Documents

    Description — Couchbase Lite concepts — Data model — Documents
    Related Content — Databases | Blobs | Indexing |

    Overview

    Document Structure

    In Couchbase Lite the term 'document' refers to an entry in the database. You can compare it to a record, or a row in a table.

    Each document has an ID or unique identifier. This ID is similar to a primary key in other databases.

    You can specify the ID programmatically. If you omit it, it will be automatically generated as a UUID.

    Couchbase documents are assigned to a Collection. The ID of a document must be unique within the Collection it is written to. You cannot change it after you have written the document.

    The document also has a value which contains the actual application data. This value is stored as a dictionary of key-value (k-v) pairs. The values can be made up of several different Data Types such as numbers, strings, arrays, and nested objects.

    Data Encoding

    The document body is stored in an internal, efficient, binary form called Fleece. This internal form can be easily converted into a manageable native object format for manipulation in applications.

    Fleece data is stored in the smallest format that will hold the value whilst maintaining the integrity of the value.

    Data Types

    Couchbase Lite JavaScript works with standard JavaScript data types:

    • Boolean

    • Number (integer and floating-point)

    • String

    • Date (stored as ISO-8601 strings)

    • Object (dictionary/map)

    • Array

    • null

    When using TypeScript, you can define interfaces for your document types to ensure type safety throughout your application.

    In addition to these basic data types, Couchbase Lite provides:

    CBLDictionary

    represents a key-value pair collection

    CBLDocument

    represents a document with metadata

    Blob

    represents an arbitrary piece of binary data

    JSON

    Couchbase Lite JavaScript natively works with JSON data. Documents are JavaScript objects that can be easily serialized to and from JSON using standard JSON.stringify() and JSON.parse() methods.

    Constructing a Document

    An individual document often represents a single instance of an object in application code.

    You can consider a document as the equivalent of a 'row' in a relational table, with each of the document’s attributes being equivalent to a 'column'.

    Documents can contain nested structures. This allows developers to express many-to-many relationships without requiring a reference or join table, and is naturally expressive of hierarchical data.

    Most apps will work with one or more documents, persisting them to a local database and optionally syncing them, either centrally or to the cloud.

    In this section we provide an example of how you might create a hotel document, which provides basic contact details and price data.

    Data Model
    hotel: {
      type: string (value = `hotel`)
      name: string
      address: object {
        street: string
        city: string
        state: string
        country: string
        code: string
      }
      phones: array
      rate: number
    }

    Working with Collections

    Couchbase documents are assigned to a Collection. All the CRUD examples in this document operate on a collection object (here, from the Default Collection).

    See Databases for information on opening databases and accessing collections.

    Create and Save a Document in a Collection

    All of these sections can be merged into a Create and Save a Document in a Collection section, with the following example:

    // 2. Get the collection
    const coll = database.collection.hotels;
    
    // 3. Create a typed hotel object
    const hotel: Hotel = {
      type: "hotel",
      name: "The Grand Plaza",
      address: {
        street: "123 Main Street",
        city: "New York",
        state: "NY",
        country: "USA",
        code: "10001"
      },
      phones: ["+1-555-123-4567"],
      rate: 189.99
    };
    
    // 4. Create a document using the typed object
    const doc = coll.createDocument(hotel);
    
    // 5. Save the document
    await coll.save(doc);

    Learn more about Using Dictionaries and Using Arrays.

    Couchbase recommend using a type attribute to define each logical document type.
    For information on closing databases, see Close Database.

    Working with Data

    Checking a Document’s Properties

    To check whether a given property exists in the document, use standard JavaScript property access or the hasOwnProperty() method.

    const coll = database.collection.hotels;
    
    // Fetch a document
    const doc = await coll.get("hotel_123");
    
    // Access a known property
    console.log("Name:", doc.name);
    
    // Check if a property exists
    if (doc.hasOwnProperty("rate")) {
      console.log("Rate:", doc.rate);
    }

    If you try to access a property which doesn’t exist in the document, JavaScript will return undefined.

    Date Handling

    Dates in Couchbase Lite JavaScript are stored as ISO-8601 formatted strings. You can easily convert between JavaScript Date objects and these string representations.

    Date precision

    JavaScript Date objects provide millisecond precision. If you require greater precision, consider storing timestamps as numbers representing microseconds or nanoseconds.

    Example 1. Date Handling

    This example demonstrates storing and retrieving dates.

    const coll = database.collection("events");
    
    const event = {
      type: "event",
      name: "Conference",
      createdAt: new Date().toISOString(), // store ISO date string
    };
    
    const doc = coll.createDocument(event);
    await coll.save(doc);

    Using Dictionaries

    In JavaScript, dictionaries are represented as standard JavaScript objects. You can work with nested objects naturally.

