Database Manual / Reference / mongosh Methods / Collections

db.collection.insertOne() (mongosh method)

MongoDB with drivers

This page documents a mongosh method. To see the equivalent method in a MongoDB driver, see the corresponding page for your programming language:

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Definition

db.collection.insertOne()

Inserts a single document into a collection.

Returns:A document containing:
  • A boolean acknowledged as true if the operation ran with write concern or false if write concern was disabled.
  • A field insertedId with the _id value of the inserted document.

Compatibility

This method is available in deployments hosted in the following environments:

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

Note

This command is supported in all MongoDB Atlas clusters. For information on Atlas support for all commands, see Unsupported Commands.

Syntax

The insertOne() method has the following form:

db.collection.insertOne(
    <document>,
    {
      writeConcern: <document>
    }
)

The insertOne() method takes the following parameters:

ParameterTypeDescription

document

document

A document to insert into the collection.

writeConcern

document

Optional. A document expressing the write concern. Omit to use the default write concern.

Do not explicitly set the write concern for the operation if run in a transaction. To use write concern with transactions, see Transactions and Write Concern.

Behaviors

Collection Creation

If the collection does not exist, then the insertOne() method creates the collection.

_id Field

If the document does not specify an _id field, then mongod will add the _id field and assign a unique ObjectId() for the document before inserting. Most drivers create an ObjectId and insert the _id field, but the mongod will create and populate the _id if the driver or application does not.

If the document contains an _id field, the _id value must be unique within the collection to avoid duplicate key error.

Explainability

insertOne() is not compatible with db.collection.explain().

Error Handling

On error, db.collection.insertOne() throws either a writeError or writeConcernError exception.

Schema Validation Errors

If your collection uses schema validation and has validationAction set to error, inserting an invalid document throws a MongoServerError and db.collection.insertOne() fails.

Transactions

db.collection.insertOne() can be used inside distributed transactions.

Important

In most cases, a distributed transaction incurs a greater performance cost over single document writes, and the availability of distributed transactions should not be a replacement for effective schema design. For many scenarios, the denormalized data model (embedded documents and arrays) will continue to be optimal for your data and use cases. That is, for many scenarios, modeling your data appropriately will minimize the need for distributed transactions.

For additional transactions usage considerations (such as runtime limit and oplog size limit), see also Production Considerations.

Collection Creation in Transactions

You can create collections and indexes inside a distributed transaction if the transaction is not a cross-shard write transaction.

If you specify an insert on a non-existing collection in a transaction, MongoDB creates the collection implicitly.

Tip

Create Collections and Indexes in a Transaction

Write Concerns and Transactions

Do not explicitly set the write concern for the operation if run in a transaction. To use write concern with transactions, see Transactions and Write Concern.

Oplog Entries

If a db.collection.insertOne() operation successfully inserts a document, the operation adds an entry on the oplog (operations log). If the operation fails, the operation does not add an entry on the oplog.

Examples

Insert a Document without Specifying an _id Field

In the following example, the document passed to the insertOne() method does not contain the _id field:

try {
   db.products.insertOne( { item: "card", qty: 15 } );
} catch (e) {
   print (e);
};

The operation returns the following document:

{
   "acknowledged" : true,
   "insertedId" : ObjectId("56fc40f9d735c28df206d078")
}

Because the documents did not include _id, mongod creates and adds the _id field and assigns it a unique ObjectId() value.

The ObjectId values are specific to the machine and time when the operation is run. As such, your values may differ from those in the example.

Insert a Document Specifying an _id Field

In the following example, the document passed to the insertOne() method includes the _id field. The value of _id must be unique within the collection to avoid duplicate key error.

try {
   db.products.insertOne( { _id: 10, item: "box", qty: 20 } );
} catch (e) {
   print (e);
}

The operation returns the following:

{ "acknowledged" : true, "insertedId" : 10 }

Inserting an duplicate value for any key that is part of a unique index, such as _id, throws an exception. The following attempts to insert a document with a _id value that already exists:

try {
   db.products.insertOne( { _id: 10, "item" : "packing peanuts", "qty" : 200 } );
} catch (e) {
   print (e);
}

Since _id: 10 already exists, the following exception is thrown:

WriteError({
   "index" : 0,
   "code" : 11000,
   "errmsg" : "E11000 duplicate key error collection: inventory.products index: _id_ dup key: { : 10.0 }",
   "op" : {
      "_id" : 10,
      "item" : "packing peanuts",
      "qty" : 200
   }
})

Increase Write Concern

Given a three member replica set, the following operation specifies a w of majority, wtimeout of 100:

try {
   db.products.insertOne(
       { "item": "envelopes", "qty": 100, type: "Self-Sealing" },
       { writeConcern: { w : "majority", wtimeout : 100 } }
   );
} catch (e) {
   print (e);
}

If the acknowledgment takes longer than the wtimeout limit, the following exception is thrown:

WriteConcernError({
   "code" : 64,
   "errmsg" : "waiting for replication timed out",
   "errInfo" : {
     "wtimeout" : true,
     "writeConcern" : {
       "w" : "majority",
       "wtimeout" : 100,
       "provenance" : "getLastErrorDefaults"
     }
   }
})

Tip