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Count images in array of content blocks with GROQ

2 replies
Last updated: Nov 30, 2025
Is there a quick and easy way to count all images in an array of content blocks in GROQ? I’m adding a small text summary like 
12 minute read and 43 images
to article teasers. Managed to handle word count no problem, just thinking about a query for counting images. I have a few different content blocks with images, so I assume the query might be complex
AI Update

Yes! There's actually a pretty straightforward way to count images across different content blocks using count() and math::sum() in GROQ.

Here's the basic approach:

*[_type == "article"] {
  title,
  "imageCount": count(content[_type == "image"]) 
    + coalesce(math::sum(content[_type == "gallery"].images[].count(*)), 0)
    + coalesce(math::sum(content[]{count(images)}), 0)
}

But the exact query depends on your schema. Here's a more flexible pattern that handles multiple block types with images:

*[_type == "article"] {
  title,
  "imageCount": 
    // Count standalone image blocks
    count(content[_type == "imageBlock"])
    // Add images from gallery blocks
    + math::sum(
        content[_type in ["imageGalleryBlock", "inlineImagesBlock"]] {
          "count": count(images)
        }.count
      )
}

The key is:

  1. Use count() for simple arrays of image blocks
  2. Use math::sum() combined with count() when you have nested arrays (like galleries)
  3. Filter by _type to target specific block types

If you want to get fancy and combine it with your word count for the teaser:

*[_type == "article"] {
  title,
  "readTime": round(length(pt::text(content)) / 200),
  "imageCount": count(content[_type == "imageBlock"]) 
    + math::sum(content[_type == "gallery"]{count(images)}.count)
}

Then in your frontend you can format it as "12 minute read and 43 images".

The GROQ count() function documentation has more details, and there's a helpful community answer that covers this exact use case with portable text content!

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