diff --git a/include/common/tdataformat.h b/include/common/tdataformat.h
index ef931ed3b1..974dfc2264 100644
--- a/include/common/tdataformat.h
+++ b/include/common/tdataformat.h
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 #include "os.h"
 #include "talgo.h"
+#include "tarray.h"
 #include "tencode.h"
 #include "ttypes.h"
 #include "tutil.h"
@@ -59,12 +60,12 @@ int32_t tTSRowBuilderPut(STSRowBuilder *pBuilder, int32_t cid, uint8_t *pData, u
 int32_t tTSRowBuilderGetRow(STSRowBuilder *pBuilder, const STSRow2 **ppRow);
 
 // STag
-int32_t tTagNew(STagVal *pTagVals, int16_t nTag, STag **ppTag);
+int32_t tTagNew(SArray *pArray, int32_t version, int8_t isJson, STag **ppTag);
 void    tTagFree(STag *pTag);
-int32_t tTagSet(STag *pTag, SSchema *pSchema, int32_t nCols, int iCol, uint8_t *pData, uint32_t nData, STag **ppTag);
-void    tTagGet(STag *pTag, int16_t cid, int8_t type, uint8_t **ppData, uint32_t *nData);
+void    tTagGet(STag *pTag, STagVal *pTagVal);
 int32_t tEncodeTag(SEncoder *pEncoder, const STag *pTag);
 int32_t tDecodeTag(SDecoder *pDecoder, STag **ppTag);
+int32_t tTagToValArray(STag *pTag, SArray **ppArray);
 
 // STRUCT =================
 struct STColumn {
@@ -118,7 +119,10 @@ struct SColVal {
 };
 
 struct STagVal {
-  int16_t  cid;
+  union {
+    int16_t cid;
+    char   *pKey;
+  };
   int8_t   type;
   uint32_t nData;
   uint8_t *pData;
diff --git a/include/util/tencode.h b/include/util/tencode.h
index cbacd59fa7..914091ad51 100644
--- a/include/util/tencode.h
+++ b/include/util/tencode.h
@@ -642,6 +642,11 @@ static FORCE_INLINE int32_t tGetBinary(uint8_t* p, uint8_t** ppData, uint32_t* n
   return n;
 }
 
+static FORCE_INLINE int32_t tPutCStr(uint8_t* p, char* pData) {
+  return tPutBinary(p, (uint8_t*)pData, strlen(pData) + 1);
+}
+static FORCE_INLINE int32_t tGetCStr(uint8_t* p, char** ppData) { return tGetBinary(p, (uint8_t**)ppData, NULL); }
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/source/common/src/tdataformat.c b/source/common/src/tdataformat.c
index e8d7e3ac09..0d74800d4e 100644
--- a/source/common/src/tdataformat.c
+++ b/source/common/src/tdataformat.c
@@ -31,16 +31,13 @@ typedef struct {
 } STSKVRow;
 #pragma pack(pop)
 
-typedef struct STagIdx {
-  int16_t  cid;
-  uint16_t offset;
-} STagIdx;
-
 #pragma pack(push, 1)
 struct STag {
-  uint16_t len;
-  uint16_t nTag;
-  STagIdx  idx[];
+  int8_t  isJson;
+  int16_t len;
+  int16_t nTag;
+  int32_t ver;
+  int16_t idx[];
 };
 #pragma pack(pop)
 
@@ -521,123 +518,150 @@ int32_t tTSRowBuilderGetRow(STSRowBuilder *pBuilder, const STSRow2 **ppRow) {
   return 0;
 }
 
-static FORCE_INLINE int tTagIdxCmprFn(const void *p1, const void *p2) {
-  STagIdx *pTagIdx1 = (STagIdx *)p1;
-  STagIdx *pTagIdx2 = (STagIdx *)p2;
-  if (pTagIdx1->cid < pTagIdx1->cid) {
+static int tTagValCmprFn(const void *p1, const void *p2) {
+  if (((STagVal *)p1)->cid < ((STagVal *)p2)->cid) {
     return -1;
-  } else if (pTagIdx1->cid > pTagIdx1->cid) {
+  } else if (((STagVal *)p1)->cid > ((STagVal *)p2)->cid) {
     return 1;
   }
+
+  ASSERT(0);
   return 0;
 }
-int32_t tTagNew(STagVal *pTagVals, int16_t nTag, STag **ppTag) {
-  STagVal *pTagVal;
-  uint8_t *p;
-  int32_t  n;
-  uint16_t tsize = sizeof(STag) + sizeof(STagIdx) * nTag;
+static int tTagValJsonCmprFn(const void *p1, const void *p2) {
+  return strcmp(((STagVal *)p1)[0].pKey, ((STagVal *)p2)[0].pKey);
+}
+static int32_t tPutTagVal(uint8_t *p, STagVal *pTagVal, int8_t isJson) {
+  int32_t n = 0;
 
