> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/xql-command-reference-guide/readme/functions/split.md).

# split

Use the `split()` function to divide a string into an array of substrings based on a specified delimiter.

## Syntax

```sql
split (<value> [, <string_delimiter>])
```

## Parameters

| Name               | Type   | Required | Description                                                                                                                |
| ------------------ | ------ | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `value`            | string | Yes      | The string field or literal value to split.                                                                                |
| `string_delimiter` | string | No       | The string literal used as the delimiter. If omitted or set to an empty string (`""`), a space (`' '`) is used by default. |

## Returns

The `split()` function returns an array of strings containing the substrings generated by splitting the input value.

## Usage notes

* The function operates exclusively on string inputs.
* The delimiter itself is not included in the resulting array elements.
* If the delimiter appears consecutively, or at the beginning or end of the string, it can result in empty strings as elements in the output array.
* If the input `value` is NULL, the function returns an empty array `[]`.

## Examples

### Example 1: Basic split with a specific delimiter

**Goal**: Split an IP address string by the dot (`.`) character to separate its octets.

**XQL code**:

```sql
config timeframe = 1d 
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| filter event_id in (101, 102, 105)
| alter ip_octets = split(ipv4_address, ".")
| fields event_id, ipv4_address, ip_octets 
| limit 3
```

**Explanation**: The function divides the `ipv4_address` string into an array of individual numeric octets using the specified `.` delimiter.

**Output**:

| EVENT\_ID | IPV4\_ADDRESS | IP\_OCTETS                  |
| --------- | ------------- | --------------------------- |
| 101       | 192.168.1.10  | \["192", "168", "1", "10"]  |
| 102       | 10.0.0.5      | \["10", "0", "0", "5"]      |
| 105       | 192.168.10.20 | \["192", "168", "10", "20"] |

### Example 2: Split without a specified delimiter

**Goal**: Split a log message into individual words using the default delimiter (space).

**XQL code**:

```sql
config timeframe = 1d 
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| filter event_id in (101, 102)
| alter log_words = split(raw_log_data)
| fields event_id, raw_log_data, log_words 
| limit 2
```

**Explanation**: By omitting the optional delimiter argument, the function automatically uses a space to break the `raw_log_data` string into an array of words.

**Output**:

| EVENT\_ID | RAW\_LOG\_DATA                                  | LOG\_WORDS                                                          |
| --------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 101       | User Alice logged in from 192.168.1.10          | \["User", "Alice", "logged", "in", "from", "192.168.1.10"]          |
| 102       | Process cmd.exe attempted to access /etc/passwd | \["Process", "cmd.exe", "attempted", "to", "access", "/etc/passwd"] |

### Example 3: Split with an empty string as delimiter

**Goal**: Explicitly use an empty string as the delimiter, which defaults to splitting by space.

**XQL code**:

```sql
config timeframe = 1d 
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| filter event_id = 101
| alter log_parts = split(raw_log_data, "")
| fields event_id, raw_log_data, log_parts 
| limit 1
```

**Explanation**: Providing an empty string `""` for the delimiter results in the same behavior as omitting the delimiter; the string is split by spaces.

**Output**:

| EVENT\_ID | RAW\_LOG\_DATA                         | LOG\_PARTS                                                 |
| --------- | -------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| 101       | User Alice logged in from 192.168.1.10 | \["User", "Alice", "logged", "in", "from", "192.168.1.10"] |

### Example 4: Split on a delimiter not present in the string

**Goal**: Attempt to split a string using a delimiter that does not exist within that string.

**XQL code**:

```sql
config timeframe = 1d 
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| filter event_id = 101
| alter no_split_example = split(event_description, "|")
| fields event_id, event_description, no_split_example 
| limit 1
```

**Explanation**: The function returns an array containing the original string as its single element because the pipe (`|`) character is not present in the `event_description`.

**Output**:

| EVENT\_ID | EVENT\_DESCRIPTION    | NO\_SPLIT\_EXAMPLE         |
| --------- | --------------------- | -------------------------- |
| 101       | User login successful | \["User login successful"] |

### Example 5: Split on a field containing NULL values

**Goal**: Handle input fields that contain NULL values.

**XQL code**:

```sql
config timeframe = 1d 
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| filter event_id = 105
| alter split_null_domain = split(dst_domain, ".")
| fields event_id, dst_domain, split_null_domain 
| limit 1
```

**Explanation**: When the input string field (for example, `dst_domain` for event ID 105) is NULL, the function returns an empty array.

**Output**:

| EVENT\_ID | DST\_DOMAIN | SPLIT\_NULL\_DOMAIN |
| --------- | ----------- | ------------------- |
| 105       | NULL        | \[]                 |

### Example 6: Combining split with arrayindex

**Goal**: Split a string and immediately extract a specific element from the resulting array.

**XQL code**:

```sql
config timeframe = 1d 
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| filter event_id in (101, 102)
| alter ip_parts_array = split(ipv4_address, ".")
| alter first_octet_string = arrayindex(ip_parts_array, 0)
| fields event_id, ipv4_address, ip_parts_array, first_octet_string 
| limit 2
```

**Explanation**: The query first uses `split()` to tokenize the `ipv4_address`. Subsequently, `arrayindex(..., 0)` extracts the first element (the first octet) as a string.

**Output**:

| EVENT\_ID | IPV4\_ADDRESS | IP\_PARTS\_ARRAY           | FIRST\_OCTET\_STRING |
| --------- | ------------- | -------------------------- | -------------------- |
| 101       | 192.168.1.10  | \["192", "168", "1", "10"] | 192                  |
| 102       | 10.0.0.5      | \["10", "0", "0", "5"]     | 10                   |

## Related articles

* **Stages**: [`alter`](/xql-command-reference-guide/readme/stages/alter.md), [`filter`](/xql-command-reference-guide/readme/stages/filter.md)
* **Functions**: [`arrayindex`](/xql-command-reference-guide/readme/functions/arrayindex.md), [`to_string`](/xql-command-reference-guide/readme/functions/to_string.md), [`arraystring`](/xql-command-reference-guide/readme/functions/arraystring.md)
* **Datasets**: [`xdr_data`](https://www.google.com/search?q=%5Bhttps://docs-cortex.paloaltonetworks.com/r/Cortex-XQL-Schema-Reference-Guide/Introduction%5D\(https://docs-cortex.paloaltonetworks.com/r/Cortex-XQL-Schema-Reference-Guide/Introduction\))


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/xql-command-reference-guide/readme/functions/split.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.