MongoDB query to remove array elements from a document?

Use the $pull operator to remove array elements from a MongoDB document. This operator removes all instances of a value from an existing array field.

Syntax

db.collection.update(
    { },
    { $pull: { fieldName: value } },
    { multi: true }
);

Sample Data

Let us first create a collection with documents −

db.removeArrayElementsDemo.insertMany([
    { "AllPlayerName": ["John", "Sam", "Carol", "David"] },
    { "AllPlayerName": ["Chris", "Robert", "John", "Mike"] }
]);

{
    "acknowledged": true,
    "insertedIds": [
        ObjectId("5cd90d011a844af18acdffc1"),
        ObjectId("5cd90d2e1a844af18acdffc2")
    ]
}

Example: Remove Specific Element

Display all documents to verify the initial data −

db.removeArrayElementsDemo.find().pretty();

{
    "_id": ObjectId("5cd90d011a844af18acdffc1"),
    "AllPlayerName": [
        "John",
        "Sam",
        "Carol",
        "David"
    ]
}
{
    "_id": ObjectId("5cd90d2e1a844af18acdffc2"),
    "AllPlayerName": [
        "Chris",
        "Robert",
        "John",
        "Mike"
    ]
}

Remove "John" from all documents −

db.removeArrayElementsDemo.update(
    { },
    { $pull: { AllPlayerName: "John" } },
    { multi: true }
);

WriteResult({ "nMatched": 2, "nUpserted": 0, "nModified": 2 })

Verify Result

Check all documents to confirm the removal −

db.removeArrayElementsDemo.find().pretty();

{
    "_id": ObjectId("5cd90d011a844af18acdffc1"),
    "AllPlayerName": [
        "Sam",
        "Carol",
        "David"
    ]
}
{
    "_id": ObjectId("5cd90d2e1a844af18acdffc2"),
    "AllPlayerName": [
        "Chris",
        "Robert",
        "Mike"
    ]
}

Conclusion

The $pull operator effectively removes all matching elements from array fields across multiple documents when used with multi: true. This provides a clean way to eliminate specific values from arrays in MongoDB collections.