To find records where the array field is not empty, you can use the $ne operator. The $ne operator in MongoDB stands for “not equal”. It is a type of comparison operator used to query for documents where the value of a specified field does not match the value passed with it.
Also Read: How to Query For Is Not Null in MongoDB in a Specific Field?
Find Records Where Array Field is Not Empty in MongoDB
To specifically find the records where the array field is not empty, you have to pass the query filter to the find() method having an array field with the query condition containing the “$ne” operator along with an empty array.
Syntax
db.collection.find({ arrayField: { $ne: []} })
where:
- collection is the name of the collection in which you want to query for the documents,
- arrayField is the name of the array field you want to check for not being empty
Example
To demonstrate with examples, we have already created a collection of “drones”, let’s see the records that exist inside it.
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0c"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Nimbari Gryphon Medeta 65",
"price" : 77500,
"weight" : "77 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "carbon fiber",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Cinematography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0d"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "X-Strimmer Eye",
"price" : 23500,
"weight" : "24 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "glass fiber",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Cinematography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0e"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Khai Balemosh Shefqa TRX",
"price" : 120500,
"weight" : "80 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "aluminum",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0f"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Sifinist Croma AX",
"price" : 99500,
"weight" : "97 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "lithium",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf10"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Drovce Finnifield FR-7",
"price" : 87600,
"weight" : "13 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "polysterene",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ac"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "PlayGarra 2078-56",
"price" : 15000,
"weight" : "5 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "polysterene",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ad"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Frinty Gemini 3X70",
"price" : 55000,
"weight" : "22 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "aluminum",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ae"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Rilche Gabbana Flier RG950",
"price" : 110000,
"weight" : "100 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "lithium",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("619924ef4b1ff00cfd5eb3ae"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Caminara Frucha FCZ-89",
"price" : 67800,
"weight" : "35 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "glass fibre",
"moreUses" : [ ]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("619924ef4b1ff00cfd5eb3af"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Azehsra Chelske AZC-HYU56",
"price" : 45600,
"weight" : "32 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "carbon fibre",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Precision Agriculture"
]
},
"utility" : null
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("619924ef4b1ff00cfd5eb3b0"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Hazela Gunce QY999",
"price" : 33900,
"weight" : "20 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "carbon fibre",
"moreUses" : [
"Videography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Photography"
]
},
"utility" : [
undefined
]
}
Let’s now select the records where the nested array field is not empty using the above syntax.
> db.drones.find({ "additionalDetails.moreUses": { $ne: [] } }).pretty()
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0c"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Nimbari Gryphon Medeta 65",
"price" : 77500,
"weight" : "77 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "carbon fiber",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Cinematography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0d"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "X-Strimmer Eye",
"price" : 23500,
"weight" : "24 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "glass fiber",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Cinematography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0e"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Khai Balemosh Shefqa TRX",
"price" : 120500,
"weight" : "80 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "aluminum",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0f"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Sifinist Croma AX",
"price" : 99500,
"weight" : "97 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "lithium",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf10"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Drovce Finnifield FR-7",
"price" : 87600,
"weight" : "13 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "polysterene",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ac"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "PlayGarra 2078-56",
"price" : 15000,
"weight" : "5 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "polysterene",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ad"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Frinty Gemini 3X70",
"price" : 55000,
"weight" : "22 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "aluminum",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ae"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Rilche Gabbana Flier RG950",
"price" : 110000,
"weight" : "100 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "lithium",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("619924ef4b1ff00cfd5eb3af"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Azehsra Chelske AZC-HYU56",
"price" : 45600,
"weight" : "32 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "carbon fibre",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Precision Agriculture"
]
},
"utility" : null
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("619924ef4b1ff00cfd5eb3b0"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Hazela Gunce QY999",
"price" : 33900,
"weight" : "20 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "carbon fibre",
"moreUses" : [
"Videography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Photography"
]
},
"utility" : [
undefined
]
}
Amazing! We have successfully found records where the embedded array field is not empty.
Find MongoDB records where Array Field is Not “null”
To find the MongoDB documents where array fields are not “null”, you have to pass the query filter to the find() method having an array field with the query condition containing the “$ne” operator along with a value “null”.
