> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.nansen.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.nansen.ai/reference/sorting.md).

# Sorting

### Overview

Most Nansen API endpoints support sorting results using the `order_by` parameter. This allows you to control the order of returned data.

### Sort Order Schema

```json
{
  "order_by": [
    {
      "field": "field_name",
      "direction": "DESC"
    }
  ]
}
```

#### Parameters

| Parameter   | Type   | Description                              |
| ----------- | ------ | ---------------------------------------- |
| `field`     | string | The field to sort by                     |
| `direction` | string | `ASC` (ascending) or `DESC` (descending) |

#### Directions

| Direction | Description                | Example                     |
| --------- | -------------------------- | --------------------------- |
| `ASC`     | Ascending (smallest first) | 1, 2, 3, ... or A, B, C     |
| `DESC`    | Descending (largest first) | 100, 99, 98, ... or Z, Y, X |

### Examples

#### Single Field Sort

Sort by USD value, highest first:

```json
{
  "order_by": [
    {"field": "value_usd", "direction": "DESC"}
  ]
}
```

#### Multiple Field Sort

Sort by volume first, then by price:

```json
{
  "order_by": [
    {"field": "volume_24h_usd", "direction": "DESC"},
    {"field": "price_usd", "direction": "ASC"}
  ]
}
```

#### Full Request Example

```python
response = client.post(
    "https://api.nansen.ai/api/v1/smart-money/holdings",
    json={
        "chains": ["ethereum"],
        "pagination": {"page": 1, "per_page": 100},
        "order_by": [
            {"field": "value_usd", "direction": "DESC"}
        ]
    }
)
```

### Common Sort Fields by Endpoint

#### Smart Money and Fund Holdings

| Field                        | Description                                                   |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `value_usd`                  | Total USD value of holdings                                   |
| `balance_24h_percent_change` | 24-hour balance change percentage                             |
| `holders_count`              | Number of holders in the selected cohort                      |
| `share_of_holdings_percent`  | Fraction of the cohort's total USD holdings across all chains |
| `market_cap_usd`             | Token market capitalization                                   |
| `token_age_days`             | Days since token creation                                     |

`share_of_holdings_percent` uses total Smart Money holdings for the Smart Money endpoint and total Fund holdings for the Funds endpoint. It is a fraction (`0.05` means 5%). Chain, token, and Smart Money label filters do not narrow the denominator, so shares in a filtered or paginated response need not sum to 1 (100%).

```json
{
  "order_by": [{"field": "value_usd", "direction": "DESC"}]
}
```

#### Smart Money Netflow

| Field              | Description                   |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| `net_flow_1h_usd`  | 1-hour net flow in USD        |
| `net_flow_24h_usd` | 24-hour net flow in USD       |
| `net_flow_7d_usd`  | 7-day net flow in USD         |
| `net_flow_30d_usd` | 30-day net flow in USD        |
| `trader_count`     | Number of smart money traders |
| `market_cap_usd`   | Token market capitalization   |

```json
{
  "order_by": [{"field": "net_flow_24h_usd", "direction": "DESC"}]
}
```

#### Smart Money DEX Trades

| Field       | Description         |
| ----------- | ------------------- |
| `timestamp` | Trade timestamp     |
| `value_usd` | Trade value in USD  |
| `amount`    | Token amount traded |

```json
{
  "order_by": [{"field": "timestamp", "direction": "DESC"}]
}
```

#### Token Screener

| Field                      | Description              |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| `market_cap_usd`           | Market capitalization    |
| `volume_24h_usd`           | 24-hour trading volume   |
| `price_change_24h_percent` | 24-hour price change     |
| `holder_count`             | Total holder count       |
| `smart_money_holder_count` | Smart money holder count |
| `liquidity_usd`            | Total liquidity          |

```json
{
  "order_by": [
    {"field": "volume_24h_usd", "direction": "DESC"},
    {"field": "market_cap_usd", "direction": "DESC"}
  ]
}
```

#### TGM Holders

| Field                      | Description            |
| -------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| `balance_usd`              | Current balance in USD |
| `balance_change_24h_usd`   | 24-hour balance change |
| `first_transfer_timestamp` | First transfer date    |
| `last_transfer_timestamp`  | Last transfer date     |

```json
{
  "order_by": [{"field": "balance_usd", "direction": "DESC"}]
}
```

#### TGM PnL Leaderboard

| Field                | Description            |
| -------------------- | ---------------------- |
| `realized_pnl_usd`   | Realized profit/loss   |
| `unrealized_pnl_usd` | Unrealized profit/loss |
| `total_pnl_usd`      | Total profit/loss      |
| `roi_percent`        | Return on investment   |

```json
{
  "order_by": [{"field": "total_pnl_usd", "direction": "DESC"}]
}
```

### Best Practices

#### 1. Always Sort When Paginating

Ensure consistent ordering across pages:

```python
# Good - consistent ordering
for page in range(1, 10):
    response = client.post(url, json={
        "pagination": {"page": page, "per_page": 100},
        "order_by": [{"field": "value_usd", "direction": "DESC"}]
    })

# Bad - order may change between pages
for page in range(1, 10):
    response = client.post(url, json={
        "pagination": {"page": page, "per_page": 100}
    })
```

#### 2. Use Secondary Sort for Ties

Add a secondary sort field to break ties:

```json
{
  "order_by": [
    {"field": "volume_24h_usd", "direction": "DESC"},
    {"field": "token_address", "direction": "ASC"}
  ]
}
```

#### 3. Sort by Timestamp for Recent Data

For trade/transaction data, sort by timestamp:

```json
{
  "order_by": [{"field": "timestamp", "direction": "DESC"}]
}
```

#### 4. Consider Default Sorts

Many endpoints have sensible default sorts. Check the endpoint documentation for defaults.

### Error Handling

#### Invalid Sort Field

```json
{
  "detail": [
    {
      "type": "enum",
      "loc": ["body", "order_by", 0, "field"],
      "msg": "Input should be 'value_usd', 'balance_24h_percent_change', ..."
    }
  ]
}
```

#### Invalid Direction

```json
{
  "detail": [
    {
      "type": "enum",
      "loc": ["body", "order_by", 0, "direction"],
      "msg": "Input should be 'ASC' or 'DESC'"
    }
  ]
}
```

### Python Helper

```python
from enum import Enum
from typing import Literal

class SortDirection(str, Enum):
    ASC = "ASC"
    DESC = "DESC"

def create_sort_order(
    field: str,
    direction: Literal["ASC", "DESC"] = "DESC"
) -> dict:
    return {"field": field, "direction": direction}

# Usage
sort = create_sort_order("value_usd", "DESC")
```


---

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