Mongoose & the Full Stack›Core· 40 min read

CRUD with Mongoose

Create, read, update and delete documents from your Node code using model methods.

What you will learn

Create and read with model methods
Update and delete documents
Use async/await with Mongoose

Model methods = CRUD

Mongoose models give you async methods for every operation. Use await inside async functions (wrapped in try/catch).

Action	Mongoose method
Create	`User.create({...})`
Read all	`User.find()`
Read one	`User.findById(id)`
Update	`User.findByIdAndUpdate(id, {...})`
Delete	`User.findByIdAndDelete(id)`

Full CRUD with a Mongoose model

// Create
const user = await User.create({ name: "Asha", email: "asha@x.com" });

// Read
const all = await User.find();
const one = await User.findById(someId);

// Update
await User.findByIdAndUpdate(someId, { age: 23 });

// Delete
await User.findByIdAndDelete(someId);

Notice await in front of every call — these talk to the database, which takes time, so you wait for the result. User.create({...}) makes and saves a new document and hands it back (now with an _id). User.find() returns an array of all users, while User.findById(someId) returns the single user with that id. findByIdAndUpdate(someId, { age: 23 }) finds that user and changes the given fields, and findByIdAndDelete(someId) finds and removes that user.

Note: Output (the value of user after create): { id: ObjectId('65f...a1'), name: 'Asha', email: 'asha@x.com', _v: 0 } Mongoose returns the saved document, including the _id it generated. (__v is just an internal version counter Mongoose adds — you can ignore it.)

Create — User.create({...}) saves a new document and returns it.
Read — User.find() gets many, User.findById(id) gets one by its id.
Update — User.findByIdAndUpdate(id, {...}) changes fields on one document.
Delete — User.findByIdAndDelete(id) removes one document by its id.

Tip: These methods return promises, so always await them inside an async function and wrap risky calls in try/catch — exactly the async pattern you learned in JavaScript and Node.

Q. Which Mongoose method creates a new document?

Answer: User.create({...}) builds and saves a new document. find/findById read, findByIdAndUpdate updates, findByIdAndDelete removes.

✍️ Practice

Use a model to create a document, then find all documents.
Update a document by id, then delete it.

🏠 Homework

Write functions for all five CRUD operations on your Product model.