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Definition

findAndModify

The findAndModify command modifies and returns a single document. By default, the returned document does not include the modifications made on the update. To return the document with the modifications made on the update, use the new option.

Changed in version 5.0.

The command has the following syntax:

copy 
{
  findAndModify: <collection-name>,
  query: <document>,
  sort: <document>,
  remove: <boolean>,
  update: <document or aggregation pipeline>,
  new: <boolean>,
  fields: <document>,
  upsert: <boolean>,
  bypassDocumentValidation: <boolean>,
  writeConcern: <document>,
  collation: <document>,
  arrayFilters: <array>,
  hint: <document|string>,
  comment: <any>,
  let: <document> // Added in MongoDB 5.0
}

The findAndModify command takes the following fields:

Field Type Description
query document

Optional. The selection criteria for the modification. The query field employs the same query selectors as used in the db.collection.find() method. Although the query may match multiple documents, findAndModify will only select one document to modify.

If unspecified, defaults to an empty document.

Starting in MongoDB 4.2 (and 4.0.12+, 3.6.14+, and 3.4.23+), the operation errors if the query argument is not a document.

sort

 document

Optional. Determines which document the operation modifies if the query selects multiple documents. findAndModify modifies the first document in the sort order specified by this argument.

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.

MongoDB does not store documents in a collection in a particular order. When sorting on a field which contains duplicate values, documents containing those values may be returned in any order.

If consistent sort order is desired, include at least one field in your sort that contains unique values. The easiest way to guarantee this is to include the _id field in your sort query.

See Sort Consistency for more information.
remove boolean Must specify either the remove or the update field. Removes the document specified in the query field. Set this to true to remove the selected document . The default is false.
update document or array

Must specify either the remove or the update field. Performs an update of the selected document.
new boolean Optional. When true, returns the modified document rather than the original. The findAndModify method ignores the new option for remove operations. The default is false.
fields document

Optional. A subset of fields to return. The fields document specifies an inclusion of a field with 1, as in: fields: { <field1>: 1, <field2>: 1, ... }. See Projection.

Starting in MongoDB 4.2 (and 4.0.12+, 3.6.14+, and 3.4.23+), the operation errors if the fields argument is not a document.
upsert boolean

Optional. Used in conjunction with the update field.

When true, findAndModify either:

  • Creates a new document if no documents match the query. For more details see upsert behavior.
  • Updates a single document that matches the query.

To avoid multiple upserts, ensure that the query field(s) are uniquely indexed. See Upsert with Unique Index for an example.

Defaults to false, which does not insert a new document when no match is found.
bypassDocumentValidation boolean Optional. Enables findAndModify to bypass document validation during the operation. This lets you update documents that do not meet the validation requirements.
writeConcern document

Optional. A document expressing the write concern. Omit to use the default write concern.

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.
maxTimeMS integer Optional. Specifies a time limit in milliseconds for processing the operation.
findAndModify string The collection against which to run the command.
collation document

Optional.

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:

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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 array

Optional. 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 identifier x (possibly multiple times), you cannot specify the following for arrayFilters that includes 2 separate filter documents for x:

// 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:

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// 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.
hint document or string

Optional. A document or string that specifies the index to use to support the query.

The option can take an index specification document or the index name string.

If you specify an index that does not exist, the operation errors.

For an example, see Specify hint for findAndModify Operations.

New in version 4.4.
comment any

Optional. A user-provided comment to attach to this command. Once set, this comment appears alongside records of this command in the following locations:

A comment can be any valid BSON type (string, integer, object, array, etc).

New in version 4.4.
let document

Optional.

Specifies a document with a list of variables. This allows you to improve command readability by separating the variables from the query text.

The document syntax is:

{ <variable_name_1>: <expression_1>,
  ...,
  <variable_name_n>: <expression_n> }

The variable is set to the value returned by the expression, and cannot be changed afterwards.

To access the value of a variable in the command, use the double dollar sign prefix ($$) together with your variable name in the form $$<variable_name>. For example: $$targetTotal.

Note

To use a variable to filter results, you must access the variable within the $expr operator.

For a complete example using let and variables, see Use Variables in let.

New in version 5.0.