    Example 2. Working with Objects
    interface TasksSchema {
        title: string;
        details: {
            location: string;
            duration: number;
            attendees: string[];
        };
        metadata: {
            createdBy: string;
            department: string;
            tags: string[];
        };
    };
    
    interface DBSchema {
        tasks: TasksSchema;
    }
    
    const config: DatabaseConfig<DBSchema> = {
        name: "mydb",
        version: 1,
        collections: {
            tasks: {}
        }
    };
    
    const database = await Database.open(config);
    const tasks = database.collections.tasks;
    
    // Create document with nested objects
    const doc = tasks.createDocument(null, {
        title: "Project Meeting",
        details: {
            location: "Conference Room A",
            duration: 60,
            attendees: ["Alice", "Bob", "Charlie"]
        },
        metadata: {
            createdBy: "admin",
            department: "Engineering",
            tags: ["important", "recurring"]
        }
    });
    
    await tasks.save(doc);
    
    // Access nested properties (note in TypeScript you should use a schema instead)
    const meeting = await tasks.getDocument(meta(doc).id);
    if (meeting) {
        console.log(`Location: ${meeting.details.location}`);
        console.log(`Duration: ${meeting.details.duration} minutes`);
        console.log(`Created by: ${meeting.metadata.createdBy}`);
    
        // Modify nested objects
        meeting.details.location = "Conference Room B";
        meeting.metadata.tags.push("urgent");
        await tasks.save(meeting);
    }

    Using Arrays

    Arrays in Couchbase Lite JavaScript are standard JavaScript arrays.

    Example 3. Working with Arrays
    // Working with arrays
    
        interface ProjectsSchema {
            name: string;
            team: string[];
            milestones: string[];
            tags: string[];
        };
    
        interface DBSchema {
            projects: ProjectsSchema;
        }
    
        const config: DatabaseConfig<DBSchema> = {
            name: "mydb",
            version: 1,
            collections: {
                projects: {}
            }
        };
    
        const database = await Database.open(config);
        const projects = database.collections.projects;
    
        // Create document with arrays
        const project = projects.createDocument(null, {
            name: "Mobile App Development",
            team: ["Alice", "Bob", "Charlie"],
            milestones: [
                "Requirements gathering",
                "Design phase",
                "Development",
                "Testing",
                "Deployment"
            ],
            tags: ["mobile", "javascript", "react"]
        });
    
        await projects.save(project);
    
        // Access array elements
        const savedProject = await projects.getDocument(meta(project).id);
        if (savedProject) {
            console.log(`First team member: ${savedProject.team[0]}`);
            console.log(`Total milestones: ${savedProject.milestones.length}`);
    
            // Modify arrays
            savedProject.team.push("Diana");  // Add team member
            savedProject.milestones[2] = "Development (In Progress)";  // Update milestone
            savedProject.tags = savedProject.tags.filter((tag: string) => tag !== "mobile");  // Remove tag
    
            await projects.save(savedProject);
        }

    Using Blobs

    For more on working with blobs, see Blobs

    Retrieving Documents

    You can retrieve documents by their ID using the collection’s document() method.

    Example 4. Retrieve a document
    const docId = DocID('task-001');
    const doc = await tasks.getDocument(docId);
    if (doc) {
        console.log('Task:', doc.title);
    } else {
        console.log('Document not found');
    }

    Updating Documents

    To update a document, retrieve it, modify its properties, and save it back to the collection.

    Example 5. Update a document
    const docId = DocID('task-001');
    const docToUpdate = await tasks.getDocument(docId);
    if (docToUpdate) {
        docToUpdate.completed = true;
        await tasks.save(docToUpdate);
        console.log('Document updated');
    }
    Any user change to the value of reserved keys (_id, _rev or _deleted) will be detected when a document is saved and will result in an error — see also Document Constraints.

    Deleting Documents

    You can delete a document using the collection’s deleteDocument() method.

    Example 6. Delete a document
    const docId = DocID('task-001');
    const deleteDoc = await tasks.getDocument(docId);
    if (deleteDoc) {
        await tasks.delete(deleteDoc);
        console.log('Document deleted');
    }

    Batch operations

    If you’re making multiple changes to a database at once, it’s faster to group them together. The following example persists multiple documents in a batch.

    Example 7. Batch operations
    const coll = database.collection.tasks;
    
    async function bulkUpdate() {
      // Fetch two docs to update
      const taskA = await coll.get("taskA");
      const taskB = await coll.get("taskB");
    
      // Modify them locally
      taskA.status = "done";
      taskB.status = "in-progress";
    
      // Prepare doc to delete
      const obsolete = await coll.get("old_task");
    
      await coll.updateMultiple({
        bestEffort: true, // Perform updates even if one fails
        save: [taskA, taskB],    // Documents to save
        delete: [obsolete],       // Documents to delete
    
        onConflict: (conflict) => {
          // conflict.localDoc  - our version
          // conflict.remoteDoc - version from the database
          // conflict.documentID - id of the conflicting doc
    
          console.warn("Conflict detected for:",
            conflict.documentID);
    
          // Choose to keep the remote version (remote wins)
          return conflict.remoteDoc;
    
          // OR return conflict.localDoc for local-wins
          // OR return null to delete doc
        }
      });
    
      console.log("Bulk update complete.");
    }

    At the local level this operation is still transactional: no other Database instances, including ones managed by the replicator can make changes during the execution of the batch operation, and other instances will not see partial changes. But Couchbase Mobile is a distributed system, and due to the way replication works, there’s no guarantee that Sync Gateway or other devices will receive your changes all at once.

