VS Code doesn't show autocomplete for Mongoose MongoDB operators (like $elemMatch, $match,$gte and ...) in JavaScript, while WebStorm does

[Mehdi-Zarei]

Problem

When working with Mongoose in JavaScript (not TypeScript), VS Code does not show autocomplete suggestions for common MongoDB operators like $inc, $eq, $ne, etc.

However, when using WebStorm, these suggestions appear as expected.

Example

const result = await User.find({
  $or: [
    { userName: { $elemMatch: { name: "Mehdi" } } },
    { age: { $gte: 18 } }
  ]
});

In the above example, $or doesn't appear in suggestions while typing in VS Code, but it does in WebStorm.

What I Know
I understand that VS Code relies heavily on TypeScript's language service for JavaScript intelligence.

But since this is a common pattern in many Node.js/Mongoose applications, I'm wondering:

Is there a way to configure VS Code (via jsconfig.json, type acquisition, or something else) to provide better autocomplete for these $ MongoDB operators in plain JavaScript files?

Environment
VS Code: latest

Language mode: JavaScript

Mongoose version: latest

Node.js version: 21

OS: Windows

Thanks for the awesome editor 🙌

[mjbvz]

Please share a small, self contained code sample that demonstrates the problem. We need to see how types such as User are defined

[Mehdi-Zarei]

Update: The previous example was a simplified illustration of the issue. Below is a real-world code snippet from our project that demonstrates the problem more accurately.

const mongoose = require("mongoose");

const articleSchema = new mongoose.Schema(
  {
    title: {
      type: String,
      required: true,
    },
    content: {
      type: String,
      required: true,
      trim: true,
    },
    author: {
      type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId,
      ref: "user",
      required: true,
    },
    images: [{ type: String }],
    slug: {
      type: String,
      required: true,
      unique: true,
    },
    shortIdentifier: {
      type: String,
      required: true,
      unique: true,
    },
    summery: {
      type: String,
      maxLength: [200, "خلاصه نباید بیشتر از ۳۰۰ کاراکتر باشد."],
    },
    tags: [{ type: String, required: true }],
    category: [{ type: String, required: true }],
    isPublished: {
      type: Boolean,
      required: true,
      default: false,
    },
    views: {
      type: Number,
      default: 0,
    },
    likes: {
      count: { type: Number, default: 0 },
      users: [{ type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: "user" }],
    },
    readingTime: {
      type: Number,
      required: true,
    },
    seoTitle: {
      type: String,
      trim: true,
      maxlength: [60, "عنوان سئو حداکثر باید ۶۰ کاراکتر باشد."],
    },
    seoDescription: {
      type: String,
      trim: true,
      maxlength: [160, "توضیحات سئو حداکثر باید ۱۶۰ کاراکتر باشد."],
    },
    reviews: [
      {
        user: { type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: "user" },
        comment: { type: String, required: true },
        stars: { type: Number, required: true, default: 5 },
        isAccept: { type: Boolean, required: true, default: false },
      },
    ],
  },

  { timestamps: true }
);

const article = mongoose.model("article", articleSchema);

module.exports = article;


//Query

const accept = await articleModel.findOneAndUpdate(
      {
        reviews: { $elemMatch: { _id: id, isAccept: false } },
      },
      { "reviews.$.isAccept": true }
    );

[RyanCavanaugh]

Where are you typing in that example, and what item are you expecting to see in the completion list?

[Mehdi-Zarei]

To clarify your question:

I'm typing this query inside a .js file — specifically inside a controller function that handles article review approvals. The file uses CommonJS syntax (require) and is part of an Express.js backend project (not using TypeScript).

Here's the actual code from my project:

const accept = await articleModel.findOneAndUpdate(
  {
    reviews: { $elemMatch: { _id: id, isAccept: false } },
  },
  { "reviews.$.isAccept": true }
);

When I start typing inside the query object, for example:

reviews: { $e }

I expect VS Code to suggest operators like $elemMatch, but no suggestions appear.

Similarly, in the update section:

{ "reviews.$.isAccept": true }

When I type "reviews.$, I also don’t get any IntelliSense/completion suggestions.

This happens in JavaScript files. I’ve also tested the same code in WebStorm and the completions work as expected there.

Just to be clear: if I write the query correctly (with no syntax or spelling mistakes), everything works at runtime. The only issue is lack of autocomplete/intellisense in VS Code when working with MongoDB operators like $elemMatch, $gte, etc.

So I’m wondering if there’s a way to improve autocomplete support for such cases in plain JavaScript files in VS Code.