indexes.txt

.. _golang-indexes:

=======
Indexes
=======

.. facet::
   :name: genre
   :values: reference

.. meta::
   :keywords: code example
   :description: Learn how to use indexes in the MongoDB Go Driver to improve query performance and support various operations like updates and deletes.

.. contents:: On this page
   :local:
   :backlinks: none
   :depth: 2
   :class: singlecol

Overview
--------

In this guide, you can learn how to use **indexes** in the
{+driver-long+}.

Indexes support the efficient execution of queries in MongoDB. Without
indexes, MongoDB scans *every* document in a collection (a **collection
scan**) to find documents that match your query. Collection scans are
slow and can negatively affect the performance of your application. With
an appropriate index, MongoDB limits the number of documents it
inspects.

.. tip::

   You can also use indexes in update operations, delete operations, and
   :manual:`certain aggregation pipeline stages
   </core/aggregation-pipeline/#pipeline-operators-and-indexes>`.

Query Coverage and Performance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A query in MongoDB can contain the following elements:

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :stub-columns: 1
   :widths: 20 20 60

   * - Element
     - Necessity
     - Purpose

   * - Query
     - **Required**
     - Specify the fields and values you're looking for.

   * - Options
     - **Optional**
     - Specify how the query executes.

   * - Projection
     - **Optional**
     - Specify the fields that MongoDB returns.

   * - Sort
     - **Optional**
     - Specify the order MongoDB returns documents.

When you specify these elements in the same index, MongoDB returns
results directly from the index, also called a **covered query**.

.. important:: Sort Criteria

   Your sort criteria must match or invert the order of the index.

   Consider an index on the field ``name`` in ascending order (A-Z) and ``age`` in descending order (9-0):

   .. code-block:: none
      :copyable: false

      name_1_age_-1

   MongoDB uses this index when you sort your data by either:

   - ``name`` ascending, ``age`` descending
   - ``name`` descending, ``age`` ascending

   Specifying a sort order of ``name`` and :guilabel:`age` ascending or :guilabel:`name` and ``age``
   descending requires an in-memory sort.

   To learn how to ensure your index covers your query criteria and
   projection, see :manual:`Query Coverage
   </core/query-optimization/#covered-query>`.

Operational Considerations
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To improve your query performance, create indexes on fields that appear
often in your queries and operations that return sorted results. Track
index memory and disk usage for capacity planning since
each index that you add consumes disk space and memory. In addition,
when a write operation updates an indexed field, MongoDB
also must update the related index.

Since MongoDB supports dynamic schemas, your application can query
against fields with unknown or arbitrary names. MongoDB 4.2
introduced :manual:`wildcard indexes </core/index-wildcard/>` to help
support these queries. Wildcard indexes are not designed to replace
workload-based index planning.

To learn more about designing your data model and choosing indexes
appropriate for your application, see :manual:`Indexing Strategies
</applications/indexes>` and :manual:`Data Modeling and Indexes
</core/data-model-operations/#indexes>`.

Index Types
-----------

MongoDB supports several index types to support querying your data. The
following sections describe and show how to create the most common index
types. To view a full list of index types, see :manual:`Indexes </indexes/>`.

.. _golang-single-field-index:

Single Field Indexes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Single field indexes holds a reference to a field within a
collection's documents.

This index improves single field queries and sort performance, and
supports TTL indexes that automatically remove documents from a
collection after a certain amount of time.

.. note::

   The ``_id_`` index is an example of a single field index. This index
   is automatically created on the ``_id`` field when you create a new
   collection.

