Mongoose populate with array of objects containing ref

Question

I have a Mongoose schema with an array lists of objects that consist of a reference to another collection and a nested array of numbers:

var Schema, exports, mongoose, schema;
    
mongoose = require("mongoose");
    
Schema = mongoose.Schema;
    
schema = new Schema({
    name: {
        type: String,
        required: true,
        unique: true,
        trim: true
    },
    lists: [{
        list: {
            type: Schema.ObjectId,
            require: true,
            ref: "List"
        },
        allocations: [{
            type: Number,
            required: true
        }]
    }],
    createdAt: {
        type: Date,
        "default": Date.now
    },
    updatedAt: {
        type: Date
    }
});
    
exports = module.exports = mongoose.model("Portfolio", schema);

However, I cannot get populate to work as expected without getting a TypeError: Cannot read property 'ref' of undefined. I've tried populate('list') and populate('lists list') but I'm either not calling things correctly or my Schema isn't formed correctly. I don't have this problem if I simply reference the lists by themselves:

lists: [{
    type: Schema.ObjectId,
    require: true,
    ref: "List"
}]

but I want to have the allocations array alongside each list. What do I need to do to get the behavior I want?

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:10:10Z

171

I found the answer: populate('lists.list') works. Thanks to this question: Mongoose populate within an object?

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:10

CommunityBot

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answered May 20, 2013 at 1:07

neverfox

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2 Comments

Yogesh Patel Over a year ago

Hi friend this is not working for me any thing i miss. i havent use required.

subhashish negi Over a year ago

it worked for me. i was populating for each service inside services array thanks.

services:[{        quantity: Number,        service: {            type:Schema.Types.ObjectId,            ref: 'vas'        }     }],

Rohit Nishad · Accepted Answer · 2021-06-17 19:20:00Z

9

Actual answer:

Use this,

populate('lists.list')

Extra:

Here are lists are an array of objects (list). In JS you can access this like that,

console.log(lists.list);

and MongoDB syntax is 99% similar to JS syntax. so....................

edited Jun 17, 2021 at 19:20

answered May 6, 2020 at 20:32

Rohit Nishad

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1 Comment

Rupesh Over a year ago

How can I populate adminId here? adminInfo: { _id: false, adminId: [{ type: Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: 'User' }] }

Mr.Singh · Accepted Answer · 2022-10-07 17:18:58Z

8

lists: [{
    list: {
        type: Schema.ObjectId,
        require: true,
        ref: "List"
    },
    allocations: [{
        type: Number,
        required: true
    }]
}],

=> Because it's an array of objects, you can do this -: Portfolio.populate('lists.list');

2.

lists: [{
    type: Schema.ObjectId,
    require: true,
    ref: "List"
}]

=> Because it's an array, you just have to do this -: Portfolio.populate('lists');

edited Oct 7, 2022 at 17:18

Mr.Singh

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answered May 5, 2020 at 17:19

Sonu Bhatt

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3 Comments

Sonu Bhatt Over a year ago

XYZ.populate('adminInfo.adminId');

Rupesh Over a year ago

Already tried that please have a look here: stackoverflow.com/questions/62531177/…

Zeyad Shaban Over a year ago

The first one worked, but the second one didn't. Any idea why?

Nafiz Bayrak · Accepted Answer · 2021-05-17 11:18:27Z

4

if you have nested schema

YourSchema.find()
   .populate({
        path: 'map_data',
        populate: {
            path: 'location' 
        }
})

it's work for me

answered May 17, 2021 at 11:18

Nafiz Bayrak

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Comments

Siddhartha Mukherjee · Accepted Answer · 2023-03-30 13:14:11Z

2

populate('lists.list')
populate(
 {
   path: "lists",
   populate : {
     path: "list",
     model: "List"
   }
 }
)

edited Mar 30, 2023 at 13:14

Siddhartha Mukherjee

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answered Mar 25, 2023 at 16:33

hisham hasoun

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1 Comment

herrstrietzel Over a year ago

Please add more details explaining why your approach is working or better than previous answers.

devzom · Accepted Answer · 2022-03-23 01:50:08Z

1

// Cart schema  
var CartSchema = new mongooseSchema({
    productDetails: [{
        productId: {
            type: mongoose.Schema.ObjectId,
            required: true,
            ref: 'Product'

        },
        productCount: Number,
    }],
    UserId: {
        type: String,
        default: '',
        required: true,
        trim: true,
    },
    shopId: {
        type: String,
        default: '',
        required: true,
        trim: true,
    },
});

// add this .populate('productDetails.productId').

db.Cart.find({
    UserId: userId,
    shopId: shopId
}).populate('productDetails.productId')
.skip(pagination.skip)
.limit(pagination.limit)
.exec(function(error,

CartList) {

    if (error) {
        callback(error, null)
    } else {
        callback(null, CartList)
    }
});

edited Mar 23, 2022 at 1:50

devzom

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answered Mar 21, 2020 at 17:28

Shashwat Gupta

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Comments

Mr.Singh · Accepted Answer · 2022-10-07 13:13:58Z

1

Populate didn't work in my case when nesting to array my Schema was

const chatSchema = mongoose.Schema({
    chats: [{
        type: Schema.Types.ObjectId,
        ref: "ChatMsg" 
    }],
})

How I solved it

Chat.findOne({ 
    customer: req.body.customer, 
    agency: req.body.agency 
}, (err, chat) => {
    if (err) {
        res.status(422).send("Our fault");
    }

    chat.populate("chats").execPopulate(() => {
        res.send(chat);
    });
});

edited Oct 7, 2022 at 13:13

Mr.Singh

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answered Mar 18, 2021 at 18:04

Sehrish Waheed

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