : "Adukiandorangecasserole-microwave",
         "key" : "Aduki and orange casserole - microwave",
         "value" : [
            null,
            "Aduki and orange casserole - microwave"
         ]
      },
      {
         "id" : "Aioli-garlicmayonnaise",
         "key" : "Aioli - garlic mayonnaise",
         "value" : [
            null,
            "Aioli - garlic mayonnaise"
         ]
      },
      {
         "id" : "Alabamapeanutchicken",
         "key" : "Alabama peanut chicken",
         "value" : [
            null,
            "Alabama peanut chicken"
         ]
      }
   ],
   "total_rows" : 2667
}

Requesting the same in descending order will reverse the entire view content. For example the request

GET http://couchdb:5984/recipes/_design/recipes/_view/by_title?limit=5&descending=true
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json

Returns the last 5 records from the view:

{
   "offset" : 0,
   "rows" : [
      {
         "id" : "Zucchiniinagrodolcesweet-sourcourgettes",
         "key" : "Zucchini in agrodolce (sweet-sour courgettes)",
         "value" : [
            null,
            "Zucchini in agrodolce (sweet-sour courgettes)"
         ]
      },
      {
         "id" : "Zingylemontart",
         "key" : "Zingy lemon tart",
         "value" : [
            null,
            "Zingy lemon tart"
         ]
      },
      {
         "id" : "Zestyseafoodavocado",
         "key" : "Zesty seafood avocado",
         "value" : [
            null,
            "Zesty seafood avocado"
         ]
      },
      {
         "id" : "Zabaglione",
         "key" : "Zabaglione",
         "value" : [
            null,
            "Zabaglione"
         ]
      },
      {
         "id" : "Yogurtraita",
         "key" : "Yogurt raita",
         "value" : [
            null,
            "Yogurt raita"
         ]
      }
   ],
   "total_rows" : 2667
}

The sorting direction is applied before the filtering applied using the startkey and endkey query arguments. For example the following query:

GET http://couchdb:5984/recipes/_design/recipes/_view/by_ingredient?startkey=%22carrots%22&endkey=%22egg%22
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json

Will operate correctly when listing all the matching entries between “carrots” and egg. If the order of output is reversed with the descending query argument, the view request will return no entries:

GET http://couchdb:5984/recipes/_design/recipes/_view/by_ingredient?descending=true&startkey=%22carrots%22&endkey=%22egg%22
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json

The returned result is empty:

{
   "total_rows" : 26453,
   "rows" : [],
   "offset" : 21882
}

The results will be empty because the entries in the view are reversed before the key filter is applied, and therefore the endkey of “egg” will be seen before the startkey of “carrots”, resulting in an empty list.

Instead, you should reverse the values supplied to the startkey and endkey parameters to match the descending sorting applied to the keys. Changing the previous example to:

GET http://couchdb:5984/recipes/_design/recipes/_view/by_ingredient?descending=true&startkey=%22egg%22&endkey=%22carrots%22
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json