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View Existing Validation Rules

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Prerequisite

Example: db.getCollectionInfos() Syntax
Example: listCollections Syntax
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You can view a collection's validation rules to determine what restrictions are imposed on documents and how MongoDB handles invalid documents when they occur.

To view a collection's validation rules, use the db.getCollectionInfos() method or listCollections database command.

Both commands return the same information, but the output format differs between each command.

Prerequisite

To run the examples on this page, create a students collection with validation rules. For more information, see Specify JSON Schema Validation.

Example: `db.getCollectionInfos()` Syntax

The following command uses db.getCollectionInfos() to return the validation rules for the students collection:

db.getCollectionInfos( { name: "students" } )[0].options.validator

The output resembles the following validation object:

{
  '$jsonSchema': {
    bsonType: 'object',
    required: [ 'name', 'year', 'major', 'address' ],
    properties: {
      name: {
        bsonType: 'string',
        description: 'must be a string and is required'
      },
      year: {
        bsonType: 'int',
        minimum: 2017,
        maximum: 3017,
        description: 'must be an integer in [ 2017, 3017 ] and is required'
      },
      gpa: {
        bsonType: [ 'double' ],
        description: 'must be a double if the field exists'
      }
    }
  }
}

Note

Validation Action and Level Not Included by Default

If validationAction and validationLevel are not explicitly set, db.getCollectionInfos() does not include those fields in its output.

Example: `listCollections` Syntax

The following command uses listCollections to return the validation rules for the students collection:

db.runCommand ( { listCollections: 1, filter: { name: "students" } } )

The output resembles the following object:

{
  cursor: {
    id: Long("0"),
    ns: 'test.$cmd.listCollections',
    firstBatch: [
      {
        name: 'students',
        type: 'collection',
        options: {
          validator: {
            '$jsonSchema': {
              bsonType: 'object',
              required: [ 'name', 'year', 'major', 'address' ],
              properties: {
                name: {
                  bsonType: 'string',
                  description: 'must be a string and is required'
                },
                gpa: {
                  bsonType: [ 'double' ],
                  description: 'must be a double if the field exists'
                }
              }
            },
            validationAction: 'warn'
          }
        },
        info: {
          readOnly: false,
          uuid: UUID("bf560865-5879-4ec1-b389-f77a03abbc5a")
        },
        idIndex: { v: 2, key: { _id: 1 }, name: '_id_' }
      }
    ]
  },
  ok: 1
}

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← Specify Validation With Query Operators

Modify Schema Validation →