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db.collection.findAndModify()

Definition

db.collection.findAndModify(<document>)

Atomically 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. The findAndModify() method is a shell helper around the findAndModify command.

The findAndModify() method has the following form:

db.collection.findAndModify({
    query: <document>,
    sort: <document>,
    remove: <boolean>,
    update: <document>,
    new: <boolean>,
    fields: <document>,
    upsert: <boolean>
});

The db.collection.findAndModify() method takes a document parameter with the following subdocument fields:

Parameter 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 select only one document to modify.
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.
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 Must specify either the remove or the update field in the findAndModify() method. Performs an update of the selected document. The update field employs the same update operators or field: value specifications to modify 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.
upsert Boolean Optional. Used in conjunction with the update field. When true, findAndModify() creates a new document if the query returns no documents. The default is false.

Return Data

The findAndModify() method returns either: the pre-modification document or, if new: true is set, the modified document.

Note

  • If the query finds no document for update or remove operations, findAndModify() returns null.

  • If the query finds no document for an upsert, operation, findAndModify() performs an insert. If new is false, and the sort option is NOT specified, the method returns null.

    Changed in version 2.2: Previously returned an empty document {}. See the 2.2 release notes for more information.

  • If the query finds no document for an upsert, findAndModify() performs an insert. If new is false, and a sort option, the method returns an empty document {}.

Behaviors

Upsert and Unique Index

When findAndModify() includes the upsert: true option and the query field(s) is not uniquely indexed, the method could insert a document multiple times in certain circumstances. For instance, if multiple clients each invoke the method with the same query condition and these methods complete the find phase before any of methods perform the modify phase, these methods could insert the same document.

In the following example, no document with the name Andy exists, and multiple clients issue the following command:

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

Then, if these clients’ findAndModify() methods finish the query phase before any command starts the modify phase, and there is no unique index on the name field, the commands may all perform an upsert. To prevent this condition, create a unique index on the name field. With the unique index in place, the multiple methods would observe one of the following behaviors:

  • Exactly one findAndModify() would successfully insert a new document.
  • Zero or more findAndModify() methods would update the newly inserted document.
  • Zero or more findAndModify() methods would fail when they attempted to insert a duplicate. If the method fails due to a unique index constraint violation, you can retry the method. Absent a delete of the document, the retry should not fail.

Sharded Collections

When using findAndModify in a sharded environment, the query must contain the shard key for all operations against the shard cluster for the sharded collections.

findAndModify operations issued against mongos instances for non-sharded collections function normally.

Examples

Update and Return

The following method updates and returns an existing document in the people collection where the document matches the query criteria:

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

This method 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 method 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 method returns the original (i.e. pre-modification) document selected for this update:

    {
      "_id" : ObjectId("50f1e2c99beb36a0f45c6453"),
      "name" : "Tom",
      "state" : "active",
      "rating" : 100,
      "score" : 5
    }
    

    To return the modified document, add the new:true option to the method.

    If no document matched the query condition, the method returns null:

    null
    

Update and Insert

The following method includes the upsert: true option to insert a new document if no document matches the query condition:

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

If the method does not find a matching document, the method performs an upsert. Because the method included the sort option, it returns an empty document { } as the original (pre-modification) document:

{ }

If the method did not include a sort option, the method returns null.

null

Update, Insert and Return New Document

The following method includes both the upsert: true option and the new:true option to return the newly inserted document if a document matching the query is not found:

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

The method returns the newly inserted document:

{
   "_id" : ObjectId("50f49ad6444c11ac2448a5d6"),
   "name" : "Pascal",
   "rating" : 25,
   "score" : 1,
   "state" : "active"
}

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:

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

The method returns the deleted document:

{
   "_id" : ObjectId("52fba867ab5fdca1299674ad"),
   "name" : "XYZ123",
   "score" : 1,
   "state" : "active",
   "rating" : 3
}