MongoDB CRUD insertOne, find, update, delete: Tutorial, Examples, FAQs & Interview Tips

What are CRUD Operations?

CRUD stands for Create, Read, Update, and Delete - the four fundamental operations for managing data in any database. In MongoDB, these operations work on documents within collections using the MongoDB Query Language (MQL).

Create - Inserting Documents

Use insertOne() to add a single document, or insertMany() to add multiple documents at once. MongoDB automatically generates a unique _id field (ObjectId) if you don't provide one.

insertOne() and insertMany()

// Switch to the database
use myapp

// Insert a single document
db.users.insertOne({
  name: "Alice Johnson",
  email: "alice@example.com",
  age: 29,
  role: "admin",
  active: true,
  createdAt: new Date()
})
// Output: { acknowledged: true, insertedId: ObjectId("...") }

// Insert multiple documents at once
db.users.insertMany([
  { name: "Bob Smith",   email: "bob@example.com",   age: 34, role: "user", active: true },
  { name: "Carol White", email: "carol@example.com", age: 27, role: "user", active: false },
  { name: "Dave Brown",  email: "dave@example.com",  age: 41, role: "editor", active: true }
])
// Output: { acknowledged: true, insertedIds: { '0': ObjectId("..."), '1': ObjectId("..."), ... } }

Read - Querying Documents

Use find() to retrieve multiple documents and findOne() to retrieve the first matching document. Pass a filter object to narrow results, and a projection object to control which fields are returned.

find(), findOne(), and Projections

// Find all documents in the collection
db.users.find()

// Find with a filter - all active users
db.users.find({ active: true })

// Find one document - first admin user
db.users.findOne({ role: "admin" })

// Find with multiple conditions
db.users.find({ active: true, role: "user" })

// Projection: include only name and email (exclude _id)
db.users.find({ active: true }, { name: 1, email: 1, _id: 0 })

// Sort, limit, and skip
db.users.find({ active: true })
  .sort({ age: -1 })   // sort by age descending
  .limit(10)           // return max 10 results
  .skip(0)             // skip 0 (pagination)

// Count matching documents
db.users.countDocuments({ active: true })

Querying Nested Fields and Arrays

// Query nested field using dot notation
db.users.find({ "address.city": "New York" })

// Query array field - users who have "reading" as a hobby
db.users.find({ hobbies: "reading" })

// Find by ObjectId
db.users.findOne({ _id: ObjectId("64a1f2c3e4b0a1b2c3d4e5f6") })

// Find users aged between 25 and 35
db.users.find({ age: { $gte: 25, $lte: 35 } })

Update - Modifying Documents

MongoDB provides updateOne(), updateMany(), and replaceOne(). Always use update operators like $set to modify specific fields - without them you would replace the entire document.

updateOne(), updateMany(), replaceOne()

// Update a single document - change Alice's age
db.users.updateOne(
  { name: "Alice Johnson" },          // filter
  { $set: { age: 30, role: "superadmin" } }  // update
)

// Update multiple documents - deactivate all "user" role accounts
db.users.updateMany(
  { role: "user" },
  { $set: { active: false } }
)

// Increment a field - add 1 to loginCount
db.users.updateOne(
  { email: "alice@example.com" },
  { $inc: { loginCount: 1 } }
)

// Upsert - insert if not found, update if found
db.users.updateOne(
  { email: "newuser@example.com" },
  { $set: { name: "New User", role: "user", active: true } },
  { upsert: true }
)

// Replace entire document (keeps _id)
db.users.replaceOne(
  { email: "bob@example.com" },
  { name: "Bob Smith", email: "bob@example.com", age: 35, role: "editor", active: true }
)

Delete - Removing Documents

Use deleteOne() to remove the first matching document, or deleteMany() to remove all matching documents. Passing an empty filter {} to deleteMany() removes all documents from the collection.

deleteOne() and deleteMany()

// Delete a single document
db.users.deleteOne({ email: "carol@example.com" })
// Output: { acknowledged: true, deletedCount: 1 }

// Delete all inactive users
db.users.deleteMany({ active: false })
// Output: { acknowledged: true, deletedCount: 2 }

// Delete all documents in a collection (use with caution!)
db.users.deleteMany({})

// Find and delete in one operation (returns the deleted document)
db.users.findOneAndDelete({ email: "dave@example.com" })

CRUD Quick Reference

// CREATE
db.collection.insertOne({ ... })
db.collection.insertMany([{ ... }, { ... }])

// READ
db.collection.find(filter, projection)
db.collection.findOne(filter, projection)
db.collection.countDocuments(filter)

// UPDATE
db.collection.updateOne(filter, update, options)
db.collection.updateMany(filter, update, options)
db.collection.replaceOne(filter, replacement, options)
db.collection.findOneAndUpdate(filter, update, options)

// DELETE
db.collection.deleteOne(filter)
db.collection.deleteMany(filter)
db.collection.findOneAndDelete(filter)

Previous Next