Learn Cypher - 10 Code Examples & CST Typing Practice Test

Cypher is Neo4j’s declarative graph query language designed for creating, querying, and manipulating graph data structures. It uses ASCII-art-like pattern matching to express complex graph relationships intuitively.

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Basic Cypher Queries Advanced Cypher Filtering Neo4j Aggregation Neo4j Path Matching Neo4j Create With Properties Neo4j Relationship Properties Neo4j Delete Nodes Neo4j Indexes Neo4j Constraints Neo4j Full-Text Search

Learn CYPHER with Real Code Examples

Updated Nov 18, 2025

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Code Sample Descriptions

Basic Cypher Queries

CREATE (a:Person {name: "Alice"})
CREATE (b:Person {name: "Bob"})
CREATE (a)-[:FRIEND]->(b);

MATCH (p:Person)-[:FRIEND]->(f)
RETURN p.name, f.name;

Creating nodes and relationships, then querying them in Neo4j using Cypher.

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Advanced Cypher Filtering

MATCH (p:Person)-[:FRIEND*1..2]->(f)
WHERE p.name = "Alice"
RETURN f.name;

Using WHERE clauses and relationship depth in Neo4j queries.

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Neo4j Aggregation

MATCH (p:Person)-[:FRIEND]->(f)
RETURN p.name, COUNT(f) AS friend_count
ORDER BY friend_count DESC;

Counting friends per user with Cypher aggregation.

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Neo4j Path Matching

MATCH p = (a:Person {name:"Alice"})-[:FRIEND*2]->(b:Person)
RETURN p;

Querying all paths of a certain length between nodes.

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Neo4j Create With Properties

CREATE (c:Company {
    name: "TechCorp",
    founded: 2020,
    location: "NYC"
});

Creating a node with multiple properties in Cypher.

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Neo4j Relationship Properties

MATCH (a:Person {name: "Alice"}), (b:Person {name: "Bob"})
CREATE (a)-[:WORKED_WITH {since: 2021}]->(b);

Adding properties to relationships in Neo4j.

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Neo4j Delete Nodes

MATCH (p:Person {name: "Alice"})
DETACH DELETE p;

Deleting nodes and relationships in Neo4j.

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Neo4j Indexes

CREATE INDEX person_name_index FOR (p:Person) ON (p.name);

Creating an index on node properties in Neo4j.

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Neo4j Constraints

CREATE CONSTRAINT unique_email IF NOT EXISTS
FOR (p:Person)
REQUIRE p.email IS UNIQUE;

Adding uniqueness constraint to ensure unique property values.

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Neo4j Full-Text Search

CALL db.index.fulltext.createNodeIndex("personIndex", ["Person"], ["name","email"]);

CALL db.index.fulltext.queryNodes("personIndex", "Alice")
YIELD node, score
RETURN node.name, score;

Using full-text indexes to search across multiple properties.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Cypher

What is Cypher?

What are the primary use cases for Cypher?

Graph traversal and pathfinding. Recommendation systems. Social network analysis. Fraud detection and link analysis. Knowledge graphs and semantic search. Network and IT infrastructure mapping

What are the strengths of Cypher?

Intuitive pattern-based syntax. High performance for relationship-heavy queries. Strong ecosystem (APOC, GDS library). Excellent visualization in Neo4j Browser. Supports complex graph analytics

What are the limitations of Cypher?

Not ideal for massive tabular datasets. Requires graph modeling expertise. Performance depends on proper indexing. Limited JOIN-like operations outside graph context

How can I practice Cypher typing speed?

CodeSpeedTest offers 10+ real Cypher code examples for typing practice. You can measure your WPM, track accuracy, and improve your coding speed with guided exercises.

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Code Sample Descriptions

Basic Cypher Queries

CREATE (a:Person {name: "Alice"})
CREATE (b:Person {name: "Bob"})
CREATE (a)-[:FRIEND]->(b);

MATCH (p:Person)-[:FRIEND]->(f)
RETURN p.name, f.name;

Creating nodes and relationships, then querying them in Neo4j using Cypher.

Let’s Try →

Advanced Cypher Filtering

MATCH (p:Person)-[:FRIEND*1..2]->(f)
WHERE p.name = "Alice"
RETURN f.name;

Using WHERE clauses and relationship depth in Neo4j queries.

Let’s Try →

Neo4j Aggregation

MATCH (p:Person)-[:FRIEND]->(f)
RETURN p.name, COUNT(f) AS friend_count
ORDER BY friend_count DESC;

Counting friends per user with Cypher aggregation.

Let’s Try →

Neo4j Path Matching

MATCH p = (a:Person {name:"Alice"})-[:FRIEND*2]->(b:Person)
RETURN p;

Querying all paths of a certain length between nodes.

Let’s Try →

Neo4j Create With Properties

CREATE (c:Company {
    name: "TechCorp",
    founded: 2020,
    location: "NYC"
});

Creating a node with multiple properties in Cypher.

Let’s Try →

Neo4j Relationship Properties

MATCH (a:Person {name: "Alice"}), (b:Person {name: "Bob"})
CREATE (a)-[:WORKED_WITH {since: 2021}]->(b);

Adding properties to relationships in Neo4j.

Let’s Try →

Neo4j Delete Nodes

MATCH (p:Person {name: "Alice"})
DETACH DELETE p;

Deleting nodes and relationships in Neo4j.

Let’s Try →

Neo4j Indexes

CREATE INDEX person_name_index FOR (p:Person) ON (p.name);

Creating an index on node properties in Neo4j.

Let’s Try →

Neo4j Constraints

CREATE CONSTRAINT unique_email IF NOT EXISTS
FOR (p:Person)
REQUIRE p.email IS UNIQUE;

Adding uniqueness constraint to ensure unique property values.

Let’s Try →

Neo4j Full-Text Search

CALL db.index.fulltext.createNodeIndex("personIndex", ["Person"], ["name","email"]);

CALL db.index.fulltext.queryNodes("personIndex", "Alice")
YIELD node, score
RETURN node.name, score;

Using full-text indexes to search across multiple properties.

Let’s Try →

Frequently Asked Questions about Cypher

What is Cypher?

What are the primary use cases for Cypher?

Graph traversal and pathfinding. Recommendation systems. Social network analysis. Fraud detection and link analysis. Knowledge graphs and semantic search. Network and IT infrastructure mapping

What are the strengths of Cypher?

Intuitive pattern-based syntax. High performance for relationship-heavy queries. Strong ecosystem (APOC, GDS library). Excellent visualization in Neo4j Browser. Supports complex graph analytics

What are the limitations of Cypher?

Not ideal for massive tabular datasets. Requires graph modeling expertise. Performance depends on proper indexing. Limited JOIN-like operations outside graph context

How can I practice Cypher typing speed?

CodeSpeedTest offers 10+ real Cypher code examples for typing practice. You can measure your WPM, track accuracy, and improve your coding speed with guided exercises.