How to perform descending order sort in MongoDB?

To sort documents in descending order in MongoDB, use the sort() method with -1 as the value for the field you want to sort by.

Syntax

db.yourCollectionName.find().sort({yourField: -1});

For ascending order, use 1 instead of -1 ?

db.yourCollectionName.find().sort({yourField: 1});

Sample Data

Let us create a collection with documents to demonstrate descending sort ?

db.sortingDemo.insertMany([
    {"Value": 100},
    {"Value": 1},
    {"Value": 150},
    {"Value": 250},
    {"Value": 5},
    {"Value": 199},
    {"Value": 243},
    {"Value": 290}
]);

{
    "acknowledged": true,
    "insertedIds": [
        ObjectId("5c8f8e2ed3c9d04998abf006"),
        ObjectId("5c8f8e31d3c9d04998abf007"),
        ObjectId("5c8f8e34d3c9d04998abf008"),
        ObjectId("5c8f8e37d3c9d04998abf009"),
        ObjectId("5c8f8e3bd3c9d04998abf00a"),
        ObjectId("5c8f8e3ed3c9d04998abf00b"),
        ObjectId("5c8f8e44d3c9d04998abf00c"),
        ObjectId("5c8f8e48d3c9d04998abf00d")
    ]
}

View All Documents

db.sortingDemo.find();

{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e2ed3c9d04998abf006"), "Value": 100}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e31d3c9d04998abf007"), "Value": 1}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e34d3c9d04998abf008"), "Value": 150}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e37d3c9d04998abf009"), "Value": 250}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e3bd3c9d04998abf00a"), "Value": 5}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e3ed3c9d04998abf00b"), "Value": 199}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e44d3c9d04998abf00c"), "Value": 243}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e48d3c9d04998abf00d"), "Value": 290}

Example: Sort in Descending Order

Sort the documents by the Value field in descending order (highest to lowest) ?

db.sortingDemo.find().sort({Value: -1});

{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e48d3c9d04998abf00d"), "Value": 290}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e37d3c9d04998abf009"), "Value": 250}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e44d3c9d04998abf00c"), "Value": 243}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e3ed3c9d04998abf00b"), "Value": 199}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e34d3c9d04998abf008"), "Value": 150}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e2ed3c9d04998abf006"), "Value": 100}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e3bd3c9d04998abf00a"), "Value": 5}
{"_id": ObjectId("5c8f8e31d3c9d04998abf007"), "Value": 1}

Conclusion

Use sort({field: -1}) for descending order and sort({field: 1}) for ascending order. The descending sort arranges documents from highest to lowest value.