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• Definition
• Return Data
• Behavior
• Examples

Definition

db.collection. findAndModify ( document )

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:

Changed in version 3.6.

copy

db.collection.findAndModify({
    query: <document>,
    sort: <document>,
    remove: <boolean>,
    update: <document>,
    new: <boolean>,
    fields: <document>,
    upsert: <boolean>,
    bypassDocumentValidation: <boolean>,
    writeConcern: <document>,
    collation: <document>,
    arrayFilters: [ <filterdocument1>, ... ]
});

The db.collection.findAndModify() method takes a document parameter with the following embedded document 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 only select one document to modify. If unspecified, defaults to an empty document. Starting in MongoDB 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 3.6.14+ (and 3.4.23+), the operation errors if the sort argument is not a document.
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. 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. Starting in MongoDB 3.6.14+ (and 3.4.23+), the operation errors if the fields argument is not a document.
upsert	boolean	Optional. Used in conjuction 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 fields are uniquely indexed. Defaults to false.
bypassDocumentValidation	boolean	Optional. Enables db.collection.findAndModify to bypass document validation during the operation. This lets you update documents that do not meet the validation requirements. New in version 3.2.
writeConcern	document	Optional. A document expressing the write concern. Omit to use the default write concern. New in version 3.2.
maxTimeMS	integer	Optional. Specifies a time limit in milliseconds for processing the operation.
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: copy 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. New in version 3.4.
arrayFilters	array	Optional. An array of filter documents that determines 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: copy [ { "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: copy [ { $or: [{"x.a": {$gt: 85}}, {"x.b": {$gt: 80}}] } ] [ { $and: [{"x.a": {$gt: 85}}, {"x.b": {$gt: 80}}] } ] [ { "x.a": { $gt: 85 }, "x.b": { $gt: 80 } } ] For examples, see Specify arrayFilters for an Array Update Operations. New in version 3.6.

Return Data

For remove operations, if the query matches a document, findAndModify() returns the removed document. If the query does not match a document to remove, findAndModify() returns null.

For update operations, findAndModify() returns one of 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

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