Model Tree Structures
MongoDB 5.0 is end of life as of October 2024. This version of the documentation is no longer
supported. To upgrade your 5.0 deployment, see the MongoDB 6.0 upgrade procedures.
MongoDB allows various ways to use tree data structures to model large hierarchical or nested data relationships.
- Model Tree Structures with Parent References
- Presents a data model that organizes documents in a tree-like structure by storing references to "parent" nodes in "child" nodes.
- Model Tree Structures with Child References
- Presents a data model that organizes documents in a tree-like structure by storing references to "child" nodes in "parent" nodes.
- Model Tree Structures with an Array of Ancestors
- Presents a data model that organizes documents in a tree-like structure by storing references to "parent" nodes and an array that stores all ancestors.
- Model Tree Structures with Materialized Paths
- Presents a data model that organizes documents in a tree-like
structure by storing full relationship paths between documents. In
addition to the tree node, each document stores the
_id
of the nodes ancestors or path as a string. - Model Tree Structures with Nested Sets
- Presents a data model that organizes documents in a tree-like structure using the Nested Sets pattern. This optimizes discovering subtrees at the expense of tree mutability.