Using MongoDB

Introduction/Setup

Learning Objectives

Ensure participants have a running local mongod, the sample data, and an open mongo shell

Setup for Windows

Go to https://www.mongodb.org/downloads and download the MSI installer. The official installation tutorial walks through how to determine which version of the installer will be best for your system. Run the installer, accept the license, and choose a “Complete” installation.

Once, installed, open a Powershell window and type in

md \data\db

to create the default data directory for MongoDB to use on your system. Then, add the MongoDB binary files directory to your Path environment by typing in

$env:Path += ";C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\3.2\bin"

and then start the server (called the mongo daemon) by typing in

mongod

Now, open another Powershell window, and this time call mongo (no d at the end) to open a connection to your running server:

$env:Path += ";C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\3.2\bin"
mongo

Type help and hit enter, and you should see a listing of commands. Type exit and hit enter to exit the MongoDB shell and return to your Windows command prompt.

Setup for Mac OS X

Homebrew, “the missing package manager for OS X”, installs binary packages based on published “formulae”. To install, open a Terminal window and enter (one line)

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

and if you already have brew installed, run brew update to update your installation’s package database.

To install the MongoDB binaries, run the following:

At a Terminal prompt,

brew install mongodb

Use brew services to launch the mongodb daemon (mongod) and ensure it re-launches if your system restarts:

brew tap homebrew/services
brew services restart mongodb

Run mongo at a terminal prompt to open a connection to your running server. Type help and hit enter, and you should see a listing of commands. Type exit and hit enter to exit the MongoDB shell.

Setup for Linux

The procedure maps more or less to that for Mac OS X above. Consult https://docs.mongodb.org/manual/administration/install-on-linux/ for MongoDB setup intructions particular to your flavor of Linux, and ensure everything works as described in the Mac OS X instructions.