db.collection.findOneAndUpdate()
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Definition
db.collection.findOneAndUpdate( filter, update, options )
Important
mongosh Method
This page documents a
mongosh
method. This is not the documentation for database commands or language-specific drivers, such as Node.js.For the database command, see the
update
command.For MongoDB API drivers, refer to the language-specific MongoDB driver documentation.
For the legacy
mongo
shell documentation, refer to the documentation for the corresponding MongoDB Server release:Updates a single document based on the
filter
andsort
criteria.The
findOneAndUpdate()
method has the following form:db.collection.findOneAndUpdate( <filter>, <update document or aggregation pipeline>, // Changed in MongoDB 4.2 { projection: <document>, sort: <document>, maxTimeMS: <number>, upsert: <boolean>, returnDocument: <string>, returnNewDocument: <boolean>, collation: <document>, arrayFilters: [ <filterdocument1>, ... ] } ) The
findOneAndUpdate()
method takes the following parameters:ParameterTypeDescriptionfilter
documentThe selection criteria for the update. The same query selectors as in the
find()
method are available.To update the first document returned in the collection, specify an empty document
{ }
.If unspecified, defaults to an empty document.
Starting in MongoDB 4.2, the operation returns an error if the query field is not a document.
If no document matches the
filter
, no document is updated.update
document or arrayThe update document or, starting in MongoDB 4.2, an aggregation pipeline.
If passed a document with update operator expressions,
db.collection.findOneAndUpdate()
performs the specified modification.Note
The document must contain only update operators. You cannot specify a replacement document
{ <field1>: <value1>, ...}
. To use a replacement document, seedb.collection.findOneAndReplace()
instead.Starting in MongoDB 4.2, if passed an aggregation pipeline
[ <stage1>, <stage2>, ... ]
,db.collection.findOneAndUpdate()
modifies the document per the pipeline. The pipeline can consist of the following stages:$addFields
and its alias$set
$replaceRoot
and its alias$replaceWith
.
projection
documentOptional. A subset of fields to return.
To return all fields in the returned document, omit this parameter.
Starting in MongoDB 4.2 (and 4.0.12+, 3.6.14+, and 3.4.23+), the operation errors if the projection argument is not a document.
sort
documentOptional. Specifies a sorting order for the documents matched by the
filter
.Starting in MongoDB 4.2 (and 4.0.12+, 3.6.14+, and 3.4.23+), the operation errors if the sort argument is not a document.
See
cursor.sort()
.maxTimeMS
numberOptional. Specifies a time limit in milliseconds within which the operation must complete within. Throws an error if the limit is exceeded.upsert
booleanOptional. When
true
,findOneAndUpdate()
either:Creates a new document if no documents match the
filter
. For more details see upsert behavior. Returnsnull
after inserting the new document, unlessreturnNewDocument
istrue
.Updates a single document that matches the
filter
.
To avoid multiple upserts, ensure that the
filter
field(s) are uniquely indexed.Defaults to
false
, which does not insert a new document when no match is found.returnDocument
stringOptional. Starting in
mongosh
0.13.2,returnDocument
is an alternative forreturnNewDocument
. If both options are set,returnDocument
takes precedence.returnDocument: "before"
returns the original document.returnDocument: "after"
returns the updated document.returnNewDocument
booleanOptional. When
true
, returns the updated document instead of the original document.Defaults to
false
.collation
documentOptional.
Specifies the collation to use for the operation.
Collation allows users to specify language-specific rules for string comparison, such as rules for lettercase and accent marks.
The collation option has the following syntax:
collation: { locale: <string>, caseLevel: <boolean>, caseFirst: <string>, strength: <int>, numericOrdering: <boolean>, alternate: <string>, maxVariable: <string>, backwards: <boolean> } When specifying collation, the
locale
field is mandatory; all other collation fields are optional. For descriptions of the fields, see Collation Document.If the collation is unspecified but the collection has a default collation (see
db.createCollection()
), the operation uses the collation specified for the collection.If no collation is specified for the collection or for the operations, MongoDB uses the simple binary comparison used in prior versions for string comparisons.
You cannot specify multiple collations for an operation. For example, you cannot specify different collations per field, or if performing a find with a sort, you cannot use one collation for the find and another for the sort.
arrayFilters
arrayOptional. An array of filter documents that determine which array elements to modify for an update operation on an array field.
