Deleting documents

1. Deleting documents

Welcome back! In this lesson, we’ll look at how to delete documents from a MongoDB collection. This is useful for removing outdated entries, cleaning up test data, or handling user deletions.

2. Deleting a single document

To delete a single document, use .delete_one(). Just like with .find_one(), you target the document using a filter. In this case, we’re deleting a movie titled gladiator. MongoDB returns a result object. You can check deleted_count to confirm whether anything was actually removed. If it’s 1, the deletion was successful. If it’s 0, no matching document was found. And just like with .find_one() and .update_one(), if your filter matches multiple documents, only the first matching document will be removed.

3. Removing multiple documents at the same time

Need to delete more than one document at once? Use .delete_many(). It works just like .find(): pass in a filter, and MongoDB will remove all documents that match. In this example, we’re deleting every movie with a rating below 5. Just like before, the result includes deleted_count, which tells you how many documents were removed, 4 in this case. A quick word of caution: deletion is permanent! There’s no undo! So always double-check your filter before running a bulk delete. In the DataCamp exercises, you can easily reset your database to its original state, so you can delete documents to your heart's desire.

4. Let's practice!

Now it’s your turn to use .delete_one() and .delete_many() and remove documents from your collection. Good luck.

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This exercise is part of the course

Introduction to MongoDB in Python

IntermediateSkill Level

4.8+

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A soft landing into the world of MongoDB and its key features as a NoSQL database. Learn how MongoDB compares to relational databases, and what it offers. Connect to a MongoDB server and database and retrieve your first documents.

Exercise 1: Introduction to MongoDB Exercise 2: Connecting to a MongoDB server Exercise 3: Querying a MongoDB Database Exercise 4: List databases and collections Exercise 5: Retrieving documents using .find()Exercise 6: Retrieving a specific document using .find_one()

Learn how to have MongoDB only return exactly what you need with filters and operators. Discover how to sort records, limit the number of documents returned, and retrieve the count of matching documents for specific queries.

Exercise 1: Query Operators Exercise 2: The $in operator Exercise 3: The $exists operator Exercise 4: The $and operator Exercise 5: The $or operator Exercise 6: Query options in MongoDB Exercise 7: Sort it out!Exercise 8: Count it out!Exercise 9: Bring it all together

Explore the ability to insert entirely one or multiple new records into a MongoDB collection. Learn how to update individual or multiple documents simultaneously, and replace entire documents within a database. Get experience with deleting records from a collection.

Exercise 1: Inserting documents Exercise 2: Inserting a single document Exercise 3: Inserting multiple documents Exercise 4: Updating and replacing documents Exercise 5: Updating a single document Exercise 6: Updating multiple documents Exercise 7: Replacing an entire document Exercise 8: Deleting documents

Current Exercise

Exercise 9: Deleting a single document Exercise 10: Deleting multiple MongoDB documents

Learn how to use define and enforce structure in MongoDB documents when working with PyMongo. Explore using .bulk_write() to efficiently batch multiple write operations into a single request, improving performance while maintaining control over ordered execution and error handling.

Exercise 1: Enforcing a schema Exercise 2: Schema validation with pydantic Exercise 3: MongoDB's built-in schema validation Exercise 4: Check your types Exercise 5: Combining MongoDB operations Exercise 6: Using bulk_write()Exercise 7: Final thoughts