Output

The findAndModify command returns a document with the following fields:

Field Type Description
value document Contains the command’s returned value. See value for details.
lastErrorObject document Contains information about updated documents. See lastErrorObject for details.
ok number Contains the command’s execution status. 1 on success, or 0 if an error occurred.

lastErrorObject

The lastErrorObject embedded document contains the following fields:

Field Type Description
updatedExisting boolean

Contains true if an update operation:

  • Modified an existing document.
  • Found the document, but it was already in the desired destination state so no update actually occurred.
upserted document Contains the ObjectId of the inserted document if an update operation with upsert: true resulted in a new document.

value

For remove operations, value contains the removed document if the query matches a document. If the query does not match a document to remove, value contains null.

For update operations, the value embedded document contains the following:

  • If the new parameter is not set or is false:
    • the pre-modification document if the query matches a document;
    • otherwise, null.
  • If new is true:
    • the modified document if the query returns a match;
    • the inserted document if upsert: true and no document matches the query;
    • otherwise, null.

Behavior

Upsert with Unique Index

When using the upsert: true option with the findAndModify command, and not using a unique index on the query field(s), multiple instances of a findAndModify operation with similar query field(s) could result in duplicate documents being inserted in certain circumstances.

Consider an example where no document with the name Andy exists and multiple clients issue the following command at roughly the same time:

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db.runCommand(
   {
     findAndModify: "people",
     query: { name: "Andy" },
     update: { $inc: { score: 1 } },
     upsert: true
   }
)

If all findAndModify operations finish the query phase before any client successfully inserts data, and there is no unique index on the name field, each findAndModify operation may result in an insert, creating multiple documents with name: Andy.

To ensure that only one such document is created, and the other findAndModify operations update this new document instead, create a unique index on the name field. This guarantees that only one document with name: Andy is permitted in the collection.

With this unique index in place, the multiple findAndModify operations now exhibit the following behavior:

  • Exactly one findAndModify operation will successfully insert a new document.
  • All other findAndModify operations will update the newly-inserted document, incrementing the score value.

Sharded Collections

To use findAndModify 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 :red:`in conjunction with` another filter condition (such as on the _id field). For example:

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{ _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 findAndModify:

Missing Shard Key

Starting in version 4.4, documents in a sharded collection can be missing the shard key fields. To use findAndModify to set the document’s missing 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:

Document Validation

The findAndModify command adds support for the bypassDocumentValidation option, which lets you bypass document validation when inserting or updating documents in a collection with validation rules.

Comparisons with the update Method

When updating a document, findAndModify and the updateOne() method operate differently:

  • If multiple documents match the update criteria, for findAndModify, you can specify a sort to provide some measure of control on which document to update.

    updateOne() updates the first document that matches.

  • By default, findAndModify returns an object that contains the pre-modified version of the document, as well as the status of the operation. To obtain the updated document, use the new option.

    The updateOne() method returns a WriteResult object that contains the status of the operation.

    To return the updated document, use the find() method. However, other updates may have modified the document between your update and the document retrieval. Also, if the update modified only a single document but multiple documents matched, you will need to use additional logic to identify the updated document.

When modifying a single document, both findAndModify and the updateOne() method atomically update the document. See Atomicity and Transactions for more details about interactions and order of operations of these methods.

See also

Considerations for field names

Transactions

findAndModify 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 :red:`not` a cross-shard write transaction.

Specifically, in MongoDB 4.4 and greater, findAndModify 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.

See also

Create Collections and Indexes In a Transaction

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 and Return

The following command updates an existing document in the people collection where the document matches the query criteria:

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db.runCommand(
   {
     findAndModify: "people",
     query: { name: "Tom", state: "active", rating: { $gt: 10 } },
     sort: { rating: 1 },
     update: { $inc: { score: 1 } }
   }
)

This command performs the following actions:

  1. The query finds a document in the people collection where the name field has the value Tom, the state field has the value active and the rating field has a value greater than 10.

  2. The sort orders the results of the query in ascending order. If multiple documents meet the query condition, the command will select for modification the first document as ordered by this sort.

