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MongoDB Academy · Lección

$match y $project: filtrar y remodelar

Colocará $match al principio del pipeline para mejorar el rendimiento y usará $project para cambiar nombres y calcular campos nuevos.

$match y $project: filtrar y remodelar es una lección gratuita de MongoDB Academy en CoddyKit. Esta es la lección 2 de 4. Puedes leer la lección completa abajo gratuitamente — luego la practicas en el navegador con un editor de código integrado y un tutor de IA 24/7. Forma parte de la ruta de aprendizaje de MongoDB Academy, y tu progreso se sincroniza en la web y la app de CoddyKit. El curso de MongoDB Academy incluye 4 lecciones en total.

Partes de esta lección aún no han sido traducidas y se muestran en inglés.

The $match Stage

The $match stage is the aggregation pipeline's equivalent of a find() filter. It accepts the same query syntax—equality checks, comparison operators, logical operators, $regex, $elemMatch—and filters the document stream, dropping documents that don't match. Documents that pass flow to the next stage; documents that don't are discarded.

// $match uses the same syntax as find() filters
db.orders.aggregate([
  { $match: {
    status: 'completed',
    amount: { $gte: 100 },
    createdAt: { $gte: new Date('2024-01-01') }
  }}
]);
// Only orders matching ALL three conditions pass through

Place $match First for Index Use

When $match is the first stage in the pipeline, MongoDB can use an index to satisfy the filter—exactly like a find() query. If $match appears after other stages, the index advantage is lost because the planner only pushes index use to the first stage. This is the single most impactful performance rule in aggregation pipeline design.

// GOOD: $match first -> uses index on userId
db.orders.aggregate([
  { $match: { userId: 'u1', status: 'active' } },  // index used here
  { $group: { _id: '$productId', count: { $sum: 1 } } }
]);

// BAD: $match after $group -> full collection scan
db.orders.aggregate([
  { $group: { _id: '$productId', count: { $sum: 1 } } },
  { $match: { userId: 'u1' } }  // too late for index
]);

Using $match With $text

The $text full-text search operator can only be used inside $match, and only when it is the first pipeline stage. This restriction exists because MongoDB must push the text search to the text index, which happens at the query plan level before any stage transformations. After the $match filters by text, you can project the text score and sort by relevance in subsequent stages.

db.articles.aggregate([
  // $text in $match MUST be the first stage
  { $match: { $text: { $search: 'mongodb aggregation' } } },
  { $addFields: { score: { $meta: 'textScore' } } },
  { $sort: { score: -1 } },
  { $limit: 5 }
]);

The $project Stage

The $project stage reshapes documents: you can include or exclude fields, rename fields, and compute entirely new fields using expression operators. It passes one output document for each input document (unlike $group which collapses many documents into one). A $project stage is often used to trim down documents before expensive stages or to prepare the final output shape.

db.users.aggregate([
  { $project: {
    _id: 0,             // exclude _id
    name: 1,            // include name
    email: 1,           // include email
    // Exclude password - never send to client!
    // (fields not listed are excluded when any field is included)
  }}
]);

Inclusion vs Exclusion in $project

Like find() projections, $project cannot mix inclusion and exclusion in the same stage—except for _id (which can always be explicitly excluded even in an inclusion projection). Set a field to 1 to include it, 0 to exclude it, or an expression to compute and include it. Fields not mentioned in an inclusion projection are dropped.

// Inclusion mode: list what you WANT
db.products.aggregate([{
  $project: {
    _id: 0,   // OK to exclude _id in inclusion mode
    name: 1,
    price: 1
  }
}]);

// Exclusion mode: list what you DON'T want
db.products.aggregate([{
  $project: {
    password: 0,
    __v: 0
  }
}]);
// Cannot mix: { name: 1, password: 0 } is an error (except _id)

Computing New Fields in $project

The real power of $project is computing new derived fields using expression operators. You can rename a field by assigning it a field reference, perform arithmetic, format strings, or use conditionals—all server-side without touching the stored documents. The computed fields only exist in the pipeline output; the underlying documents are unchanged.

db.invoices.aggregate([
  { $project: {
    invoiceNumber: '$_id',         // rename _id to invoiceNumber
    clientName: '$client.name',   // flatten nested field
    subtotal: 1,
    tax: { $multiply: ['$subtotal', 0.08] },        // compute tax
    total: { $add: ['$subtotal', { $multiply: ['$subtotal', 0.08] }] },
    issued: { $dateToString: { format: '%Y-%m-%d', date: '$createdAt' } }
  }}
]);

Renaming and Nesting Fields

You can use $project to restructure the document shape: flatten nested fields to the top level, or group flat fields into a nested sub-document. This is useful for aligning MongoDB output with an API response schema that differs from the stored document structure, without changing how you store the data.

