Overview

The SET statement allows you to update, add, or remove properties on nodes and edges. These nodes or edges must first be retrieved using the MATCH statement.

Note that the label on a node or an edge is not subject to any modification.

<set statement> ::= "SET" <set item list>

<set item list> ::= <set item> [ { "," <set item> }... ]

<set item> ::= <set property item> | <set all properties item>
  
<set property item> ::=
  <binding variable reference> "." <property name> "=" <value expression>

<set all properties item> ::=
  <binding variable reference> "=" "{" [ <property key value pair list> ] "}"

Details

• The values of system properties (_id, _uuid, _from, _to, _from_uuid, and _to_uuid) cannot be modified.

Example Graph

Each of the following examples begins with this graph:

To create this graph, run the following query against an empty graph:

INSERT (rowlock:User {_id: "U01", name: "rowlock"}),
       (brainy:User {_id: "U02", name: "Brainy", gender: "male"}),
       (purplechalk:User {_id: "U03", name: "purplechalk", gender: "female"}),
       (mochaeach:User {_id: "U04", name: "mochaeach", gender: "female"}),
       (c:Club {_id: "C01"}),
       (rowlock)-[:Follows {createdOn: "2024-1-5"}]->(brainy),
       (purplechalk)-[:Follows {createdOn: "2024-2-1"}]->(brainy),
       (mochaeach)-[:Follows {createdOn: "2024-2-10}]->(brainy),
       (brainy)-[:Joins {memberNo: 1}]->(c)

Updating Properties

This query updates the property gender for the retrieved node n, and the property createdOn for the retrieved edge e.

MATCH (n:User {name: 'rowlock'})-[e:Follows]->(:User {name: 'Brainy'})
SET n.gender = 'male', e.createdOn = '2024-1-7'
RETURN n.gender, e.createdOn

Result:

Removing Properties

This query removes the value of the property gender for the retrieved node n.

MATCH (n:User {name: 'mochaeach'})
SET n.gender = null
RETURN n

Result: n

Overwriting All Properties

This query overwrites all properties for the retrieved node n with a map: updating value of the property name, removing values of other (custom) properties.

MATCH (n:User {name: 'purplechalk'})
SET n = {name: 'MasterSwift'}
RETURN n

Result: n

Removing All Properties

This query removes all (custom) properties for the retrieved node n with an empty map.

MATCH (n:User {name: 'rowlock'})
SET n = {}
RETURN n

Result: n

Updating Properties with CASE

This query assigns values to the weight property of edges labeled Follows, determined by their createdOn values.

MATCH ()-[e:Follows]->()
SET e.weight = CASE
    WHEN e.createdOn < '2024-1-31' THEN 10
    ELSE 8
END
RETURN e

Result: e

Mismatched Property Value and Type

This query updates the property memberNo (int32-type) of the retrieved edge with a string.

MATCH ()-[e:Joins]->()
SET e.memberNo = 'm2'
RETURN e

Result: e

If the provided value is of a different type than the property type and cannot be converted to the correct type, the default value for that property type will be used instead.