var mongoose = require('mongoose'), User = mongoose.model('User'); exports.index = function(req, res) { var criteria = { deleted: false }; if (req.query.group) { criteria.groups = req.query.group; } if (req.query.perms) { criteria.perms = req.query.perms; } var query = User.find(criteria) .select('name groups') .exec(function(err, results) { if (err) { res.json(500, err); } else { res.json(results); } }); };