> For the complete MongoDB documentation index, see www.mongodb.com/docs/llms.txt

# cursor.pretty() (mongosh method)

## Definition

**Important: mongosh Method**

This page documents a [`mongosh`](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/mongodb-shell.md#mongodb-binary-bin.mongosh) method. This is *not* the documentation for a language-specific driver, such as Node.js.

For MongoDB API drivers, refer to the language-specific [MongoDB driver documentation.](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/drivers/)

Configures the cursor to display results in a format that is easy to read.

The [`pretty()`](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/reference/method/cursor.pretty.md#mongodb-method-cursor.pretty) method has the following prototype form:

```javascript
db.collection.find(<query>).pretty()
```

## Behavior

The [`pretty()`](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/reference/method/cursor.pretty.md#mongodb-method-cursor.pretty) method:

- Does not change the output format in [`mongosh`.](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/mongodb-shell.md#mongodb-binary-bin.mongosh)

- Changes the output format in the [legacy mongo shell.](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/reference/mongo.md#std-label-mongo)

## Examples

Consider the following document:

```javascript
db.books.insertOne({
    "_id" : ObjectId("54f612b6029b47909a90ce8d"),
    "title" : "A Tale of Two Cities",
    "text" : "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...",
    "authorship" : "Charles Dickens"})
```

By default, [`db.collection.find()`](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/reference/method/db.collection.find.md#mongodb-method-db.collection.find) returns data in a dense format:

```javascript
db.books.find()
{ "_id" : ObjectId("54f612b6029b47909a90ce8d"), "title" : "A Tale of Two Cities", "text" : "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...", "authorship" : "Charles Dickens" }
```

By using [`cursor.pretty()`](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/reference/method/cursor.pretty.md#mongodb-method-cursor.pretty) you can set the cursor to return data in a format that is easier to read:

```javascript
db.books.find().pretty()
{
    "_id" : ObjectId("54f612b6029b47909a90ce8d"),
    "title" : "A Tale of Two Cities",
    "text" : "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...",
    "authorship" : "Charles Dickens"
}
```