Example
```````

The following example creates an index in ascending order on the
``title`` field in the ``sample_mflix.movies`` collection:

.. io-code-block::
   :copyable: true

   .. input::
      :language: go

      coll := client.Database("sample_mflix").Collection("movies")
      indexModel := mongo.IndexModel{
          Keys: bson.D{{"title", 1}},
      }
      name, err := coll.Indexes().CreateOne(context.TODO(), indexModel)
      if err != nil {
          panic(err)
      }
      fmt.Println("Name of Index Created: " + name)

   .. output::
      :language: none
      :visible: false

      Name of Index Created: title_1

.. _golang-compound-index:

Compound Indexes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Compound indexes hold a reference to multiple fields within a
collection's documents. This index improves query and sort performance.

Example
```````

The following example creates a compound index on the ``fullplot`` and
``title`` fields in the ``sample_mflix.movies`` collection:

.. io-code-block::
   :copyable: true

   .. input::
      :language: go

      coll := client.Database("sample_mflix").Collection("movies")
      indexModel := mongo.IndexModel{
          Keys: bson.D{
              {"fullplot", -1},
              {"title", 1}
          }
      }
      name, err := coll.Indexes().CreateOne(context.TODO(), indexModel)
      if err != nil {
          panic(err)
      }

      fmt.Println("Name of Index Created: " + name)

   .. output::
      :language: none
      :visible: false

      Name of Index Created: fullplot_-1_title_1

Multikey Indexes (Indexes on Array Fields)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Multikey indexes use the same syntax as a
:ref:`single field index <golang-single-field-index>` and a
:ref:`compound index <golang-compound-index>`. This index improves the
performance of queries that specify an array field as an index.

Example
```````

The following example creates a multikey index on the ``cast``
field in the ``sample_mflix.movies`` collection:

.. io-code-block::
   :copyable: true

   .. input::
      :language: go

      coll := client.Database("sample_mflix").Collection("movies")
      indexModel := mongo.IndexModel{
          Keys: bson.D{{"cast", -1}}
      }
      name, err := coll.Indexes().CreateOne(context.TODO(), indexModel)
      if err != nil {
          panic(err)
      }

      fmt.Println("Name of Index Created: " + name)

   .. output::
      :language: none
      :visible: false

      Name of Index Created: cast_-1

.. _golang-atlas-search-indexes:

Atlas Search and Atlas Vector Search Indexes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can programmatically manage your Atlas Search and Atlas Vector
Search indexes by using the {+driver-short+}.

The Atlas Search feature enables you to perform full-text searches on
collections hosted on MongoDB Atlas. To learn more about Atlas
Search, see the :atlas:`Atlas Search
</atlas-search/atlas-search-overview/>` documentation.

Atlas Vector Search enables you to perform semantic searches on vector
embeddings stored in Atlas. To learn more about Atlas
Vector Search, see the :atlas:`Atlas Vector Search
</atlas-vector-search/vector-search-overview/>` documentation.

To learn more about how to run Atlas Vector Search queries, see the 
:ref:`golang-atlas-vector-search` guide.

The following sections contain code examples that demonstrate how to manage Atlas 
Search and Atlas Vector Search indexes.

Create a Search Index
`````````````````````

You can create an Atlas Search or an Atlas Vector Search index by providing
an index definition to the ``SearchIndexView.CreateOne()`` method.

The following example creates an Atlas Search index on the ``plot`` field of the
``sample_mflix.movies`` collection:

.. literalinclude:: /includes/fundamentals/code-snippets/indexes/atlasVectorSearch.go
   :language: go
   :start-after: start-create-atlas-search
   :end-before: end-create-atlas-search
   :dedent:

The following example creates an Atlas Vector Search index on the ``plot_embedding`` 
field in the ``sample_mflix.embedded_movies`` collection:

.. literalinclude:: /includes/fundamentals/code-snippets/indexes/atlasVectorSearch.go
   :language: go
   :start-after: start-create-vector-search
   :end-before: end-create-vector-search
   :dedent:

List a Search Index
```````````````````

You can use the ``SearchIndexView.List()`` method to list an Atlas Search or Atlas 
Vector Search index by specifying the name of the index.

The following example lists the details of the specified Atlas Search or Atlas 
Vector Search index:

.. literalinclude:: /includes/fundamentals/code-snippets/indexes/atlasVectorSearch.go
   :language: go
   :start-after: start-list-index
   :end-before: end-list-index
   :dedent:

Update a Search Index
`````````````````````

You can use the ``SearchIndexView.UpdateOne()`` method to update an Atlas Search 
or Atlas Vector Search index by specifying the name of the index and the new 
index definition.

