List.MatchesAll Function in Power Query M (5 Easy Examples)

List.MatchesAll checks every value in a list against a condition and returns true only if all of them satisfy it. Available in Excel (Power Query), Power BI Desktop, and Power BI Service.

If you want a single yes/no answer to whether every item in a list passes a rule, such as “are all scores at least 50”, this is the function to use.

Table of Contents

Syntax of List.MatchesAll Function

List.MatchesAll(list as list, condition as function) as logical

where

list (required, list). The list whose values you want to check.
condition (required, function). The test applied to each value, usually written as an each expression with _ standing in for the current item, for example each _ > 0.

Returns: a logical value, either true or false.

In plain terms, it returns true if every item in the list satisfies the condition, and false as soon as one item fails.

Example 1: Check that every number is positive

Test whether all the numbers in a list are greater than 0.

List.MatchesAll({2,4,6},each _ > 0)

Result: true

Every value clears the rule, so the function returns true.

Example 2: One failing item makes the whole result false

List.MatchesAll({2,4,-6},each _ > 0)

Result: false

-6 does not satisfy each _ > 0, and a single failure is enough to make the result false.

Example 3: Check that every text value starts with a letter

The condition can be any test, not just a number comparison. Here it checks that each name starts with A.

List.MatchesAll({"Apex","Atlas","Aurora"},each Text.StartsWith(_,"A"))

Result: true

All three names begin with A, so the function returns true.

Example 4: Check that a whole column passes a rule

The most useful case is testing a table column. Say you have a Results query with a Candidate and a Score column, and you want to know whether every candidate scored at least 50.

Here is the starting data:

Candidate	Score
Rohan	74
Mira	88
Tomas	51
Lena	67

Pull the Score column into List.MatchesAll:

let
    Source = Excel.CurrentWorkbook(){[Name="Results"]}[Content],
    AllPass = List.MatchesAll(Source[Score],each _ >= 50)
in
    AllPass

Result: true

Every score is 50 or higher, so the column passes and the function returns a single true. Because the result is one boolean and not a table, there is no result grid here.

Example 5: An empty list returns true

List.MatchesAll({},each _ > 0)

Result: true

With no items in the list, there is nothing that can break the rule, so the result is true. This is known as vacuous truth.

Things to keep in mind with List.MatchesAll

The second argument is a function, not a list of booleans. List.MatchesAll applies the each condition to each item itself. If you already have a list of pre-computed true/false values, use List.AllTrue instead, which takes those booleans directly with no condition.
An empty list returns true. With nothing to violate the condition, the result is true (Example 5). Guard against this if an empty list should really count as a failure in your logic.
It is the AND-counterpart of List.MatchesAny. List.MatchesAll needs every item to pass; List.MatchesAny returns true as soon as one item passes.
The condition must be callable. Passing a literal value instead of a function (for example a number or a plain boolean) raises an error rather than being coerced.
_ refers to the whole item. For a flat list it is each _ > 0. For a list of records you reach a field with each [Field] > 0 instead.
It only tells you pass or fail, not which item failed. When you need the offending rows, filter them with Table.SelectRows, then count the result with List.Count to see how many fell short.

Common questions about List.MatchesAll

What is the difference between List.MatchesAll, List.AllTrue, and List.MatchesAny?

List.MatchesAll(list, condition) applies a condition function and returns true if every item passes. List.MatchesAny(list, condition) does the same but returns true if at least one item passes. List.AllTrue(list) takes a list that already holds true/false values and returns true if all of them are true. So MatchesAll and MatchesAny take a condition, while AllTrue takes ready-made booleans.

How do I check that a whole column passes a rule?

Feed the column into the function with List.MatchesAll(Source[ColumnName],each _ >= threshold). It returns a single boolean for the entire column, which is handy for data-quality gates like “are all scores at least 50” (Example 4). If instead you want to know whether a specific value appears in the column, use List.Contains.

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