$zip

The $zip operator is used to merge two or more arrays element-wise into a single array of arrays. It's useful when you want to combine related elements from multiple arrays into a single array structure.

Syntax

{
  $zip: {
    inputs: [ <array1>, <array2>, ... ],
    useLongestLength: <boolean>, // Optional
    defaults: <array> // Optional
  }
}

Parameters

Parameter Description
inputs An array of arrays to be merged element-wise.
useLongestLength A boolean value that, if set to true, uses the longest length of the input arrays. If false or not specified, it uses the shortest length.
defaults An array of default values to use if useLongestLength is true and any input array is shorter than the longest array.

Examples

Consider this sample document from the stores collection.

{
    "_id": "0fcc0bf0-ed18-4ab8-b558-9848e18058f4",
    "name": "First Up Consultants | Beverage Shop - Satterfieldmouth",
    "location": {
        "lat": -89.2384,
        "lon": -46.4012
    },
    "staff": {
        "totalStaff": {
            "fullTime": 8,
            "partTime": 20
        }
    },
    "sales": {
        "totalSales": 75670,
        "salesByCategory": [
            {
                "categoryName": "Wine Accessories",
                "totalSales": 34440
            },
            {
                "categoryName": "Bitters",
                "totalSales": 39496
            },
            {
                "categoryName": "Rum",
                "totalSales": 1734
            }
        ]
    },
    "promotionEvents": [
        {
            "eventName": "Unbeatable Bargain Bash",
            "promotionalDates": {
                "startDate": {
                    "Year": 2024,
                    "Month": 6,
                    "Day": 23
                },
                "endDate": {
                    "Year": 2024,
                    "Month": 7,
                    "Day": 2
                }
            },
            "discounts": [
                {
                    "categoryName": "Whiskey",
                    "discountPercentage": 7
                },
                {
                    "categoryName": "Bitters",
                    "discountPercentage": 15
                },
                {
                    "categoryName": "Brandy",
                    "discountPercentage": 8
                },
                {
                    "categoryName": "Sports Drinks",
                    "discountPercentage": 22
                },
                {
                    "categoryName": "Vodka",
                    "discountPercentage": 19
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "eventName": "Steal of a Deal Days",
            "promotionalDates": {
                "startDate": {
                    "Year": 2024,
                    "Month": 9,
                    "Day": 21
                },
                "endDate": {
                    "Year": 2024,
                    "Month": 9,
                    "Day": 29
                }
            },
            "discounts": [
                {
                    "categoryName": "Organic Wine",
                    "discountPercentage": 19
                },
                {
                    "categoryName": "White Wine",
                    "discountPercentage": 20
                },
                {
                    "categoryName": "Sparkling Wine",
                    "discountPercentage": 19
                },
                {
                    "categoryName": "Whiskey",
                    "discountPercentage": 17
                },
                {
                    "categoryName": "Vodka",
                    "discountPercentage": 23
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Example 1: Basic Usage

Suppose you want to merge the categoryName and totalSales fields from the salesByCategory array. This query returns individual array of arrays under categoryWithSales field. useLongestLength set to true would return the following output, while a value of false removes the Napkins array from the output.

db.stores.aggregate([{
        $match: {
            _id: "a715ab0f-4c6e-4e9d-a812-f2fab11ce0b6"
        }
    },
    {
        $project: {
            name: 1,
            categoryNames: "$sales.salesByCategory.categoryName",
            totalSales: "$sales.salesByCategory.totalSales",
            categoryWithSales: {
                $zip: {
                    inputs: ["$sales.salesByCategory.categoryName", "$sales.salesByCategory.totalSales"],
                    useLongestLength: false
                }
            }
        }
    }
])

This query returns the following result.

[
  {
    "_id": "a715ab0f-4c6e-4e9d-a812-f2fab11ce0b6",
    "name": "Lakeshore Retail | Holiday Supply Hub - Marvinfort",
    "categoryNames": ["Stockings"],
    "totalSales": [25731],
    "categoryWithSales": [["Stockings", 25731]]
  }
]

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