MONGOC_COLLECTION_DELETE(3)

💅 MONGOC_COLLECTION_DELETE(3) — the libmongoc girlie's guide

okay bestie, come sit with me, we need to talk about mongoc_collection_delete 🫶

⚠️ WARNING, and I mean it, no cap: this one is deprecated since version 1.9.0. Like, it's giving "still in the group chat but never replies". Please use mongoc_collection_remove(), mongoc_collection_delete_one() or mongoc_collection_delete_many() instead. Those are the main characters now. 👑

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

bool
mongoc_collection_delete (mongoc_collection_t *collection,
                          mongoc_delete_flags_t flags,
                          const bson_t *selector,
                          const mongoc_write_concern_t *write_concern,
                          bson_error_t *error);

that's the whole vibe. five args, one bool, let's get into it 💖

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🎀 PARAMETERS 🎀

• collection — a mongoc_collection_t. the collection we're doing all this on, obviously 💁
• flags — a mongoc_delete_flags_t. yes it's a whole type, and yes it matters, keep reading 👀
• selector — a bson_t holding the query that matches the documents you wanna delete. this is your hit list, basically 🎯
• write_concern — a mongoc_write_concern_t, or NULL. your choice bestie, NULL is valid 🙈
• error — an optional spot for a bson_error_t, or NULL. optional!! you can absolutely pass NULL and live your truth ✨

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so this function shall delete documents in the given collection that match selector. simple, iconic, exactly what it says on the tin 💅

now here's the thing — the bson selector is not validated. not even a little. it's just passed along as appropriate to the server. so compatibility and errors? that's a you problem, and by "you" I mean the appropriate server documentation. go read it, I'm begging 😭

and if you wanna limit your deletes to a single document — like, just the one, not the whole friend group — provide MONGOC_DELETE_SINGLE_REMOVE in flags. periodt 🌸

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💀 ERRORS 💀

errors get propagated via the error parameter. that's the whole section. she's short but she's honest 🫶

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🔥 RETURNS 🔥

returns true if successful. returns false and sets error if there are invalid arguments, or a server or network error. so like, false is never a mystery, the error will tell you what's up 🧚

💀 also: a write concern timeout or a write concern error counts as a failure. yes, even if it feels like it kind of worked. it did not. it's a fail. don't argue with me 💅

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

MongoDB, Inc. the original icons. 🫡

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🌈 COPYRIGHT 🌈

2009-present, MongoDB, Inc. — protected, babes, don't be weird about it 💜

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! this was libmongoc version 1.30.13, dated Oct 09, 2026, and the page you just read is MONGOC_COLLECTION_DELETE(3). now go use mongoc_collection_remove() like I told you 😭💖 bye!! 🎀