The $should operator specifies conditions where at least one should match.
Its behavior changes depending on whether it's used alone or combined with $must.
When $should is the only boolean operator in a query, it acts as a logical OR.
Documents must match at least one of the conditions to be included in results:
Documents matching more conditions score higher than those matching fewer.
When $should is combined with $must, the $should conditions become optional score boosters.
Documents are not required to match the $should conditions, but those that do receive higher relevance scores:
This is useful for influencing result ranking without restricting the result set.
When multiple $should conditions are specified, each matching condition adds to the document's score.
Documents matching more conditions rank higher:
A document matching all three $should conditions scores higher than one matching only one.
Syntax Options#
The $should operator accepts either an object or an array:
- Object syntax: Each key-value pair is a condition that should match
- Array syntax: Each element is a separate condition object that should match
Array syntax is useful when you have multiple conditions on the same field or when building queries programmatically.