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Multikey Indexes

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  • Use Cases
  • Get Started
  • Details
  • Index Bounds
  • Unique Multikey Indexes
  • Compound Multikey Indexes
  • Sorting
  • Shard Keys
  • Hashed Indexes
  • Covered Queries
  • Query on an Array Field as a Whole
  • $expr
  • Learn More

Multikey indexes collect and sort data from fields containing array values. Multikey indexes improve performance for queries on array fields.

You do not need to explicitly specify the multikey type. When you create an index on a field that contains an array value, MongoDB automatically sets that index to be a multikey index.

MongoDB can create multikey indexes over arrays that hold both scalar values (for example, strings and numbers) and embedded documents. If an array contains multiple instances of the same value, the index only includes one entry for the value.

To create a multikey index, use the following prototype:

db.<collection>.createIndex( { <arrayField>: <sortOrder> } )

This image shows a multikey index on the addr.zip field:

Diagram of a multikey index on the ``addr.zip`` field. The ``addr`` field contains an array of address documents. The address documents contain the ``zip`` field.

If your application frequently queries a field that contains an array value, a multikey index improves performance for those queries.

Indexing commonly queried fields increases the chances of covering those queries. Covered queries are queries that can be satisfied entirely using an index, without examining any documents. This optimizes query performance.

For example, documents in a students collection contain a test_scores field: an array of test scores a student received throughout the semester. You regularly update a list of top students: students who have at least five test_scores greater than 90.

You can create an index on the test_scores field to improve performance for this query. Because test_scores contains an array value, MongoDB stores the index as a multikey index.

To create a multikey index, see:

This section describes technical details and limitations for multikey indexes.

The bounds of an index scan define the parts of an index to search during a query. The computation of multikey index bounds follows special rules. For details, see Multikey Index Bounds.

In a unique multikey index, a document may have array elements that result in repeating index key values as long as the index key values for that document do not duplicate those of another document.

To learn more and see an example of this behavior, see Unique Constraint Across Separate Documents.

In a compound multikey index, each indexed document can have at most one indexed field whose value is an array. Specifically:

  • You cannot create a compound multikey index if more than one field in the index specification is an array. For example, consider a collection that contains this document:

    { _id: 1, scores_spring: [ 8, 6 ], scores_fall: [ 5, 9 ] }

    You can't create the compound multikey index { scores_spring: 1, scores_fall: 1 } because both fields in the index are arrays.

  • If a compound multikey index already exists, you cannot insert a document that would violate this restriction.

    Consider a collection that contains these documents:

    { _id: 1, scores_spring: [8, 6], scores_fall: 9 }
    { _id: 2, scores_spring: 6, scores_fall: [5, 7] }

    You can create a compound multikey index { scores_spring: 1, scores_fall: 1 } because for each document, only one field indexed by the compound multikey index is an array. No document contains array values for both scores_spring and scores_fall fields.

    However, after you create the compound multikey index, if you attempt to insert a document where both scores_spring and scores_fall fields are arrays, the insert fails.

When you sort based on an array field that is indexed with a multikey index, the query plan includes a blocking sort stage unless both of the following are true:

  • The index boundaries for all sort fields are [MinKey, MaxKey].

  • No boundaries for any multikey-indexed field have the same path prefix as the sort pattern.

You cannot specify a multikey index as a shard key index.

However, if the shard key index is a prefix of a compound index, the compound index may become a compound multikey index if one of the trailing keys (that are not part of the shard key) indexes an array.

Hashed indexes cannot be multikey.

Multikey indexes cannot cover queries over array fields. However, multikey indexes can cover queries over non-array fields if the index tracks which field or fields cause the index to be multikey.

For example, consider a matches collection with these documents:

db.matches.insertMany( [
{ name: "joe", event: ["open", "tournament"] },
{ name: "bill", event: ["match", "championship"] }
] )

The matches collection has a compound multikey index on the name and event fields:

db.matches.createIndex( { name: 1, event: 1 } )

This index is a multikey index because the event field contains array values.

The multikey index covers the following query, even though the matched field (name) is not an array:

db.matches.find( { name: "bill" } )

Because name field is part of the index prefix, the index covers queries on the name field. The index cannot cover queries on both name and event, because multikey indexes cannot cover queries on array fields.

When a query filter specifies an exact match for an array as a whole, MongoDB can use the multikey index to look up the first element of the query array, but cannot use the multikey index scan to find the whole array.

Instead, after using the multikey index to look up the first element of the query array, MongoDB retrieves the associated documents and filters for documents whose array matches the array in the query.

For example, consider an inventory collection that contains these documents:

db.inventory.insertMany( [
{ _id: 5, type: "food", item: "apple", ratings: [ 5, 8, 9 ] }
{ _id: 6, type: "food", item: "banana", ratings: [ 5, 9 ] }
{ _id: 7, type: "food", item: "chocolate", ratings: [ 9, 5, 8 ] }
{ _id: 8, type: "food", item: "fish", ratings: [ 9, 5 ] }
{ _id: 9, type: "food", item: "grapes", ratings: [ 5, 9, 5 ] }
] )

The inventory collection has a multikey index on the ratings field:

db.inventory.createIndex( { ratings: 1 } )

The following query looks for documents where the ratings field is the array [ 5, 9 ]:

db.inventory.find( { ratings: [ 5, 9 ] } )

MongoDB can use the multikey index to find documents that have 5 at any position in the ratings array. Then, MongoDB retrieves these documents and filters for documents whose ratings array equals the query array [ 5, 9 ].

The $expr operator does not support multikey indexes.

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