Syntax
db.collection.find({ arrayField: { $ne: null } })
where:
- collection is the name of the collection in which you want to query for the documents,
- arrayField is the name of the array field you want to check for not being null
Example
Let’s see a demonstration of the above syntax on the collection “drones”.
> db.drones.find({ "utility": { $ne: null } }).pretty()
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0c"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Nimbari Gryphon Medeta 65",
"price" : 77500,
"weight" : "77 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "carbon fiber",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Cinematography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0d"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "X-Strimmer Eye",
"price" : 23500,
"weight" : "24 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "glass fiber",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Cinematography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0e"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Khai Balemosh Shefqa TRX",
"price" : 120500,
"weight" : "80 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "aluminum",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0f"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Sifinist Croma AX",
"price" : 99500,
"weight" : "97 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "lithium",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf10"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Drovce Finnifield FR-7",
"price" : 87600,
"weight" : "13 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "polysterene",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ac"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "PlayGarra 2078-56",
"price" : 15000,
"weight" : "5 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "polysterene",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ad"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Frinty Gemini 3X70",
"price" : 55000,
"weight" : "22 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "aluminum",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ae"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Rilche Gabbana Flier RG950",
"price" : 110000,
"weight" : "100 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "lithium",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("619924ef4b1ff00cfd5eb3ae"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Caminara Frucha FCZ-89",
"price" : 67800,
"weight" : "35 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "glass fibre",
"moreUses" : [ ]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
Find MongoDB records where Array Field is Not Undefined
For Finding MongoDB records where array fields are not “undefined”, you can use the ne operator with an array containing “undefined”.
Syntax
db.collection.find({ arrayField: { $ne: [ undefined ]} })
where:
- collection is the name of the collection in which you want to query for the documents,
- arrayField is the name of the array field you want to find for not being undefined
Example
Let’s see a demonstration of the above syntax on the same collection “drones”.
> db.drones.find({ "utility": { $ne: [ undefined ] } }).pretty()
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0c"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Nimbari Gryphon Medeta 65",
"price" : 77500,
"weight" : "77 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "carbon fiber",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Cinematography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0d"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "X-Strimmer Eye",
"price" : 23500,
"weight" : "24 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "glass fiber",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Cinematography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0e"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Khai Balemosh Shefqa TRX",
"price" : 120500,
"weight" : "80 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "aluminum",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf0f"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Sifinist Croma AX",
"price" : 99500,
"weight" : "97 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "lithium",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("61673f46b34f185eb7b2bf10"),
"onSale" : false,
"name" : "Drovce Finnifield FR-7",
"price" : 87600,
"weight" : "13 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "polysterene",
"moreUses" : [
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ac"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "PlayGarra 2078-56",
"price" : 15000,
"weight" : "5 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "polysterene",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ad"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Frinty Gemini 3X70",
"price" : 55000,
"weight" : "22 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "aluminum",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("6195514a50f8bacf51bdb6ae"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Rilche Gabbana Flier RG950",
"price" : 110000,
"weight" : "100 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "lithium",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Precision Agriculture",
"Land Inspection",
"Water Inspection",
"Videography"
]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("619924ef4b1ff00cfd5eb3ae"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Caminara Frucha FCZ-89",
"price" : 67800,
"weight" : "35 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "glass fibre",
"moreUses" : [ ]
},
"utility" : [
"Recreation",
"Photography",
"Videography",
"Delivery",
"Natural Resource Exploration"
]
}
{
"_id" : ObjectId("619924ef4b1ff00cfd5eb3af"),
"onSale" : true,
"name" : "Azehsra Chelske AZC-HYU56",
"price" : 45600,
"weight" : "32 kilograms",
"additionalDetails" : {
"material" : "carbon fibre",
"moreUses" : [
"Cinematography",
"Wildlife Watching",
"Precision Agriculture"
]
},
"utility" : null
}
In the above output, the return data do not have the value of the utility field as “null”. Hence the operation is completed successfully.
Conclusion
In this article, we have found the solution to the question “How to find the records where the array field is not empty”, along with finding the records where the array field is not null, and not defined. We have used the “$ne” operator for all of these operations. Hope you find the answer helpful.
Reference
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/14789684/find-mongodb-records-where-array-field-is-not-empty
