GROQ: Filter slug.current excluding multiple patterns with match operator

The match operator in GROQ doesn't support matching against an array of patterns directly. Your working solution with separate conditions is actually the correct approach! However, there's a better way to handle this.

The match operator is designed for full-text search with tokenization, not exact string pattern matching. According to the match operator documentation, it tokenizes text and treats special characters like / as word separators, which makes it less ideal for slug matching.

The better solution: Use string::startsWith() instead, which is specifically designed for prefix matching:

*[_type == "page" && 
  !string::startsWith(slug.current, "/press") && 
  !string::startsWith(slug.current, "/blog")
]

Why this is better:

• string::startsWith() does exact prefix matching without tokenization
• It's more performant for this use case
• The intent is clearer in your code
• It's the recommended approach for prefix matching

Why your array syntax didn't work: The match operator doesn't accept arrays as the pattern argument. It expects a single string pattern with optional wildcards (*), not an array of patterns. There's no built-in OR functionality, pipe syntax, or alternation for multiple patterns in a single match expression - you have to use separate conditions like you did.

If you really want an array-based approach, you could do something like this, though it's more complex:

*[_type == "page" && 
  !(["/press", "/blog"] match string::split(slug.current, "/")[1])
]

But honestly, stick with string::startsWith() - it's cleaner, more readable, and semantically correct for checking URL prefixes. Your original working solution is also perfectly fine if you prefer to keep using match!