find()
Method Signature
static async find<T extends BaseModel>(
id: string
): Promise<T | null>
Parameters
The MongoDB ObjectId as a string. This is the unique identifier for the document.
Returns
Returns a promise that resolves to the model instance if found, or null if no model exists with that ID.
Examples
Basic Find
const post = await BlogPost.find('5f5a41cc3eb990709eafda43');
if (post) {
console.log(post.title);
} else {
console.log('Post not found');
}
Error Handling
try {
const user = await User.find(userId);
if (!user) {
throw new Error('User not found');
}
// Process user...
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error retrieving user:', error);
}
findBy()
Method Signature
static async findBy<T extends BaseModel, K extends keyof T | '_id'>(
key: K,
value: K extends keyof T ? T[K] : any
): Promise<T | null>
Parameters
A property of the model or '_id'. Must be a valid property name on the model.
The value to match against. The type is inferred from the key parameter for type safety.
Returns
Returns a promise that resolves to the first model instance matching the criteria, or null if no match is found.
Examples
Find by Email
const user = await User.findBy('email', 'john.smith@company.com');
if (user) {
console.log(`Found user: ${user.name}`);
}
Find by Custom Field
// Find product by SKU
const product = await Product.findBy('sku', 'WM-001');
// Find post by slug
const post = await BlogPost.findBy('slug', 'my-first-post');
// Find order by order number
const order = await Order.findBy('orderNumber', 'ORD-12345');
Type-Safe Usage
class User extends BaseModel {
email = '';
username = '';
age = 0;
}
// Type-safe: 'email' expects string
const user1 = await User.findBy('email', 'user@example.com'); // ✓
// Type-safe: 'age' expects number
const user2 = await User.findBy('age', 25); // ✓
// TypeScript will error if types don't match
// const user3 = await User.findBy('age', 'twenty-five'); // ✗
Find by _id
// Using findBy with _id
const post = await BlogPost.findBy('_id', '5f5a41cc3eb990709eafda43');
// Equivalent to find()
const samePost = await BlogPost.find('5f5a41cc3eb990709eafda43');
Comparison with Other Methods
// find() - Retrieve by ID only
const post1 = await BlogPost.find(postId);
// findBy() - Retrieve by any field
const post2 = await BlogPost.findBy('slug', 'my-post');
// where().first() - More flexible querying
const post3 = await BlogPost.where('status', 'published')
.where('views', '>', 1000)
.first();