  3. The update increments the value of the score field by 1.

  4. The command returns a document with the following fields:

    • The lastErrorObject field that contains the details of the command, including the field updatedExisting which is true, and

    • The value field that contains the original (i.e. pre-modification) document selected for this update:

      copy 
      {
  "lastErrorObject" : {
     "connectionId" : 1,
     "updatedExisting" : true,
     "n" : 1,
     "syncMillis" : 0,
     "writtenTo" : null,
     "err" : null,
     "ok" : 1
  },
  value" : {
    "_id" : ObjectId("54f62d2885e4be1f982b9c9c"),
    "name" : "Tom",
    "state" : "active",
    "rating" : 100,
    "score" : 5
  },
  "ok" : 1
}

To return the modified document in the value field, add the new:true option to the command.

If no document match the query condition, the command returns a document that contains null in the value field:

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{ "value" : null, "ok" : 1 }

mongosh and many drivers provide a findAndModify() helper method. Using the shell helper, this previous operation can take the following form:

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db.people.findAndModify( {
   query: { name: "Tom", state: "active", rating: { $gt: 10 } },
   sort: { rating: 1 },
   update: { $inc: { score: 1 } }
} );

However, the findAndModify() shell helper method returns only the unmodified document, or if new is true, the modified document.

copy 
{
   "_id" : ObjectId("54f62d2885e4be1f982b9c9c"),
   "name" : "Tom",
   "state" : "active",
   "rating" : 100,
   "score" : 5
}

upsert: true

The following findAndModify command includes the upsert: true option for the update operation to either update a matching document or, if no matching document exists, create a new document:

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db.runCommand(
               {
                 findAndModify: "people",
                 query: { name: "Gus", state: "active", rating: 100 },
                 sort: { rating: 1 },
                 update: { $inc: { score: 1 } },
                 upsert: true
               }
             )

If the command finds a matching document, the command performs an update.

If the command does not find a matching document, the update with upsert: true operation results in an insertion and returns a document with the following fields:

  • The lastErrorObject field that contains the details of the command, including the field upserted that contains the _id value of the newly inserted document, and
  • The value field containing null.
copy 
{
  "value" : null,
  "lastErrorObject" : {
     "updatedExisting" : false,
     "n" : 1,
     "upserted" : ObjectId("54f62c8bc85d4472eadea26f")
  },
  "ok" : 1
}

Return New Document

The following findAndModify command includes both upsert: true option and the new:true option. The command either updates a matching document and returns the updated document or, if no matching document exists, inserts a document and returns the newly inserted document in the value field.

In the following example, no document in the people collection matches the query condition:

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db.runCommand(
   {
     findAndModify: "people",
     query: { name: "Pascal", state: "active", rating: 25 },
     sort: { rating: 1 },
     update: { $inc: { score: 1 } },
     upsert: true,
     new: true
   }
)

The command returns the newly inserted document in the value field:

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{
  "lastErrorObject" : {
     "connectionId" : 1,
     "updatedExisting" : false,
     "upserted" : ObjectId("54f62bbfc85d4472eadea26d"),
     "n" : 1,
     "syncMillis" : 0,
     "writtenTo" : null,
     "err" : null,
     "ok" : 1
  },
  "value" : {
     "_id" : ObjectId("54f62bbfc85d4472eadea26d"),
     "name" : "Pascal",
     "rating" : 25,
     "state" : "active",
     "score" : 1
  },
  "ok" : 1
}

Sort and Remove

By including a sort specification on the rating field, the following example removes from the people collection a single document with the state value of active and the lowest rating among the matching documents:

copy 
db.runCommand(
   {
     findAndModify: "people",
     query: { state: "active" },
     sort: { rating: 1 },
     remove: true
   }
)

The command returns the deleted document:

copy 
{
  "lastErrorObject" : {
     "connectionId" : 1,
     "n" : 1,
     "syncMillis" : 0,
     "writtenTo" : null,
     "err" : null,
     "ok" : 1
  },
  "value" : {
     "_id" : ObjectId("54f62a6785e4be1f982b9c9b"),
     "name" : "XYZ123",
     "score" : 1,
     "state" : "active",
     "rating" : 3
  },
  "ok" : 1
}

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:

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{ _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:

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db.runCommand(
   {
     findAndModify: "myColl",
     query: { category: "cafe", status: "a" },
     sort: { category: 1 },
     update: { $set: { status: "Updated" } },
     collation: { locale: "fr", strength: 1 }
   }
)