+  // key
+  if (isJson) {
+    n += tPutCStr(p ? p + n : p, pTagVal->pKey);
+  } else {
+    n += tPutI16v(p ? p + n : p, pTagVal->cid);
+  }
+
+  // type
+  n += tPutI8(p ? p + n : p, pTagVal->type);
+
+  // value
+  if (IS_VAR_DATA_TYPE(pTagVal->type)) {
+    n += tPutBinary(p ? p + n : p, pTagVal->pData, pTagVal->nData);
+  } else {
+    ASSERT(pTagVal->nData == TYPE_BYTES[pTagVal->type]);
+    if (p) memcpy(p + n, pTagVal->pData, pTagVal->nData);
+    n += pTagVal->nData;
+  }
+
+  return n;
+}
+static int32_t tGetTagVal(uint8_t *p, STagVal *pTagVal, int8_t isJson) {
+  int32_t n = 0;
+
+  // key
+  if (isJson) {
+    n += tGetCStr(p + n, &pTagVal->pKey);
+  } else {
+    n += tGetI16v(p + n, &pTagVal->cid);
+  }
+
+  // type
+  n += tGetI8(p + n, &pTagVal->type);
+
+  // value
+  if (IS_VAR_DATA_TYPE(pTagVal->type)) {
+    n += tGetBinary(p + n, &pTagVal->pData, &pTagVal->nData);
+  } else {
+    pTagVal->pData = p + n;
+    pTagVal->nData = TYPE_BYTES[pTagVal->type];
+    n += pTagVal->nData;
+  }
+
+  return n;
+}
+int32_t tTagNew(SArray *pArray, int32_t version, int8_t isJson, STag **ppTag) {
+  int32_t  code = 0;
+  uint8_t *p = NULL;
+  int16_t  n = 0;
+  int16_t  nTag = taosArrayGetSize(pArray);
+  int32_t  szTag = sizeof(STag) + sizeof(int16_t) * nTag;
+
+  // sort
+  if (isJson) {
+    qsort(pArray->pData, nTag, sizeof(STagVal), tTagValJsonCmprFn);
+  } else {
+    qsort(pArray->pData, nTag, sizeof(STagVal), tTagValCmprFn);
+  }
+
+  // get size
   for (int16_t iTag = 0; iTag < nTag; iTag++) {
-    pTagVal = &pTagVals[iTag];
-
-    if (IS_VAR_DATA_TYPE(pTagVal->type)) {
-      tsize += tPutBinary(NULL, pTagVal->pData, pTagVal->nData);
-    } else {
-      ASSERT(pTagVal->nData == TYPE_BYTES[pTagVal->type]);
-      tsize += pTagVal->nData;
-    }
+    szTag += tPutTagVal(NULL, (STagVal *)taosArrayGet(pArray, iTag), isJson);
   }
 
-  (*ppTag) = (STag *)taosMemoryMalloc(tsize);
-  if (*ppTag == NULL) {
-    terrno = TSDB_CODE_OUT_OF_MEMORY;
-    return -1;
+  // TODO
+  // if (szTag >= 16 * 1024) {
+  //   code = TSDB_CODE_IVLD_TAG;
+  //   goto _err;
+  // }
+
+  // build tag
+  (*ppTag) = (STag *)taosMemoryMalloc(szTag);
+  if ((*ppTag) == NULL) {
+    code = TSDB_CODE_OUT_OF_MEMORY;
+    goto _err;
   }
-
-  p = (uint8_t *)&((*ppTag)->idx[nTag]);
-  n = 0;
-
-  (*ppTag)->len = tsize;
+  (*ppTag)->isJson = isJson ? 1 : 0;
+  (*ppTag)->len = szTag;
   (*ppTag)->nTag = nTag;
+  (*ppTag)->ver = version;
+
+  p = (uint8_t *)&(*ppTag)->idx[nTag];
+  n = 0;
   for (int16_t iTag = 0; iTag < nTag; iTag++) {
-    pTagVal = &pTagVals[iTag];
-
-    (*ppTag)->idx[iTag].cid = pTagVal->cid;
-    (*ppTag)->idx[iTag].offset = n;
-
-    if (IS_VAR_DATA_TYPE(pTagVal->type)) {
-      n += tPutBinary(p + n, pTagVal->pData, pTagVal->nData);
-    } else {
-      memcpy(p + n, pTagVal->pData, pTagVal->nData);
-      n += pTagVal->nData;
-    }
+    (*ppTag)->idx[iTag] = n;
+    n += tPutTagVal(p + n, (STagVal *)taosArrayGet(pArray, iTag), isJson);
   }
 