In the update document, use the
$[<identifier>]
filtered positional operator to define an identifier, which you then reference in the array filter documents. You cannot have an array filter document for an identifier if the identifier is not included in the update document.Note
The
<identifier>
must begin with a lowercase letter and contain only alphanumeric characters.You can include the same identifier multiple times in the update document; however, for each distinct identifier (
$[identifier]
) in the update document, you must specify exactly one corresponding array filter document. That is, you cannot specify multiple array filter documents for the same identifier. For example, if the update statement includes the identifierx
(possibly multiple times), you cannot specify the following forarrayFilters
that includes 2 separate filter documents forx
:// INVALID [ { "x.a": { $gt: 85 } }, { "x.b": { $gt: 80 } } ] However, you can specify compound conditions on the same identifier in a single filter document, such as in the following examples:
// Example 1 [ { $or: [{"x.a": {$gt: 85}}, {"x.b": {$gt: 80}}] } ] // Example 2 [ { $and: [{"x.a": {$gt: 85}}, {"x.b": {$gt: 80}}] } ] // Example 3 [ { "x.a": { $gt: 85 }, "x.b": { $gt: 80 } } ] For examples, see Array Update Operations with
arrayFilters
.Note
arrayFilters
is not available for updates that use an aggregation pipeline.
Returns
Returns the original document by default. Returns the updated document
if returnNewDocument is set to
true
or returnDocument is
set to after
.
Behavior
Document Match
db.collection.findOneAndUpdate()
updates the first matching
document in the collection that matches the filter
. If no document
matches the filter
, no document is updated.
The sort
parameter can be used to influence which document is updated.
Projection
Important
Language Consistency
Starting in MongoDB 4.4, as part of making
find()
and
findAndModify()
projection consistent with
aggregation's $project
stage,
The
find()
andfindAndModify()
projection can accept aggregation expressions and syntax.MongoDB enforces additional restrictions with regards to projections. See Projection Restrictions for details.
The projection
parameter takes a document in the following form:
{ field1 : <value>, field2 : <value> ... }
Projection | Description |
---|---|
<field>: <1 or true> | Specifies the inclusion of a field. If you specify a non-zero
integer for the projection value, the operation treats the
value as true . |
<field>: <0 or false> | Specifies the exclusion of a field. |
"<field>.$": <1 or true> | |
<field>: <array projection> | Uses the array projection operators ( Not available for views. |
<field>: <aggregation expression> | Specifies the value of the projected field. Starting in MongoDB 4.4, with the use of aggregation expressions and syntax, including the use of literals and aggregation variables, you can project new fields or project existing fields with new values.
In versions 4.2 and earlier, any specification value (with
the exception of the previously unsupported document
value) is treated as either New in version 4.4. |
Embedded Field Specification
For fields in an embedded documents, you can specify the field using either:
dot notation, for example
"field.nestedfield": <value>
nested form, for example
{ field: { nestedfield: <value> } }
(Starting in MongoDB 4.4)
_id
Field Projection
The _id
field is included in the returned documents by default unless
you explicitly specify _id: 0
in the projection to suppress the field.
Inclusion or Exclusion
A projection
cannot contain both include and exclude
specifications, with the exception of the _id
field:
In projections that explicitly include fields, the
_id
field is the only field that you can explicitly exclude.In projections that explicitly excludes fields, the
_id
field is the only field that you can explicitly include; however, the_id
field is included by default.
For more information on projection, see also:
Sharded Collections
To use db.collection.findOneAndUpdate()
on a sharded collection, the query filter must
include an equality condition on the shard key.
Starting in version 4.4, documents in a sharded collection can be
missing the shard key fields. To target a
document that is missing the shard key, you can use the null
equality match in conjunction with another filter condition
(such as on the _id
field). For example:
{ _id: <value>, <shardkeyfield>: null } // _id of the document missing shard key
Shard Key Modification
Starting in MongoDB 4.2, you can update a document's shard key value
unless the shard key field is the immutable _id
field. In
MongoDB 4.2 and earlier, a document's shard key field value is
immutable.
Warning
Starting in version 4.4, documents in sharded collections can be missing the shard key fields. Take precaution to avoid accidentally removing the shard key when changing a document's shard key value.
To modify the existing shard key value with
db.collection.findOneAndUpdate()
:
You must run on a
mongos
. Do not issue the operation directly on the shard.You must run either in a transaction or as a retryable write.
You must include an equality filter on the full shard key.
Missing Shard Key
Starting in version 4.4, documents in a sharded collection can be
missing the shard key fields. To use
db.collection.findOneAndUpdate()
to set the document's
missing shard key,
You must run on a
mongos
. Do not issue the operation directly on the shard.You must run either in a transaction or as a retryable write if the new shard key value is not
null
.You must include an equality filter on the full shard key.
Tip
Since a missing key value is returned as part of a null equality
match, to avoid updating a null-valued key, include additional
query conditions (such as on the _id
field) as appropriate.
See also:
Transactions
db.collection.findOneAndUpdate()
can be used inside multi-document transactions.