The following example updates an Atlas Vector Search index by providing the name 
of the index and a new index definition:

.. literalinclude:: /includes/fundamentals/code-snippets/indexes/atlasVectorSearch.go
   :language: go
   :start-after: start-update-index
   :end-before: end-update-index
   :dedent:

Delete a Search Index
`````````````````````

You can use the ``SearchIndexView.DropOne()`` method to delete an Atlas Search or 
Atlas Vector Search index by specifying the name of the index.

The following example deletes an Atlas Search or Atlas Vector Search 
index with the specified name:

.. literalinclude:: /includes/fundamentals/code-snippets/indexes/atlasVectorSearch.go
   :language: go
   :start-after: start-delete-index
   :end-before: end-delete-index
   :dedent:

.. _golang-clustered-indexes:

Clustered Indexes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clustered indexes improve the performance of insert, update, and delete
operations on **clustered collections**. Clustered collections store
documents ordered by the clustered index key value.

To create a clustered index, specify the clustered index option with the
``_id`` field as the key and the unique field as ``true`` when you
create your collection.

Example
```````

The following example creates a clustered index on the ``_id`` field in
the ``db.tea`` collection:

.. code-block:: go
   :copyable: true

   db := client.Database("db")
   cio := bson.D{{"key", bson.D{{"_id", 1}}}, {"unique", true}}
   opts := options.CreateCollection().SetClusteredIndex(cio)

   db.CreateCollection(context.TODO(), "tea", opts)

.. _golang-text-indexes:

Text Indexes
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Text indexes support text search queries on string content. This index
requires a string field or an array of strings. MongoDB supports text
search for several languages. You can specify the default language as an
option when creating the index.

A collection can only contain one text index. If you want to create a
text index for multiple text fields, you must create a :ref:`compound
index <golang-compound-index>`. The text search runs on all the text fields
within the compound index.

.. tip::

   Text indexes differ from the more powerful
   :atlas:`Atlas full text search indexes </atlas-search>`.
   We recommend Atlas search for Atlas users.

Example
```````

The following example creates a text index on the ``plot`` field with
``italian`` as the default language in the ``sample_mflix.movies``
collection:

.. io-code-block::
   :copyable: true

   .. input::
      :language: go

      coll := client.Database("sample_mflix").Collection("movies")
      indexModel := mongo.IndexModel{Keys: bson.D{{"plot", "text"}, {"default_language", "italian"}}}
      name, err := coll.Indexes().CreateOne(context.TODO(), indexModel)
      if err != nil {
         panic(err)
      }

      fmt.Println("Name of Index Created: " + name)

   .. output::
      :language: none
      :visible: false

      Name of Index Created: plot_text

.. _golang-geo-indexes:

Geospatial Indexes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MongoDB supports queries containing geospatial coordinate data by using
**2dsphere indexes**. A ``2dsphere`` index must be in a GeoJSON objects
field.

This index allows you to perform the following:

- Query geospatial data for inclusion, intersection, and proximity.
- Calculation of distances on a Euclidean plane and for working with the
  "legacy coordinate pairs" syntax used in MongoDB 2.2 and earlier.

Example
```````

The ``location.geo`` field in a document from the
``sample_mflix.theaters`` collection is a GeoJSON Point object that
describes the coordinates of the theater:

.. code-block:: javascript
   :emphasize-lines: 13-16

   {
      "_id" : ObjectId("59a47286cfa9a3a73e51e75c"),
      "theaterId" : 104,
      "location" : {
         "address" : {
            "street1" : "5000 W 147th St",
            "city" : "Hawthorne",
            "state" : "CA",
            "zipcode" : "90250"
         },
         "geo" : {
            "type" : "Point",
            "coordinates" : [
               -118.36559,
               33.897167
            ]
         }
      }
   }

The following example creates a ``2dsphere`` index on the ``location.geo`` field:

.. important::

   Attempting to create a geospatial index on a field that is covered by
   a geospatial index results in an error.

