MongoDB query to 'sort' and display a specific number of values

To sort and display a specific number of values in MongoDB, use the sort() method combined with limit(). The sort() method orders documents while limit() restricts the number of results returned.

Syntax

db.collection.find().sort({field: 1}).limit(number);

Where 1 is for ascending order and -1 is for descending order.

Sample Data

Let us create a collection with documents ?

db.demo254.insertMany([
    {"Name": "Chris"},
    {"Name": "Adam"},
    {"Name": "Bob"}
]);

{
    "acknowledged": true,
    "insertedIds": [
        ObjectId("5e47a0ab1627c0c63e7dba7f"),
        ObjectId("5e47a0b01627c0c63e7dba80"),
        ObjectId("5e47a0b71627c0c63e7dba81")
    ]
}

Display all documents from the collection ?

db.demo254.find();

{ "_id": ObjectId("5e47a0ab1627c0c63e7dba7f"), "Name": "Chris" }
{ "_id": ObjectId("5e47a0b01627c0c63e7dba80"), "Name": "Adam" }
{ "_id": ObjectId("5e47a0b71627c0c63e7dba81"), "Name": "Bob" }

Example 1: Sort in Ascending Order

Sort documents by Name field in ascending order ?

db.demo254.find().sort({"Name": 1});

{ "_id": ObjectId("5e47a0b01627c0c63e7dba80"), "Name": "Adam" }
{ "_id": ObjectId("5e47a0b71627c0c63e7dba81"), "Name": "Bob" }
{ "_id": ObjectId("5e47a0ab1627c0c63e7dba7f"), "Name": "Chris" }

Example 2: Sort and Limit Results

Sort by Name and display only the first 2 records ?

db.demo254.find().sort({"Name": 1}).limit(2);

{ "_id": ObjectId("5e47a0b01627c0c63e7dba80"), "Name": "Adam" }
{ "_id": ObjectId("5e47a0b71627c0c63e7dba81"), "Name": "Bob" }

Key Points

• Use sort({field: 1}) for ascending and sort({field: -1}) for descending order.
• Chain limit() after sort() to restrict the number of results.
• Sorting happens before limiting, ensuring you get the top N sorted results.

Conclusion

Combine sort() and limit() methods to efficiently retrieve a specific number of sorted documents. This approach is particularly useful for implementing pagination and getting top results from large collections.