Summary

The CRUD spec does not currently outline an explain function or explain options for find / aggregate . The CRUD spec Q/A states

Explain has been determined to be not a normal use-case for a driver. We'd like users to use the shell for this purpose.

We recently got a request in the Go driver to add explain support as exposed API. I'm curious if we still want users to rely on the shell for explain functionality, or whether we'd reconsider adding helpers. I believe Node already supports a similar helper.

Motivation

Users who want to use a driver's API to explain the processes of their queries could do so.

How does this affect the end user?

Running $explain through runCommand or as part of the find filter is a slight pain.

How likely is it that this problem or use case will occur?

From a quick look through Jira, we haven't had a ton of requests for this functionality.

If the problem does occur, what are the consequences and how severe are they?

Minor annoyance at using runCommand or adding your own $explain stage.

Is this issue urgent?

No.

Is this ticket required by a downstream team?

No.

Is this ticket only for tests?

No.