Fetching all documents from MongoDB Collection in a beautified form

To fetch all documents from a MongoDB collection in a beautified, readable format, use the find() method combined with the pretty() method. The pretty() method formats the JSON output with proper indentation and line breaks.

Syntax

db.collectionName.find().pretty();

Create Sample Data

Let us create a collection with some sample documents ?

db.demo306.insertMany([
    {"Name": "Robert", "Age": 21},
    {"Name": "David", "Age": 23},
    {"Name": "Mike", "Age": 25},
    {"Name": "Carol", "Age": 26}
]);

{
    "acknowledged": true,
    "insertedIds": [
        ObjectId("5e4ea7c6f8647eb59e562038"),
        ObjectId("5e4ea7cdf8647eb59e562039"),
        ObjectId("5e4ea7d4f8647eb59e56203a"),
        ObjectId("5e4ea7dcf8647eb59e56203b")
    ]
}

Example: Fetch All Documents with Pretty Format

Display all documents from the collection using find().pretty() ?

db.demo306.find().pretty();

{
    "_id": ObjectId("5e4ea7c6f8647eb59e562038"),
    "Name": "Robert",
    "Age": 21
}
{
    "_id": ObjectId("5e4ea7cdf8647eb59e562039"),
    "Name": "David",
    "Age": 23
}
{
    "_id": ObjectId("5e4ea7d4f8647eb59e56203a"),
    "Name": "Mike",
    "Age": 25
}
{
    "_id": ObjectId("5e4ea7dcf8647eb59e56203b"),
    "Name": "Carol",
    "Age": 26
}

Key Points

• Without pretty(), documents are displayed in a single line format.
• The pretty() method only affects the display format, not the actual data.
• Use find() without parameters to retrieve all documents from a collection.

Conclusion

The find().pretty() combination provides a human-readable format for MongoDB query results. This method is essential for analyzing document structure and data during development and debugging.