How can I sort documents in MongoDB 4 and display only a single field?

To sort documents in MongoDB and display only a single field, use the sort() method combined with projection. The sort() method orders documents, while projection controls which fields appear in the result.

Syntax

db.collection.find({}, {fieldName: 1}).sort({fieldName: 1});

Where 1 means ascending order and -1 means descending order.

Sample Data

db.demo611.insertMany([
    {"Name": "Chris"},
    {"Name": "Adam"},
    {"Name": "John"},
    {"Name": "Bob"}
]);

{
    "acknowledged": true,
    "insertedIds": [
        ObjectId("5e987110f6b89257f5584d83"),
        ObjectId("5e987115f6b89257f5584d84"),
        ObjectId("5e987118f6b89257f5584d85"),
        ObjectId("5e98711bf6b89257f5584d86")
    ]
}

Display all documents from the collection ?

db.demo611.find();

{ "_id": ObjectId("5e987110f6b89257f5584d83"), "Name": "Chris" }
{ "_id": ObjectId("5e987115f6b89257f5584d84"), "Name": "Adam" }
{ "_id": ObjectId("5e987118f6b89257f5584d85"), "Name": "John" }
{ "_id": ObjectId("5e98711bf6b89257f5584d86"), "Name": "Bob" }

Example: Sort and Display Single Field

Sort documents by Name field in ascending order and display only the Name field ?

db.demo611.find({}, {Name: 1, _id: 0}).sort({Name: 1});

{ "Name": "Adam" }
{ "Name": "Bob" }
{ "Name": "Chris" }
{ "Name": "John" }

To include the _id field along with the sorted Name field ?

db.demo611.find({}, {Name: 1}).sort({Name: 1});

{ "_id": ObjectId("5e987115f6b89257f5584d84"), "Name": "Adam" }
{ "_id": ObjectId("5e98711bf6b89257f5584d86"), "Name": "Bob" }
{ "_id": ObjectId("5e987110f6b89257f5584d83"), "Name": "Chris" }
{ "_id": ObjectId("5e987118f6b89257f5584d85"), "Name": "John" }

Key Points

• Use {fieldName: 1} in projection to include only specific fields
• Set {_id: 0} to exclude the _id field from results
• sort({fieldName: 1}) sorts in ascending order, sort({fieldName: -1}) sorts in descending order

Conclusion

Combine find() with projection and sort() to display only specific fields in sorted order. Use {fieldName: 1, _id: 0} projection to show only the desired field without the _id.