// Document: { firstName: 'Alice', lastName: 'Smith', age: 30 }
// API wants: { name: { first, last }, age }

db.users.aggregate([{
  $project: {
    _id: 0,
    name: {
      first: '$firstName',  // group into nested object
      last: '$lastName'
    },
    age: 1
  }
}]);
// Output: { name: { first: 'Alice', last: 'Smith' }, age: 30 }

Using $project With Arrays

$project supports array expressions to transform or filter arrays within documents. You can use $map to transform each element, $filter to select elements matching a condition, $slice to take a subset, or $arrayElemAt to access a specific index. These operations run server-side on the full array without needing multiple pipeline stages.

db.articles.aggregate([{
  $project: {
    title: 1,
    // Keep only published tags
    activeTags: {
      $filter: {
        input: '$tags',
        as: 'tag',
        cond: { $eq: ['$$tag.active', true] }
      }
    },
    // First author only
    leadAuthor: { $arrayElemAt: ['$authors', 0] },
    // Uppercase each tag name
    upperTags: { $map: { input: '$tags', as: 't', in: { $toUpper: '$$t' } } }
  }
}]);

Multiple $match Stages

You can use multiple $match stages in the same pipeline. A common pattern is to use $match early to leverage an index, then use $group or $project to compute new fields, then use a second $match to filter on those computed values. The first $match benefits from index use; the second filters the computed result set.

db.orders.aggregate([
  // First $match: uses index on userId
  { $match: { userId: 'u1' } },

  // Compute revenue per product
  { $group: { _id: '$productId', revenue: { $sum: '$amount' } } },

  // Second $match: filter computed revenue (no index possible here)
  { $match: { revenue: { $gte: 500 } } },

  { $sort: { revenue: -1 } }
]);

When to Use $addFields Instead of $project

A common frustration with $project is that in inclusion mode, you must list every field you want to keep. If you just want to add new fields without dropping existing ones, use $addFields (or its alias $set) instead. $addFields passes through all existing fields and only adds or overwrites the specified fields—much less verbose for simple computed-field additions.

// $project: must list ALL fields you want to keep
db.users.aggregate([{ $project: { name: 1, email: 1, age: 1,
  ageGroup: { $cond: { if: { $lt: ['$age', 18] }, then: 'minor', else: 'adult' } }
}}]);

// $addFields: keeps all fields, just adds ageGroup
db.users.aggregate([{ $addFields: {
  ageGroup: { $cond: { if: { $lt: ['$age', 18] }, then: 'minor', else: 'adult' } }
}}]);
// All original fields (name, email, age, etc.) are preserved

Pipeline Performance: $project Early

Placing a $project stage early in the pipeline to trim unnecessary fields reduces the memory and bandwidth used by subsequent stages. If later stages don't need a large embedded array or a long text field, exclude them with an early $project or $unset. This is especially impactful when documents are large and the pipeline has many stages.

db.articles.aggregate([
  { $match: { status: 'published' } },

  // Trim large fields early before expensive stages
  { $project: {
    title: 1,
    authorId: 1,
    publishedAt: 1,
    categoryId: 1,
    // Exclude: body (could be 50KB), rawHtml (100KB)
    // This reduces memory in all subsequent stages
  }},

  { $lookup: { from: 'authors', localField: 'authorId', foreignField: '_id', as: 'author' } },
  { $sort: { publishedAt: -1 } },
  { $limit: 20 }
]);

Quick Check

Test your understanding of $match and $project in the aggregation pipeline.

Lesson Recap

In this lesson you learned: $match filters the document stream using the same query syntax as find() and should be placed first to leverage indexes, $project reshapes documents by including, excluding, and computing fields, and $addFields is better when you just want to add fields without listing every existing one. Next up we tackle $group for aggregation and computing totals.

Preguntas frecuentes

¿La lección «$match y $project: filtrar y remodelar» es gratis?

Sí — el texto completo de «$match y $project: filtrar y remodelar» es gratis para leer aquí en la web. Para practicarla de forma interactiva (editor de código integrado y tutor de IA 24/7) y desbloquear el resto del curso de MongoDB Academy, actualiza a CoddyKit PRO. El curso de MongoDB Academy incluye 4 lecciones en total.

¿Qué aprenderé en «$match y $project: filtrar y remodelar»?

Colocará $match al principio del pipeline para mejorar el rendimiento y usará $project para cambiar nombres y calcular campos nuevos. Practicas MongoDB Academy con código real que ejecutas directamente en el navegador, y un tutor de IA 24/7 responde tus preguntas mientras trabajas en la lección.

¿Necesito experiencia previa para empezar MongoDB Academy?

No se requiere experiencia previa. MongoDB Academy en CoddyKit está estructurado para principiantes hasta estudiantes avanzados, así que puedes empezar aquí o desde el inicio y avanzar a tu ritmo. Esta es la lección 2 de 4.

¿Cuánto tiempo toma la lección «$match y $project: filtrar y remodelar»?

La mayoría de las lecciones de CoddyKit toman alrededor de 5–10 minutos. Cada una es compacta e interactiva, así que avanzas constantemente y retomas exactamente por donde dejaste en la web y la app.

¿Puedo escribir y ejecutar código en esta lección de MongoDB Academy?

Sí. Cada lección de MongoDB Academy incluye un editor de código integrado, así que escribes y ejecutas código real directamente en tu navegador y obtienes retroalimentación instantánea de IA — sin configuración local necesaria.

Todas las lecciones de este curso

  1. Conceptos de pipelines: etapas, operadores y expresiones
  2. $match y $project: filtrar y remodelar
  3. $group: agregación y cálculo de totales
  4. $sort, $limit y $skip en el pipeline
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