The operation returns the following document:

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{
   "lastErrorObject" : {
      "updatedExisting" : true,
      "n" : 1
   },
   "value" : {
      "_id" : 1,
      "category" : "café",
      "status" : "A"
   },
   "ok" : 1
}

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:

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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 positional $[<identifier>] operator with the arrayFilters option:

copy 
db.runCommand(
   {
     findAndModify: "students",
     query: { grades: { $gte: 100 } },
     update:  { $set: { "grades.$[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:

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{ "_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:

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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.

copy 
db.runCommand(
   {
     findAndModify: "students2",
     query: { _id : 1 },
     update: { $set: { "grades.$[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:

copy 
{
   "_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, findAndModify can accept an aggregation pipeline for the update. The pipeline can consist of the following stages:

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:

copy 
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:

copy 
db.runCommand(
   {
     findAndModify: "students2",
     query: {  "_id" : 1 },
     update: [ { $set: { "total" : { $sum: "$grades.grade" } } } ],
     new: true
   }
)

Note

The $set used in the pipeline refers to the aggregation stage $set and not the update operator $set.

After the operation, the collection has the following documents:

copy 
{
  "_id" : 1,
  "grades" : [ { "grade" : 80, "mean" : 75, "std" : 6 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 90, "std" : 4 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" :85, "std" : 6 } ],
  "total" : 250
}
{
   "_id" : 2,
   "grades" : [ { "grade" : 90, "mean" : 75, "std" : 6 }, { "grade" : 87, "mean" : 90, "std" : 3 }, { "grade" : 85, "mean" : 85,"std" : 4 } ]
}

Specify hint for findAndModify Operations

New in version 4.4.

In mongosh, create a members collection with the following documents:

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db.members.insertMany( [
   { "_id" : 1, "member" : "abc123", "status" : "P", "points" :  0,  "misc1" : null, "misc2" : null },
   { "_id" : 2, "member" : "xyz123", "status" : "A", "points" : 60,  "misc1" : "reminder: ping me at 100pts", "misc2" : "Some random comment" },
   { "_id" : 3, "member" : "lmn123", "status" : "P", "points" :  0,  "misc1" : null, "misc2" : null },
   { "_id" : 4, "member" : "pqr123", "status" : "D", "points" : 20,  "misc1" : "Deactivated", "misc2" : null },
   { "_id" : 5, "member" : "ijk123", "status" : "P", "points" :  0,  "misc1" : null, "misc2" : null },
   { "_id" : 6, "member" : "cde123", "status" : "A", "points" : 86,  "misc1" : "reminder: ping me at 100pts", "misc2" : "Some random comment" }
] )

Create the following indexes on the collection:

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db.members.createIndex( { status: 1 } )
db.members.createIndex( { points: 1 } )

The following operation explicitly hints to use the index { status: 1 }:

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db.runCommand({
   findAndModify: "members",
   query: { "points": { $lte: 20 }, "status": "P" },
   remove: true,
   hint: { status: 1 }
})

Note

If you specify an index that does not exist, the operation errors.

To see the index used, run explain on the operation:

copy 
db.runCommand(
   {
     explain: {
       findAndModify: "members",
       query: { "points": { $lte: 20 }, "status": "P" },
       remove: true,
       hint: { status: 1 }
     },
     verbosity: "queryPlanner"
   }
)

Use Variables in let

New in version 5.0.

To define variables that you can access elsewhere in the command, use the let option.

Note

To filter results using a variable, you must access the variable within the $expr operator.

Create a collection cakeFlavors:

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db.cakeFlavors.insertMany( [
   { _id: 1, flavor: "chocolate" },
   { _id: 2, flavor: "strawberry" },
   { _id: 3, flavor: "cherry" }
] )

The following example defines a targetFlavor variable in let and uses the variable to change the cake flavor from cherry to orange:

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db.cakeFlavors.runCommand( {
   findAndModify: db.cakeFlavors.getName(),
   query: { $expr: { $eq: [ "$flavor", "$$targetFlavor" ] } },
   update: { flavor: "orange" },
   let: { targetFlavor: "cherry" }
} )
←   find getLastError  →

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