Important
In most cases, multi-document transaction incurs a greater performance cost over single document writes, and the availability of multi-document transactions should not be a replacement for effective schema design. For many scenarios, the denormalized data model (embedded documents and arrays) will continue to be optimal for your data and use cases. That is, for many scenarios, modeling your data appropriately will minimize the need for multi-document transactions.
For additional transactions usage considerations (such as runtime limit and oplog size limit), see also Production Considerations.
Upsert within Transactions
Starting in MongoDB 4.4, you can create collections and indexes inside a multi-document transaction if the transaction is not a cross-shard write transaction.
Specifically, in MongoDB 4.4 and greater, db.collection.findOneAndUpdate()
with
upsert: true
can be run on an existing collection or a
non-existing collection. If run on a non-existing collection,
the operation creates the collection.
In MongoDB 4.2 and earlier, the operation must be run on an existing collection.
Write Concerns and Transactions
Do not explicitly set the write concern for the operation if run in a transaction. To use write concern with transactions, see Transactions and Write Concern.
Examples
Update A Document
The grades
collection contains documents similar to the following:
{ _id: 6305, name : "A. MacDyver", "assignment" : 5, "points" : 24 }, { _id: 6308, name : "B. Batlock", "assignment" : 3, "points" : 22 }, { _id: 6312, name : "M. Tagnum", "assignment" : 5, "points" : 30 }, { _id: 6319, name : "R. Stiles", "assignment" : 2, "points" : 12 }, { _id: 6322, name : "A. MacDyver", "assignment" : 2, "points" : 14 }, { _id: 6234, name : "R. Stiles", "assignment" : 1, "points" : 10 }
The following operation finds the first document where name : R. Stiles
and increments the score by 5
:
db.grades.findOneAndUpdate( { "name" : "R. Stiles" }, { $inc: { "points" : 5 } } )
The operation returns the original document before the update:
{ _id: 6319, name: "R. Stiles", "assignment" : 2, "points" : 12 }
If returnNewDocument
was true, the operation would return the
updated document instead.
Sort And Update A Document
The grades
collection contains documents similar to the following:
{ _id: 6305, name : "A. MacDyver", "assignment" : 5, "points" : 24 }, { _id: 6308, name : "B. Batlock", "assignment" : 3, "points" : 22 }, { _id: 6312, name : "M. Tagnum", "assignment" : 5, "points" : 30 }, { _id: 6319, name : "R. Stiles", "assignment" : 2, "points" : 12 }, { _id: 6322, name : "A. MacDyver", "assignment" : 2, "points" : 14 }, { _id: 6234, name : "R. Stiles", "assignment" : 1, "points" : 10 }
The following operation updates a document where name : "A. MacDyver"
. The
operation sorts the matching documents by points
ascending to update the
matching document with the least points.
db.grades.findOneAndUpdate( { "name" : "A. MacDyver" }, { $inc : { "points" : 5 } }, { sort : { "points" : 1 } } )
The operation returns the original document before the update:
{ _id: 6322, name: "A. MacDyver", "assignment" : 2, "points" : 14 }
Project the Returned Document
The following operation uses projection to only display the _id
,
points
, and assignment
fields in the returned document:
db.grades.findOneAndUpdate( { "name" : "A. MacDyver" }, { $inc : { "points" : 5 } }, { sort : { "points" : 1 }, projection: { "assignment" : 1, "points" : 1 } } )
The operation returns the original document with only the
fields specified in the projection
document and the _id
field as it was not
explicitly suppressed (_id: 0
) in the projection document.
{ "_id" : 6322, "assignment" : 2, "points" : 14 }
Update Document with Time Limit
The following operation sets a 5ms time limit to complete the update:
try { db.grades.findOneAndUpdate( { "name" : "A. MacDyver" }, { $inc : { "points" : 5 } }, { sort: { "points" : 1 }, maxTimeMS : 5 }; ); } catch(e){ print(e); }
If the operation exceeds the time limit, it returns:
Error: findAndModifyFailed failed: { "ok" : 0, "errmsg" : "operation exceeded time limit", "code" : 50 }
Update Document with Upsert
The following operation uses the upsert
field to insert the update
document if nothing matches the filter
:
try { db.grades.findOneAndUpdate( { "name" : "A.B. Abracus" }, { $set: { "name" : "A.B. Abracus", "assignment" : 5}, $inc : { "points" : 5 } }, { sort: { "points" : 1 }, upsert:true, returnNewDocument : true } ); } catch (e){ print(e); }
The operation returns the following:
{ "_id" : ObjectId("5789249f1c49e39a8adc479a"), "name" : "A.B. Abracus", "assignment" : 5, "points" : 5 }
If returnNewDocument
was false, the operation would return null
as
there is no original document to return.
