🔥Limited Offer: Get 50% OFFon AI & Full Stack Courses🔥
Back to Node.js Notes
Topic #62

MongoDB Insert


Insert Into Collection

To insert a record, or document as it is called in MongoDB, into a collection, we use the insertOne() method.

Note: A document in MongoDB is the same as a record in MySQL

The first parameter of the insertOne() method is an object containing the name(s) and value(s) of each field in the document you want to insert.

It also takes a callback function where you can work with any errors, or the result of the insertion:

Example

let MongoClient = require('mongodb').MongoClient;
let url = "mongodb://localhost:27017/";

MongoClient.connect(url, function(err, db) {
  if (err) throw err;

let dbo = db.db("mydb");

let myobj = { name: "Company
Inc", address: "Highway 37" };
  dbo.collection("customers").insertOne(myobj, function(err, res) {
    if (err) throw err;
    console.log("1
document
inserted");
    db.close();
  });
});

Save the code above in a file called "demo_mongodb_insert.js" and run the file:

C:\Users\Your Name>node demo_mongodb_insert.js

Which will give you this result:

1 document inserted

Note: If you try to insert documents in a collection that do not exist, MongoDB will create the collection automatically.


Insert Multiple Documents

To insert multiple documents into a collection in MongoDB, we use the insertMany() method.

The first parameter of the insertMany() method is an array of objects, containing the data you want to insert.

It also takes a callback function where you can work with any errors, or the result of the insertion:

Example

let MongoClient = require('mongodb').MongoClient;
let url = "mongodb://localhost:27017/";

MongoClient.connect(url, function(err, db) {
  if (err) throw err;

let dbo = db.db("mydb");

let myobj = [
    { name: 'John', address: 'Highway 71'},

{ name: 'Peter', address: 'Lowstreet 4'},
    { name: 'Amy',
address: 'Apple st 652'},
    { name: 'Hannah', address:
'Mountain 21'},
    { name: 'Michael', address: 'Valley
345'},
    { name: 'Sandy', address: 'Ocean blvd 2'},

{ name: 'Betty', address: 'Green Grass 1'},
    { name:
'Richard', address: 'Sky st 331'},
    { name: 'Susan',
address: 'One way 98'},
    { name: 'Vicky', address:
'Yellow Garden 2'},
    { name: 'Ben', address: 'Park Lane
38'},
    { name: 'William', address: 'Central st 954'},

{ name: 'Chuck', address: 'Main Road 989'},
    { name:
'Viola', address: 'Sideway 1633'}
  ];
  dbo.collection("customers").insertMany(myobj,
function(err, res) {
    if (err) throw err;

console.log("Number of documents inserted: " + res.insertedCount);

db.close();
  });
});

Save the code above in a file called "demo_mongodb_insert_multiple.js" and run the file:

C:\Users\Your Name>node demo_mongodb_insert_multiple.js

Which will give you this result:

Number of documents inserted: 14

The Result Object

When executing the insertMany() method, a result object is returned.

The result object contains information about how the insertion affected the database.

The object returned from the example above looked like this:

{
  result: { ok: 1, n: 14 },
  ops: [
    {
name: 'John', address: 'Highway 71', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a84 },

{ name: 'Peter', address: 'Lowstreet 4', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a85 },

{ name: 'Amy', address: 'Apple st 652', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a86 },

{ name: 'Hannah', address: 'Mountain 21', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a87 },

{ name: 'Michael', address: 'Valley 345', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a88 },

{ name: 'Sandy', address: 'Ocean blvd 2', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a89 },

{ name: 'Betty', address: 'Green Grass 1', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8a },

{ name: 'Richard', address: 'Sky st 331', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8b },

{ name: 'Susan', address: 'One way 98', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8c },

{ name: 'Vicky', address: 'Yellow Garden 2', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8d },

{ name: 'Ben', address: 'Park Lane 38', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8e },

{ name: 'William', address: 'Central st 954', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8f },

{ name: 'Chuck', address: 'Main Road 989', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a90 },

{ name: 'Viola', address: 'Sideway 1633', _id: 58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a91 } ],

insertedCount: 14,
  insertedIds: [

58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a84,
    58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a85,

58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a86,
    58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a87,

58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a88,
    58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a89,

58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8a,
    58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8b,

58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8c,
    58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8d,

58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8e,
    58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a8f

58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a90,
    58fdbf5c0ef8a50b4cdd9a91 ]
}

The values of the properties can be displayed like this:

Example

console.log(res.insertedCount)

Which will produce this result:

14

The _id Field

If you do not specify an _id field, then MongoDB will add one for you and assign a unique id for each document.

In the example above no _id field was specified, and as you can see from the result object, MongoDB assigned a unique _id for each document.

If you do specify the _id field, the value must be unique for each document:

Example

let MongoClient = require('mongodb').MongoClient;
let url = "mongodb://localhost:27017/";

MongoClient.connect(url, function(err, db) {
  if (err) throw err;

let dbo = db.db("mydb");

let myobj = [
    { _id: 154, name:
'Chocolate Heaven'},
    { _id: 155, name:
'Tasty Lemon'},
    { _id: 156, name:
'Vanilla Dream'}
  ];
  dbo.collection("products").insertMany(myobj,
function(err, res) {
    if (err) throw err;

console.log(res);
    db.close();
  });
});

Save the code above in a file called "demo_mongodb_insert_id.js" and run the file:

C:\Users\Your Name>node demo_mongodb_insert_id.js

Which will give you this result:

{
  result: { ok: 1, n: 3 },
  ops: [
    {
_id: 154, name: 'Chocolate Heaven },
    {
_id: 155, name: 'Tasty Lemon },
    {
_id: 156, name: 'Vanilla Dream } ],

insertedCount: 3,
  insertedIds: [

154,
    155,

156 ]
}

Want to go beyond the notes?

Join CodingNow 2.0's Node.js course — live mentorship, real projects, and 100% placement support.

Enroll Now — Free Demo Available

MongoDB Insert – FAQs

Quick answers about learning MongoDB Insert in Node.js.

This free note from CodingNow 2.0 explains MongoDB Insert in Node.js — concept, syntax and worked code examples you can copy, run and revise before interviews.
Yes. Every Node.js topic on CodingNow 2.0, including MongoDB Insert, is 100% free with no signup required.
With focused practice, most students grasp MongoDB Insert in 1–3 days from these notes; pairing it with CodingNow 2.0's mentor-led course takes you to job-ready depth faster.
Use the code examples in this note, then ask doubts for free on the CodingNow 2.0 Community (/community) — expert instructors answer within 24 hours.
WhatsApp
Call NowEnroll Now