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Element Query Operators

$exists

On this page

  • Definition
  • Compatibility
  • Syntax
  • Query Data on Atlas by Using Atlas Search
  • Examples
  • Exists and Not Equal To
  • Null Values
  • Use a Sparse Index to Improve $exists Performance

Definition

$exists

The $exists operator matches documents that contain or do not contain a specified field, including documents where the field value is null.

Note

MongoDB $exists does not correspond to SQL operator exists. For SQL exists, refer to the $in operator.

For Atlas Search exists, refer to the exists operator in the Atlas documentation.

Tip

See also:

Compatibility

You can use $exists for deployments hosted in the following environments:

  • MongoDB Atlas: The fully managed service for MongoDB deployments in the cloud

Syntax

To specify an $exists expression, use the following prototype:

{ field: { $exists: <boolean> } }

When <boolean> is true, $exists matches the documents that contain the field, including documents where the field value is null. If <boolean> is false, the query returns only the documents that do not contain the field. [1]

[1] Starting in MongoDB 4.2, users can no longer use the query filter $type: 0 as a synonym for $exists:false. To query for null or missing fields, see Query for Null or Missing Fields.

Query Data on Atlas by Using Atlas Search

For data stored in MongoDB Atlas, you can use the Atlas Search exists operator when running $search queries. Running $exists after $search is less performant than running $search with the exists operator.

To learn more about the Atlas Search version of this operator, see the exists operator in the Atlas documentation.

Examples

Exists and Not Equal To

Consider the following example:

db.inventory.find( { qty: { $exists: true, $nin: [ 5, 15 ] } } )

This query will select all documents in the inventory collection where the qty field exists and its value does not equal 5 or 15.

Null Values

The following examples uses a collection named spices with the following documents:

db.spices.insertMany( [
   { saffron: 5, cinnamon: 5, mustard: null },
   { saffron: 3, cinnamon: null, mustard: 8 },
   { saffron: null, cinnamon: 3, mustard: 9 },
   { saffron: 1, cinnamon: 2, mustard: 3 },
   { saffron: 2, mustard: 5 },
   { saffron: 3, cinnamon: 2 },
   { saffron: 4 },
   { cinnamon: 2, mustard: 4 },
   { cinnamon: 2 },
   { mustard: 6 }
] )

$exists: true

The following query specifies the query predicate saffron: { $exists: true }:

db.spices.find( { saffron: { $exists: true } } )

The results consist of those documents that contain the field saffron, including the document whose field saffron contains a null value:

{ saffron: 5, cinnamon: 5, mustard: null }
{ saffron: 3, cinnamon: null, mustard: 8 }
{ saffron: null, cinnamon: 3, mustard: 9 }
{ saffron: 1, cinnamon: 2, mustard: 3 }
{ saffron: 2, mustard: 5 }
{ saffron: 3, cinnamon: 2 }
{ saffron: 4 }

$exists: false

The following query specifies the query predicate cinnamon: { $exists: false }:

db.spices.find( { cinnamon: { $exists: false } } )

The results consist of those documents that do not contain the field cinnamon:

{ saffron: 2, mustard: 5 }
{ saffron: 4 }
{ mustard: 6 }

Starting in MongoDB 4.2, users can no longer use the query filter $type: 0 as a synonym for $exists:false. To query for null or missing fields, see Query for Null or Missing Fields.

Use a Sparse Index to Improve $exists Performance

The following table compares $exists query performance using sparse and non-sparse indexes:

$exists Query
Using a Sparse Index
Using a Non-Sparse Index
{ $exists: true }
Most efficient. MongoDB can make an exact match and does not require a FETCH.
More efficient than queries without an index, but still requires a FETCH.
{ $exists: false }
Cannot use the index and requires a COLLSCAN.
Requires a FETCH.

Queries that use { $exists: true } on fields that use a non-sparse index or that use { $exists: true } on fields that are not indexed examine all documents in a collection. To improve performance, create a sparse index on the field as shown in the following scenario:

  1. Create a stockSales collection:

    db.stockSales.insertMany( [
       { _id: 0, symbol: "MDB", auditDate: new Date( "2021-05-18T16:12:23Z" ) },
       { _id: 1, symbol: "MDB", auditDate: new Date( "2021-04-21T11:34:45Z" ) },
       { _id: 2, symbol: "MSFT", auditDate: new Date( "2021-02-24T15:11:32Z" ) },
       { _id: 3, symbol: "MSFT", auditDate: null },
       { _id: 4, symbol: "MSFT", auditDate: new Date( "2021-07-13T18:32:54Z" ) },
       { _id: 5, symbol: "AAPL" }
    ] )

    The document with an _id of:

    • 3 has a null auditDate value.

    • 5 is missing the auditDate value.

  2. Create a sparse index on the auditDate field:

    db.getCollection( "stockSales" ).createIndex(
       { auditDate: 1 },
       { name: "auditDateSparseIndex", sparse: true }
    )

  3. The following example counts the documents where the auditDate field has a value (including null) and uses the sparse index:

    db.stockSales.countDocuments( { auditDate: { $exists: true } } )

    The example returns 5. The document that is missing the auditDate value is not counted.

Tip

If you only need documents where the field has a non-null value, you:

  • Can use $ne: null instead of $exists: true.

  • Do not need a sparse index on the field.

For example, using the stockSales collection:

db.stockSales.countDocuments( { auditDate: { $ne: null } } )

The example returns 4. Documents that are missing the auditDate value or have a null auditDate value are not counted.

Tip

See also:

Query for Null or Missing Fields

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Element Query Operators