Specify Collation
Collation allows users to specify language-specific rules for string comparison, such as rules for lettercase and accent marks.
A collection myColl
has the following documents:
{ _id: 1, category: "café", status: "A" } { _id: 2, category: "cafe", status: "a" } { _id: 3, category: "cafE", status: "a" }
The following operation includes the collation option:
db.myColl.findOneAndUpdate( { category: "cafe" }, { $set: { status: "Updated" } }, { collation: { locale: "fr", strength: 1 } } );
The operation returns the following document:
{ "_id" : 1, "category" : "café", "status" : "A" }
Array Update Operations with arrayFilters
Note
arrayFilters
is not available for updates that use an
aggregation pipeline.
Starting in MongoDB 3.6, when updating an array field, you can
specify arrayFilters
that determine which array elements to
update.
Update Elements Match arrayFilters
Criteria
Note
arrayFilters
is not available for updates that use an
aggregation pipeline.
Create a collection students
with the following documents:
db.students.insertMany( [ { "_id" : 1, "grades" : [ 95, 92, 90 ] }, { "_id" : 2, "grades" : [ 98, 100, 102 ] }, { "_id" : 3, "grades" : [ 95, 110, 100 ] } ] )
To modify all elements that are greater than or equal to 100
in the
grades
array, use the filtered positional operator
$[<identifier>]
with the arrayFilters
option in the
db.collection.findOneAndUpdate()
method:
db.students.findOneAndUpdate( { grades: { $gte: 100 } }, { $set: { "grades.$[element]" : 100 } }, { arrayFilters: [ { "element": { $gte: 100 } } ] } )
The operation updates the grades
field for a single document, and
after the operation, the collection has the following documents:
{ "_id" : 1, "grades" : [ 95, 92, 90 ] } { "_id" : 2, "grades" : [ 98, 100, 100 ] } { "_id" : 3, "grades" : [ 95, 110, 100 ] }
Update Specific Elements of an Array of Documents
Note
arrayFilters
is not available for updates that use an
aggregation pipeline.
Create a collection students2
with the following documents:
db.students2.insertMany( [ { "_id" : 1, "grades" : [ { "grade" : 80, "mean" : 75, "std" : 6 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 90, "std" : 4 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 85, "std" : 6 } ] }, { "_id" : 2, "grades" : [ { "grade" : 90, "mean" : 75, "std" : 6 }, { "grade" : 87, "mean" : 90, "std" : 3 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 85, "std" : 4 } ] } ] )
The following operation finds a document where the _id
field equals
1
and uses the filtered positional operator $[<identifier>]
with
the arrayFilters
to modify the mean
for all elements in the
grades
array where the grade is greater than or equal to 85
.
db.students2.findOneAndUpdate( { _id : 1 }, { $set: { "grades.$[elem].mean" : 100 } }, { arrayFilters: [ { "elem.grade": { $gte: 85 } } ] } )
The operation updates the grades
field for a single document, and after the
operation, the collection has the following documents:
{ "_id" : 1, "grades" : [ { "grade" : 80, "mean" : 75, "std" : 6 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 100, "std" : 4 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 100, "std" : 6 } ] } { "_id" : 2, "grades" : [ { "grade" : 90, "mean" : 75, "std" : 6 }, { "grade" : 87, "mean" : 90, "std" : 3 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 85, "std" : 4 } ] }
Use an Aggregation Pipeline for Updates
Starting in MongoDB 4.2, db.collection.findOneAndUpdate()
can
accept an aggregation pipeline for the update. The pipeline can consist
of the following stages:
$addFields
and its alias$set
$replaceRoot
and its alias$replaceWith
.
Using the aggregation pipeline allows for a more expressive update statement, such as expressing conditional updates based on current field values or updating one field using the value of another field(s).
For example, create a collection students2
with the following
documents:
db.students2.insertMany( [ { "_id" : 1, "grades" : [ { "grade" : 80, "mean" : 75, "std" : 6 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 90, "std" : 4 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 85, "std" : 6 } ] }, { "_id" : 2, "grades" : [ { "grade" : 90, "mean" : 75, "std" : 6 }, { "grade" : 87, "mean" : 90, "std" : 3 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 85, "std" : 4 } ] } ] )
The following operation finds a document where the _id
field equals
1
and uses an aggregation pipeline to calculate a new field
total
from the grades
field:
db.students2.findOneAndUpdate( { _id : 1 }, [ { $set: { "total" : { $sum: "$grades.grade" } } } ], // The $set stage is an alias for ``$addFields`` stage { returnNewDocument: true } )
Note
The operation returns the updated document :
{ "_id" : 1, "grades" : [ { "grade" : 80, "mean" : 75, "std" : 6 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 90, "std" : 4 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" :85, "std" : 6 } ], "total" : 250 }