Bulk upsert in MongoDB using mongoose

Question

Is there any option to perform bulk upserts with mongoose? So basically having an array and insert each element if it not exists or update it if it exists? (I am using customs _ids)

When I do use .insert MongoDB returns an error E11000 for duplicate keys (which should be updated). Inserting multiple new document works fine though:

var Users = self.db.collection('Users');

Users.insert(data, function(err){
            if (err) {
                callback(err);
            }
            else {
                callback(null);
            }
        });

Using .save returns an error that the parameter must be a single document:

Users.save(data, function(err){
   ...
}

This answer suggest there is no such option, however it is specific for C# and also already 3 years old. So I was wondering if there is any option to do that using mongoose?

Thank you!

Answer 1

Not in "mongoose" specifically, or at least not yet as of writing. The MongoDB shell as of the 2.6 release actually uses the "Bulk operations API" "under the hood" as it were for all of the general helper methods. In it's implementation, it tries to do this first, and if an older version server is detected then there is a "fallback" to the legacy implementation.

All of the mongoose methods "currently" use the "legacy" implementation or the write concern response and the basic legacy methods. But there is a .collection accessor from any given mongoose model that essentially accesses the "collection object" from the underlying "node native driver" on which mongoose is implemented itself:

 var mongoose = require('mongoose'),
     Schema = mongoose.Schema;

 mongoose.connect('mongodb://localhost/test');

 var sampleSchema  = new Schema({},{ "strict": false });

 var Sample = mongoose.model( "Sample", sampleSchema, "sample" );

 mongoose.connection.on("open", function(err,conn) { 

    var bulk = Sample.collection.initializeOrderedBulkOp();
    var counter = 0;

    // representing a long loop
    for ( var x = 0; x < 100000; x++ ) {

        bulk.find(/* some search */).upsert().updateOne(
            /* update conditions */
        });
        counter++;

        if ( counter % 1000 == 0 )
            bulk.execute(function(err,result) {             
                bulk = Sample.collection.initializeOrderedBulkOp();
            });
    }

    if ( counter % 1000 != 0 )
        bulk.execute(function(err,result) {
           // maybe do something with result
        });

 });

The main catch there being that "mongoose methods" are actually aware that a connection may not actually be made yet and "queue" until this is complete. The native driver you are "digging into" does not make this distinction.

So you really have to be aware that the connection is established in some way or form. But you can use the native driver methods as long as you are careful with what you are doing.