How to work Date query with ISODate in MongoDB?

Use date comparison operators like $gte, $lt, and $between along with ISODate() to work with date queries in MongoDB. ISODate provides a standardized way to store and query dates in UTC format.

Syntax

db.collection.find({
    "dateField": {
        "$gte": ISODate("YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ssZ"),
        "$lt": ISODate("YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ssZ")
    }
});

Sample Data

Let us create a collection with sample documents containing date fields ?

db.dateDemo.insertMany([
    {
        "StudentName": "John",
        "StudentAge": 26,
        "AdmissionDate": new ISODate("2013-06-07")
    },
    {
        "StudentName": "Alice", 
        "StudentAge": 24,
        "AdmissionDate": new ISODate("2015-03-15")
    },
    {
        "StudentName": "Bob",
        "StudentAge": 22,
        "AdmissionDate": new ISODate("2020-01-10")
    }
]);

{
    "acknowledged": true,
    "insertedIds": [
        ObjectId("5c8a65799064dcd4a68b70ea"),
        ObjectId("5c8a65799064dcd4a68b70eb"),
        ObjectId("5c8a65799064dcd4a68b70ec")
    ]
}

Display all documents to verify the data ?

db.dateDemo.find().pretty();

{
    "_id": ObjectId("5c8a65799064dcd4a68b70ea"),
    "StudentName": "John",
    "StudentAge": 26,
    "AdmissionDate": ISODate("2013-06-07T00:00:00Z")
}
{
    "_id": ObjectId("5c8a65799064dcd4a68b70eb"),
    "StudentName": "Alice",
    "StudentAge": 24,
    "AdmissionDate": ISODate("2015-03-15T00:00:00Z")
}
{
    "_id": ObjectId("5c8a65799064dcd4a68b70ec"),
    "StudentName": "Bob",
    "StudentAge": 22,
    "AdmissionDate": ISODate("2020-01-10T00:00:00Z")
}

Example 1: Find Students Admitted After a Specific Date

Query students admitted on or after June 7, 2013 ?

db.dateDemo.find({
    "AdmissionDate": {
        "$gte": ISODate("2013-06-07T00:00:00Z")
    }
}).pretty();

{
    "_id": ObjectId("5c8a65799064dcd4a68b70ea"),
    "StudentName": "John",
    "StudentAge": 26,
    "AdmissionDate": ISODate("2013-06-07T00:00:00Z")
}
{
    "_id": ObjectId("5c8a65799064dcd4a68b70eb"),
    "StudentName": "Alice",
    "StudentAge": 24,
    "AdmissionDate": ISODate("2015-03-15T00:00:00Z")
}
{
    "_id": ObjectId("5c8a65799064dcd4a68b70ec"),
    "StudentName": "Bob",
    "StudentAge": 22,
    "AdmissionDate": ISODate("2020-01-10T00:00:00Z")
}

Example 2: Date Range Query

Find students admitted between 2013 and 2016 ?

db.dateDemo.find({
    "AdmissionDate": {
        "$gte": ISODate("2013-01-01T00:00:00Z"),
        "$lt": ISODate("2016-01-01T00:00:00Z")
    }
}).pretty();

{
    "_id": ObjectId("5c8a65799064dcd4a68b70ea"),
    "StudentName": "John",
    "StudentAge": 26,
    "AdmissionDate": ISODate("2013-06-07T00:00:00Z")
}
{
    "_id": ObjectId("5c8a65799064dcd4a68b70eb"),
    "StudentName": "Alice",
    "StudentAge": 24,
    "AdmissionDate": ISODate("2015-03-15T00:00:00Z")
}

Date Range Operators

Conclusion

MongoDB's ISODate() combined with comparison operators like $gte and $lt provides powerful date querying capabilities. Always use the ISO 8601 format for consistent date handling across different time zones and applications.