Query JSON with MongoDB Syntax

How to query JSON with MongoDB syntax online

jsonsql.dev lets you query JSON data using MongoDB-style syntax directly in your browser. No database needed, no data sent to any server — your JSON stays on your machine.

MongoDB query operators reference

MongoDB query syntax uses JSON objects with $ operators to express conditions — making it natural for developers already working with JSON data.

MongoDB query examples

Practical examples using a realistic employee dataset. Paste the sample data (click "Sample Data" above) and try each query.

Exact match

{ "department": "Engineering" }
// Returns all employees in the Engineering department

Range query

{ "salary": { "$gte": 100000, "$lte": 150000 } }
// Returns employees with salary between $100K and $150K

Logical OR

{ "$or": [{ "department": "Engineering" }, { "department": "Sales" }] }
// Returns employees in Engineering OR Sales

IN operator

{ "department": { "$in": ["Engineering", "Design"] } }
// Returns employees in Engineering or Design (shorthand for $or)

Field exists

{ "email": { "$exists": true } }
// Returns documents that have an email field

Regex pattern

{ "name": { "$regex": "^A" } }
// Returns employees whose name starts with "A"

Sort and limit

{ "$sort": { "salary": -1 }, "$limit": 3 }
// Returns top 3 highest-paid employees

Project specific fields

{ "$project": { "name": 1, "salary": 1 } }
// Returns only name and salary for all employees

$sort, $limit, $skip, and $project

Control operators shape the output of your query without changing the filter conditions. They can be used at the top level alongside filter conditions, or nested under a $query key for explicit separation.

Sorting

Use $sort with 1 for ascending and -1 for descending. You can sort by multiple fields:

{ "$sort": { "department": 1, "salary": -1 } }
// Sort by department A-Z, then by salary highest first within each department

Pagination with $skip and $limit

Combine $skip and $limit to paginate through results:

// Page 1: first 5 results
{ "$sort": { "name": 1 }, "$limit": 5 }

// Page 2: skip first 5, take next 5
{ "$sort": { "name": 1 }, "$skip": 5, "$limit": 5 }

// Page 3: skip first 10, take next 5
{ "$sort": { "name": 1 }, "$skip": 10, "$limit": 5 }

Field selection with $project

Use $project to include only specific fields in the output. Set a field to 1 to include it, or 0 to exclude it:

// Include only name and department
{ "$project": { "name": 1, "department": 1 } }

// Combine with filter and sort
{
  "department": "Engineering",
  "$sort": { "salary": -1 },
  "$project": { "name": 1, "salary": 1 }
}

MongoDB syntax vs SQL vs JSONPath

Each query syntax has strengths. Choose the one that matches your data and familiarity:

Try all three syntaxes on the same data: JSONPath query | SQL query | All query modes

When to use MongoDB query syntax

MongoDB query syntax is the best choice in these scenarios:

• You already know MongoDB — if you work with MongoDB in your day job, the query syntax feels like home. No need to learn a different language.
• Complex nested conditions — $and and $or let you build arbitrarily complex filter trees using standard JSON nesting. This is more readable than long SQL WHERE clauses with parentheses.
• When SQL feels like overkill — for simple "find documents matching X" queries, { "status": "active" } is shorter and more intuitive than SELECT * FROM data WHERE status = 'active'.
• API testing and mocking — when testing MongoDB-backed APIs, you can paste your actual query objects and verify them against sample data without connecting to a database.
• Prototyping queries — test MongoDB queries against sample JSON before running them on a real database. Iterate faster without risking production data.

Related tools

Frequently asked questions