.. io-code-block::
   :copyable: true

   .. input::
      :language: go

      indexModel := mongo.IndexModel{
          Keys: bson.D{{"location.geo", "2dsphere"}}
      }
      name, err := coll.Indexes().CreateOne(context.TODO(), indexModel)
      if err != nil {
          panic(err)
      }

      fmt.Println("Name of Index Created: " + name)

   .. output::
      :language: none
      :visible: false

      location.geo_2dsphere

.. _golang-unique-indexes:

Unique Indexes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unique indexes ensure that the indexed fields do not store duplicate
values. By default, MongoDB creates a unique index on the ``_id`` field
during the creation of a collection.

To create a unique index, specify the field or combination of fields
that you want to prevent duplication on and set the ``unique`` option to
``true``.

Example
```````

The following example creates a unique, descending index on the ``theaterId`` field:

.. io-code-block::
   :copyable: true

   .. input::
      :language: go

      indexModel := mongo.IndexModel{
          Keys: bson.D{{"theaterId", -1}},
          Options: options.Index().SetUnique(true),
      }
      name, err := coll.Indexes().CreateOne(context.TODO(), indexModel)
      if err != nil {
          panic(err)
      }

      fmt.Println("Name of Index Created: " + name)

   .. output::
      :language: none
      :visible: false

      Name of Index Created: theaterId_-1

.. _golang-remove-index:

Remove an Index
---------------

You can delete any index from a collection except the default unique index on the
``_id`` field. To remove an index, pass the name of your index to the
``DropOne()`` method.

The following example removes an index called ``title_1``
from the ``sample_mflix.movies`` collection:

.. code-block:: go

   coll := client.Database("sample_mflix").Collection("movies")
   err := coll.Indexes().DropOne(context.TODO(), "title_1")
   if err != nil {
       panic(err)
   }

Additional Information
----------------------

To learn more about the indexes mentioned, see the following
guides:

- :manual:`Single Field Indexes </core/index-single>`
- :manual:`TTL Indexes </core/index-ttl>`
- :manual:`Compound Indexes </core/index-compound>`
- :manual:`Multikey Indexes </core/index-multikey>`
- :manual:`Text Indexes </core/index-text>`
- :manual:`Compound Text Index Restrictions </core/index-text/#std-label-text-index-compound>`
- :manual:`Geospatial Queries </geospatial-queries/>`
- :manual:`GeoJSON Objects </reference/geojson>`
- :manual:`Unique Indexes </core/index-unique>`
- :v5.3:`Clustered Indexes </reference/method/db.createCollection/#std-label-db.createCollection.clusteredIndex>`
- :v5.3:`Clustered Collections </core/clustered-collections/#std-label-clustered-collections>`

To learn more about the operations mentioned, see the following
guides:

- :ref:`golang-query-document`
- :ref:`golang-change-document`
- :ref:`golang-delete-guide`

API Documentation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn more about the methods discussed in this
guide and related ones, see the following API Documentation:

- `IndexModel <{+api+}/mongo#IndexModel>`__
- `IndexOptions <{+api+}/mongo/options#IndexOptions>`__
- `SetDefaultLanguage()
  <{+api+}/mongo/options#IndexOptionsBuilder.SetDefaultLanguage>`__
- `CreateOne() <{+api+}/mongo#IndexView.CreateOne>`__
- `DropOne() <{+api+}/mongo#IndexView.DropOne>`__
- `CreateCollection() <{+api+}/mongo#Database.CreateCollection>`__
- `CreateCollectionOptions <{+api+}/mongo/options#CreateCollectionOptions>`__
- `SearchIndexes <{+api+}/mongo#Collection.SearchIndexes>`__
- `SearchIndexView <{+api+}/mongo#SearchIndexView>`__