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renameCollection (database command)

Definition

renameCollection

Changes the name of an existing collection. Specify collection names to renameCollection in the form of a complete namespace (<database>.<collection>).

Tip

In mongosh, this command can also be run through the renameCollection() helper method.

Helper methods are convenient for mongosh users, but they may not return the same level of information as database commands. In cases where the convenience is not needed or the additional return fields are required, use the database command.

Issue the renameCollection command against the admin database.

Compatibility

This command is available in deployments hosted in the following environments:

  • MongoDB Atlas: The fully managed service for MongoDB deployments in the cloud

Note

This command is supported in all MongoDB Atlas clusters. For information on Atlas support for all commands, see Unsupported Commands.

Stable API Support

Starting in MongoDB 8.1, renameCollection is included in Stable API V1. To use renameCollection in the Stable API, you must connect your driver to a deployment that is running MongoDB 8.1 or greater.

Syntax

The command has the following syntax:

db.runCommand(
   {
     renameCollection: "<source_namespace>",
     to: "<target_namespace>",
     dropTarget: <true|false>,
     writeConcern: <document>,
     comment: <any>
   }
)

Command Fields

The command contains the following fields:

Field
Type
Description

renameCollection

string

The namespace of the collection to rename. The namespace is a combination of the database name and the name of the collection.

to

string

The new namespace of the collection. If the new namespace specifies a different database, the renameCollection command copies the collection to the new database and drops the source collection. See Naming Restrictions.

dropTarget

boolean

Optional. If true, mongod will drop the target of renameCollection prior to renaming the collection. The default value is false.

writeConcern

document

Optional. A document that expresses the write concern for the operation. Omit to use the default write concern.

When issued on a sharded cluster, mongos converts the write concern of the renameCollection command and its helper db.collection.renameCollection() to "majority".

comment

any

Optional. A user-provided comment to attach to this command. Once set, this comment appears alongside records of this command in the following locations:

A comment can be any valid BSON type (string, integer, object, array, etc).

Behavior

Sharded Collections

Starting in MongoDB 5.0, you can use the renameCollection command to change the name of a sharded collection. The target database must be the same as the source database.

Unsharded Collections

You can use renameCollection to rename an unsharded collection in a sharded cluster as long as the source and target databases have the same primary shard.

Time Series Collections

You cannot use renameCollection to rename a time series collection. For more information, see Time Series Collection Limitations.

Existing Target Collection

renameCollection fails if target is the name of an existing collection and you do not specify dropTarget: true.

Performance

renameCollection has different performance implications depending on the target namespace.

If the target database is the same as the source database, renameCollection simply changes the namespace. This is a quick operation.

If the target database differs from the source database, renameCollection copies all documents from the source collection to the target collection. Depending on the size of the collection, this may take longer to complete.

Resource Locking in Sharded Clusters

Changed in version 5.0.

When renaming a sharded or unsharded collection in a sharded cluster, the source and target collections are exclusively locked on every shard. Subsequent operations on the source and target collections must wait until the rename operation completes.

For more information on locking in MongoDB, see FAQ: Concurrency.

Resource Locking in Replica Sets

If renaming a collection within the same database, renameCollection obtains an exclusive lock on the source and target collections for the duration of the operation. All subsequent operations on the collections must wait until renameCollection completes.

If renaming a collection between different databases, renameCollection obtains an exclusive (W) lock on the target database, an intent shared (r) lock on the source database, and a shared (S) lock on the source collection. Subsequent operations on the target database must wait until renameCollection releases the exclusive database lock.

For more information on locking in MongoDB, see FAQ: Concurrency.

local Database

  • You cannot rename a collection from a replicated database to the local database, which is not replicated.

  • You cannot rename a collection from the local database, which is not replicated, to a replicated database.

Open Cursors and Change Streams

Warning

The db.collection.renameCollection() method and renameCollection command invalidate open cursors. This creates an invalidate event for any existing change streams opened on the source or target collection, and also interrupts queries that are currently returning data from the renamed collection.

Interaction with mongodump

A mongodump started with --oplog fails if a client issues the renameCollection command during the dump process. See mongodump.--oplog for more information.

Example

The following example renames a collection named orders in the test database to orders2014 in the test database.

db.adminCommand( { renameCollection: "test.orders", to: "test.orders2014" } )

mongosh provides the db.collection.renameCollection() helper for the command to rename collections within the same database. The following is equivalent to the previous example:

use test
db.orders.renameCollection( "orders2014" )

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