MongoDb use indexes partially Can mongodb take advantage of an index partially? I'm not talking about using a "partial index" ( https://docs.mongodb.com/manual/core/index-partial/ ), but using a regular index partially.

For example, let's say I create this index that has two fields:

    eventLog = database.getCollection("event_log", EventItem.class);
    eventLog.createIndex(Indexes.ascending("userId", "eventDate"));


What happens if I try to find elements for a given userId ONLY e.g.:

find({userId:23423})


Will mongodb take advantage of the index that begins with the userId field? Or do I have to create another index to speed up the query, e.g.

    eventLog.createIndex(Indexes.ascending("userId"));
MongoDB can take advantage of a compound index when you query for the leading column(s), so in your case the index on userId and eventDate can be used for a query on userId. You don't need a separate index.