MONGOC_COLLECTION_UPDATE(3)

✨ MONGOC_COLLECTION_UPDATE(3) ✨

okay bestie, welcome to the libmongoc page for MONGOC_COLLECTION_UPDATE(3) — this is the one where we go update some documents in a collection 💅 (manual section 3, in case the (3) was keeping you up at night 🫶)

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

here's the whole signature, and yes you're gonna want to copy it exactly because it's long:

bool
mongoc_collection_update (mongoc_collection_t *collection,
                          mongoc_update_flags_t flags,
                          const bson_t *selector,
                          const bson_t *update,
                          const mongoc_write_concern_t *write_concern,
                          bson_error_t *error);

like, look at all those params. it's giving ✨thorough✨. she returns a bool, she takes six things, she's booked and busy.

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🎀 PARAMETERS 🎀

• collection — a mongoc_collection_t. the collection. the main character. the place where the documents live 💖
• flags — a bitwise or of mongoc_update_flags_t. yes, bitwise or, so you can stack them up like friendship bracelets 🦋
• selector — a bson_t containing the query to match documents for updating. this is the "who we're talking about" part, iykyk
• update — a bson_t containing the update to perform. and heads up: if you're updating with a pipeline, this is a bson_t array instead 🔥
• write_concern — a mongoc_write_concern_t. the write concern. slay.
• error — an optional location for a bson_error_t, or NULL. optional!! no pressure ✨

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

NOTE: to pass additional options, use mongoc_collection_update_one(), mongoc_collection_update_many(), or mongoc_collection_replace_one(). like, if you need more, those three are your girls 💅

this function shall update documents in collection that match selector. that's literally the whole gig, no cap.

by default, it only updates a single document. ok so the way this works: if you want to update multiple documents, set flags to MONGOC_UPDATE_MULTI_UPDATE. that's the switch. flip it. 🫶

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😭 ERRORS 😭

errors are propagated via the error parameter. that's where they show up. that's the vibe.

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🌈 RETURNS 🌈

returns true if successful ✨

returns false and sets error if there are invalid arguments, or a server error, or a network error. so basically false has receipts — it tells you what went wrong 💀

and listen: a write concern timeout or write concern error is considered a failure. yes, even those. fr fr, don't assume it worked. 🙈

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

MongoDB, Inc

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🍓 COPYRIGHT 🍓

2009-present, MongoDB, Inc.

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and that's the page bestie, go forth and update responsibly 🧚💖

sign-off time: this iconic little page is from version 2.5.6, dated Oct 09, 2026 — and it's MONGOC_COLLECTION_UPDATE(3) all the way down. periodt. ⭐