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How to Run $lookup with an Atlas Search $search Query

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  • Create the Atlas Search Index
  • Run $lookup with $search to Search the Collections

Starting in v6.0, the MongoDB $lookup aggregation stage supports $search inside the $lookup pipeline option. Using $lookup, you can join multiple collections in the same database at query-time and run a $search query to further narrow down your search.

Note

$lookup queries are not very performant because Atlas Search does a full document lookup on the database for each document in the collection. To learn more, see Reduce $lookup Operations.

This tutorial demonstrates how to run a $lookup query with $search against the accounts and customers collections in the sample_analytics database. It takes you through the following steps:

  1. Set up an Atlas Search index with dynamic mapping for the accounts collection in the sample_analytics database.

  2. Run $lookup query with $search to find customers from the customers collections whose accounts have purchased both CurrencyService and InvestmentStock products in the accounts collection.

Before you begin, ensure that your Atlas cluster meets the requirements described in the Prerequisites.

Note

To run $lookup query with $search, your cluster must run MongoDB v6.0 or later. If not, Atlas Search displays the following error message:

$_internalSearchMongotRemote is not allowed within a $lookup's sub-pipeline.

To learn more, see Upgrade Major MongoDB Version for a Cluster.

To create an Atlas Search index, you must have Project Data Access Admin or higher access to the project.

Create the Atlas Search Index

Create an Atlas Search index named lookup-with-search-tutorial on all the fields in the sample_analytics.accounts collection.

1

In Atlas, go to the Database Deployments page for your project.

  1. If it is not already displayed, select the organization that contains your desired project from the Organizations menu in the navigation bar.

  2. If it is not already displayed, select your desired project from the Projects menu in the navigation bar.

  3. If the Database Deployments page is not already displayed, click Database in the sidebar.

2

Go to the Atlas Search page for your cluster.

  1. Click your cluster's name.

  2. Click the Atlas Search tab.

3

Create an Atlas Search index.

Click Create Search Index.

4

Select an Atlas Search Configuration Method and click Next.

  • For a guided experience, select the Atlas Search Visual Editor.

  • To edit the raw index definition, select the Atlas Search JSON Editor.

5

Enter the Index Name, and set the Database and Collection.

  1. In the Index Name field, enter lookup-with-search-tutorial.

    Note

    If you name your index default, you don't need to specify an index parameter when using the $search pipeline stage. Otherwise, you must specify the index name using the index parameter.

  2. In the Database and Collection section, find the sample_analytics database, and select the accounts collection.

6

Specify an index definition.

The following index definition dynamically indexes the fields of supported types in the collection. You can use the Atlas Search Visual Editor or the Atlas Search JSON Editor in the Atlas user interface to create the index.

7

Click Create Search Index.

8

Close the You're All Set! Modal Window.

A modal window displays to let you know your index is building. Click the Close button.

9

Wait for the index to finish building.

The index should take about one minute to build. While it is building, the Status column reads Build in Progress. When it is finished building, the Status column reads Active.

Run $lookup with $search to Search the Collections

➤ Use the Select your language drop-down menu on this page to set the language of the examples in this section.

Connect to your Atlas cluster and run the sample query against the indexed collections in the sample_analytics database.

← How to Run Atlas Search Queries Using Materialized Views
How to Run $unionWith with an Atlas Search $search Query →

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