> 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/trim.md).

# trim

Use the `trim()` function to remove specified characters or whitespace from the beginning and end of a given string.

## Syntax

```sql
trim (<string>, [trim_characters])
```

## Parameters

| Name              | Type   | Required | Description                                                                                                                                            |
| ----------------- | ------ | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `string`          | string | Yes      | The input string field or literal value to be trimmed.                                                                                                 |
| `trim_characters` | string | No       | A string containing the characters you want to remove. If this parameter is omitted, the function will remove whitespace characters (spaces and tabs). |

## Returns

The `trim()` function returns a string with the specified characters or whitespace removed from both the start and end.

## Usage notes

* The function removes characters from both the beginning (left) and end (right) of the string.
* If `trim_characters` is not provided, the function defaults to removing leading and trailing spaces and tabs.
* The function is versatile for cleaning and standardizing string data within queries.

## Examples

### Example 1: Removing leading and trailing whitespace (default behavior)

**Goal**: Remove spaces from both ends of a literal string where no specific characters are defined.

**XQL code**:

```sql
config timeframe = 1d 
| dataset = sample_xql_raw 
| alter original_string = "   User login successful   " 
| alter trimmed_string = trim(original_string) 
| fields event_id, original_string, trimmed_string 
| limit 1 
```

**Explanation**: The query detects and removes the leading and trailing spaces from the `original_string`, resulting in a clean string "User login successful".

**Output**:

| EVENT\_ID | ORIGINAL\_STRING          | TRIMMED\_STRING         |
| --------- | ------------------------- | ----------------------- |
| 101       | " User login successful " | "User login successful" |

### Example 2: Removing specific characters from both ends

**Goal**: Remove explicit characters ("w") from both ends of the `dst_domain` string.

**XQL code**:

```sql
config timeframe = 1d 
| dataset = sample_xql_raw 
| filter event_id = 103 
| alter domain_without_w = trim(dst_domain, "w")
| fields event_id, dst_domain, domain_without_w 
```

**Explanation**: The function removes all leading and trailing 'w' characters from the `dst_domain` string (for example, "[www.google.com](http://www.google.com)" becomes ".google.com").

**Output**:

| EVENT\_ID | DST\_DOMAIN                               | DOMAIN\_WITHOUT\_W |
| --------- | ----------------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| 103       | "[www.google.com](http://www.google.com)" | ".google.com"      |

### Example 3: Removing multiple specific characters

**Goal**: Remove a set of explicit characters ("w", "m", and ".") from both ends of the `dst_domain` string.

**XQL code**:

```sql
config timeframe = 1d 
| dataset = sample_xql_raw 
| filter event_id = 110 
| alter domain_without_w_m_period = trim(dst_domain, "wm.")
| fields event_id, dst_domain, domain_without_w_m_period
```

**Explanation**: The function removes all occurrences of 'w', 'm', and '.' characters found at the start or end of the string. For "[www.mongodb.com](http://www.mongodb.com)", the leading "[www](http://www)." and the trailing "m" are removed, leaving "ongodb.co".

**Output**:

| EVENT\_ID | DST\_DOMAIN                                 | DOMAIN\_WITHOUT\_W\_M\_PERIOD |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| 110       | "[www.mongodb.com](http://www.mongodb.com)" | "ongodb.co"                   |

## Related articles

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


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