    Document change events

    You can register for document changes. The following example registers for changes to a specific document and logs the changes when detected.

    Example 8. Document change events
    // Register for document change events
    const tasks = database.getCollection("tasks");
    const docId = DocID("task-001");
    
    // Add document change listener
    const token = tasks.addDocumentChangeListener(docId, (change) => {
        console.log(`Document ${change.id} changed`);
        console.log(`Revision: ${change.rev}`);
        console.log(`Sequence: ${change.sequence}`);
    
        if (change.deleted) {
            console.log('Document was deleted');
        } else {
            console.log('Document was updated');
        }
    });
    
    // Make changes to trigger the listener
    const doc = await tasks.getDocument(docId);
    if (doc) {
        doc.status = "completed";
        await tasks.save(doc);  // Listener will be called
    }
    
    // Remove listener when done
    token.remove();

    Document Expiration

    Document expiration allows users to set the expiration date for a document. When the document expires, it is purged from the database. The purge is not replicated to Sync Gateway.

    Example 9. Set document expiration

    This example sets the TTL for a document to 1 day from the current time.

    // Set document expiration
    const tasks = database.getCollection("tasks");
    const doc = await tasks.getDocument(DocID("task-001"));
    
    if (doc) {
    // Set expiration to 1 day from now (using milliseconds)
        const oneDayFromNow = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;  // 24 hours in milliseconds
        await tasks.setDocumentExpiration(doc, oneDayFromNow);
    
        console.log('Document will expire in 24 hours');
    
        // Or set expiration using Date object
        const expirationDate = new Date();
        expirationDate.setDate(expirationDate.getDate() + 1);  // 1 day from now
        await tasks.setDocumentExpiration(doc, expirationDate);
    
        // Get document expiration
        const expiration = await tasks.getDocumentExpiration(doc);
        if (expiration) {
            console.log(`Document expires on: ${expiration.toISOString()}`);
        }
    
        // Clear expiration
        await tasks.setDocumentExpiration(doc, undefined);
        console.log('Document expiration cleared');
    }

    You can also set expiration for a whole Collection.

    Document Constraints

    Couchbase Lite APIs do not explicitly disallow the use of attributes with the underscore prefix at the top level of document. This is to facilitate the creation of documents for use either in local only mode where documents are not synced, or when used exclusively in peer-to-peer sync.

    "_id", "_rev" and "_sequence" are reserved keywords and must not be used as top-level attributes — see Example 10.

    Users are cautioned that any attempt to sync such documents to Sync Gateway will result in an error. To be future proof, you are advised to avoid creating such documents. Use of these attributes for user-level data may result in undefined system behavior.

    For more guidance — see: Sync Gateway - data modeling guidelines

    Example 10. Reserved Keys List
    • _attachments

    • _deleted

    • _id

    • _removed

    • _rev

    • _sequence

    Working with JSON Data

    Documents as JSON

    Since JavaScript natively works with JSON, converting documents is straightforward using standard JSON.stringify() and JSON.parse() methods.

    Example 11. Documents as JSON strings
    // Get a document from the collection
    const users = database.getCollection("users");
    const doc = await users.getDocument(DocID("user-123"));
    
    if (doc) {
    // Convert document to JSON string
        const jsonString = JSON.stringify(doc);
        console.log('Document as JSON:', jsonString);
    
        // Parse JSON string back to object
        const parsedDoc = JSON.parse(jsonString) as CBLDocument;
        console.log('Parsed document:', parsedDoc);
    
        // You can also stringify with formatting
        const prettyJson = JSON.stringify(doc, null, 2);
        console.log('Pretty JSON:\n', prettyJson);
    }

    Query Results as JSON

    Query results can be easily converted to JSON for serialization or use in your application.

    Example 12. Using JSON Results
    // Execute a query
    const query = database.createQuery(`
        SELECT users.* FROM users
        WHERE role = 'admin'
    `);
    
    const results = await query.execute();
    
    // Convert results to JSON string
    const jsonResults = JSON.stringify(results, null, 2);
    console.log('Query results as JSON:', jsonResults);
    
    // Parse JSON back to object
    const parsedResults = JSON.parse(jsonResults) as JSONObject[];
    
    // Save query results as documents in Couchbase Lite
    const exports = database.getCollection("exports");
    
    for (const row of parsedResults) {
        const userData = row.users;  // Extract user data
    
        // Create and save as new document
        const exportDoc = exports.createDocument(null, {
            type: 'user_export',
            exportedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
            userData: userData
        });
    
        await exports.save(exportDoc);
    }
    
    console.log('Query results saved as documents');