human-search

name	human-search
description	Implement and optimize MongoDB Search, including Search indexes, queries, and configuration

MongoDB Search

Connection Strings for Search

import mongodb from 'mongodb';

const MongoClient = mongodb.MongoClient;
const uri = "mongodb+srv://<db_username>:<db_password>@<clusterName>.mongodb.net/?retryWrites=true&w=majority";
const client = new MongoClient(uri);
client.connect(err => {
   const collection = client.db("<databaseName>").collection("<collectionName>");
   // perform actions on the collection object
   client.close();
});

To connect to a database other than admin but still authenticate to the admin database, update the database component of the connection string.

mongodb://username:password@host1:port1,...,hostN:portN/database?authSource=admin&...

Example

The following connection string specifies the cluster0 deployment and test database component, and includes the authSource=admin option.

var uriTestDb = "mongodb+srv://<db_username>:<db_password>@cluster0.mongodb.net/test?ssl=true&authSource=admin&w=majority";
MongoClient.connect(uriTestDb, function(err, db) {
   db.close();
});

Search Options

Process Results with Search Options

MongoDB Search provides several options that you can use to process or refine your $search results. You can use any combination of these options to tailor your search results to your use case.

Search Options

Use the following table to explore the available search options. Each reference page includes usage details and runnable examples to help you get started:

Use Case	Option
Understand the relevance of your results or adjust the ranking of returned documents	score
Display results in a specific order, such as by date or alphabetically	sort
Highlight where a user's search term appears in results along with adjacent content	highlight
Determine the size of a result set for pagination or analytics	count
Build pagination features into your application, like "Next Page" and "Previous Page" functions	searchSequenceToken
Track popular search terms or improve search functionality based on user behavior	tracking

Search Query Examples

The following examples demonstrate common search patterns.

Simple FTS Query with a 'text' operator and no analyzer specified:

const { MongoClient } = require("mongodb");

async function main() {
  // Replace the placeholder with your connection string
  const uri = "<connection-string>";
  const client = new MongoClient(uri);

  try {
    await client.connect();
    const database = client.db("sample_mflix");
    const movies = database.collection("movies");

    const query = [
      {
        $search:
        {
          text: {
            query: "baseball",
            path: "plot",
          },
        }
      },
      {
        $limit: 3,
      },
      {
        $project: {
          _id: 0,
          title: 1,
          plot: 1,
        },
      },
    ];

    const cursor = movies.aggregate(query);
    await cursor.forEach(doc => console.log(doc));
  } finally {
    await client.close();
  }
}

main().catch(console.error);

Complex FTS Query with a 'compound' operator to combine multiple search clauses:

const { MongoClient } = require("mongodb");

async function main() {
  // Replace the placeholder with your connection string
  const uri = "<connection-string>";
  const client = new MongoClient(uri);

  try {
    await client.connect();
    const database = client.db("sample_mflix");
    const movies = database.collection("movies");

    const query = [
      {
        $search: {
          compound: {
            must: [
              {
                text: {
                  query: "baseball",
                  path: "plot",
                }
              }
            ],
            mustNot: [
              {
                text: {
                  query: ["Comedy", "Romance"],
                  path: "genres",
                },
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      },
      {
        $limit: 3
      },
      {
        $project: {
          _id: 0,
          title: 1,
          plot: 1,
          genres: 1
        }
      }
    ];

    const cursor = movies.aggregate(query);
    await cursor.forEach(doc => console.log(doc));
  } finally {
    await client.close();
  }
}

main().catch(console.error);

Complex FTS Query with a 'sort' option applied in the 'compound' operator to return results in a specific order:

const { MongoClient } = require("mongodb");

async function main() {
  // Replace the placeholder with your connection string
  const uri = "<connection-string>";
  const client = new MongoClient(uri);

  try {
    await client.connect();
    const database = client.db("sample_mflix");
    const movies = database.collection("movies");

    const query = [
      {
        $search: {
          compound: {
            must: [
              {
                text: {
                  query: "baseball",
                  path: "plot",
                }
              }
            ],
            mustNot: [
              {
                text: {
                  query: ["Comedy", "Romance"],
                  path: "genres",
                }
              }
            ]
          },
          sort: {
            released: -1
          }
        }
      },
      {
        $limit: 3
      },
      {
        $project: {
          _id: 0,
          title: 1,
          plot: 1,
          genres: 1,
          released: 1
        }
      }
    ];

    const cursor = movies.aggregate(query);
    await cursor.forEach(doc => console.log(doc));
  } finally {
    await client.close();
  }
}

main().catch(console.error);

Task-Specific Guides

For specific implementation tasks, see:

• Manage Search Indexes
• Write Search Queries