> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://mikefarah.gitbook.io/yq/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://mikefarah.gitbook.io/yq/operators/compare.md).

# Compare Operators

Comparison operators (`>`, `>=`, `<`, `<=`) can be used for comparing scalar values of the same time.

The following types are currently supported:

* numbers
* strings
* datetimes

## Related Operators

* equals / not equals (`==`, `!=`) operators [here](https://mikefarah.gitbook.io/yq/operators/equals)
* boolean operators (`and`, `or`, `any` etc) [here](https://mikefarah.gitbook.io/yq/operators/boolean-operators)
* select operator [here](https://mikefarah.gitbook.io/yq/operators/select)

## Compare numbers (>)

Given a sample.yml file of:

```yaml
a: 5
b: 4
```

then

```bash
yq '.a > .b' sample.yml
```

will output

```yaml
true
```

## Compare equal numbers (>=)

Given a sample.yml file of:

```yaml
a: 5
b: 5
```

then

```bash
yq '.a >= .b' sample.yml
```

will output

```yaml
true
```

## Compare strings

Compares strings by their bytecode.

Given a sample.yml file of:

```yaml
a: zoo
b: apple
```

then

```bash
yq '.a > .b' sample.yml
```

will output

```yaml
true
```

## Compare date times

You can compare date times. Assumes RFC3339 date time format, see [date-time operators](https://mikefarah.gitbook.io/yq/operators/date-time-operators) for more information.

Given a sample.yml file of:

```yaml
a: 2021-01-01T03:10:00Z
b: 2020-01-01T03:10:00Z
```

then

```bash
yq '.a > .b' sample.yml
```

will output

```yaml
true
```

## Both sides are null: > is false

Running

```bash
yq --null-input '.a > .b'
```

will output

```yaml
false
```

## Both sides are null: >= is true

Running

```bash
yq --null-input '.a >= .b'
```

will output

```yaml
true
```