-  qsort((*ppTag)->idx, (*ppTag)->nTag, sizeof(STagIdx), tTagIdxCmprFn);
-  return 0;
+  return code;
+
+_err:
+  return code;
 }
 
 void tTagFree(STag *pTag) {
   if (pTag) taosMemoryFree(pTag);
 }
 
-int32_t tTagSet(STag *pTag, SSchema *pSchema, int32_t nCols, int iCol, uint8_t *pData, uint32_t nData, STag **ppTag) {
-  STagVal *pTagVals;
-  int16_t  nTags = 0;
-  SSchema *pColumn;
-  uint8_t *p;
-  uint32_t n;
+void tTagGet(STag *pTag, STagVal *pTagVal) {
+  int16_t  lidx = 0;
+  int16_t  ridx = pTag->nTag - 1;
+  int16_t  midx;
+  uint8_t *p = (uint8_t *)&pTag->idx[pTag->nTag];
+  STagVal  tv;
+  int      c;
 
-  pTagVals = (STagVal *)taosMemoryMalloc(sizeof(*pTagVals) * nCols);
-  if (pTagVals == NULL) {
-    terrno = TSDB_CODE_OUT_OF_MEMORY;
-    return -1;
-  }
+  pTagVal->type = TSDB_DATA_TYPE_NULL;
+  pTagVal->pData = NULL;
+  pTagVal->nData = 0;
+  while (lidx <= ridx) {
+    midx = (lidx + ridx) / 2;
 
-  for (int32_t i = 0; i < nCols; i++) {
-    pColumn = &pSchema[i];
-
-    if (i == iCol) {
-      p = pData;
-      n = nData;
+    tGetTagVal(p + pTag->idx[midx], &tv, pTag->isJson);
+    if (pTag->isJson) {
+      c = tTagValJsonCmprFn(pTagVal, &tv);
     } else {
-      tTagGet(pTag, pColumn->colId, pColumn->type, &p, &n);
+      c = tTagValCmprFn(pTagVal, &tv);
     }
 
-    if (p == NULL) continue;
-
-    ASSERT(IS_VAR_DATA_TYPE(pColumn->type) || n == pColumn->bytes);
-
-    pTagVals[nTags].cid = pColumn->colId;
-    pTagVals[nTags].type = pColumn->type;
-    pTagVals[nTags].nData = n;
-    pTagVals[nTags].pData = p;
-
-    nTags++;
-  }
-
-  // create new tag
-  if (tTagNew(pTagVals, nTags, ppTag) < 0) {
-    taosMemoryFree(pTagVals);
-    return -1;
-  }
-
-  taosMemoryFree(pTagVals);
-  return 0;
-}
-
-void tTagGet(STag *pTag, int16_t cid, int8_t type, uint8_t **ppData, uint32_t *nData) {
-  STagIdx *pTagIdx = bsearch(&((STagIdx){.cid = cid}), pTag->idx, pTag->nTag, sizeof(STagIdx), tTagIdxCmprFn);
-  if (pTagIdx == NULL) {
-    *ppData = NULL;
-    *nData = 0;
-  } else {
-    uint8_t *p = (uint8_t *)&pTag->idx[pTag->nTag] + pTagIdx->offset;
-    if (IS_VAR_DATA_TYPE(type)) {
-      tGetBinary(p, ppData, nData);
+    if (c < 0) {
+      ridx = midx - 1;
+    } else if (c > 0) {
+      lidx = midx + 1;
     } else {
-      *ppData = p;
-      *nData = TYPE_BYTES[type];
+      pTagVal->type = tv.type;
+      pTagVal->nData = tv.nData;
+      pTagVal->pData = tv.pData;
+      break;
     }
   }
 }
@@ -648,6 +672,28 @@ int32_t tEncodeTag(SEncoder *pEncoder, const STag *pTag) {
 
 int32_t tDecodeTag(SDecoder *pDecoder, STag **ppTag) { return tDecodeBinary(pDecoder, (uint8_t **)ppTag, NULL); }
 
+int32_t tTagToValArray(STag *pTag, SArray **ppArray) {
+  int32_t  code = 0;
+  uint8_t *p = (uint8_t *)&pTag->idx[pTag->nTag];
+  STagVal  tv;
+
+  (*ppArray) = taosArrayInit(pTag->nTag + 1, sizeof(STagVal));
+  if (*ppArray == NULL) {
+    code = TSDB_CODE_OUT_OF_MEMORY;
+    goto _err;
+  }
+
+  for (int16_t iTag = 0; iTag < pTag->nTag; iTag++) {
+    tGetTagVal(p + pTag->idx[iTag], &tv, pTag->isJson);
+    taosArrayPush(*ppArray, &tv);
+  }
+
+  return code;
+
+_err:
+  return code;
+}
+
 #if 1  // ===================================================================================================================
 static void dataColSetNEleNull(SDataCol *pCol, int nEle);
 int         tdAllocMemForCol(SDataCol *pCol, int maxPoints) {