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How to install local MongoDB on Mac, Ubuntu, CentOS, Windows

This guide covers how to install a local MongoDB on Mac, Ubuntu, CentOS, or Windows.

macOS

  1. Install Homebrew (if not already installed):

    /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

  2. Install MongoDB:

    brew tap mongodb/brew
brew install mongodb-community

  3. Start MongoDB Service:

    brew services start mongodb-community

Troubleshooting on macOS

  • If MongoDB fails to start, check logs: 
    brew services list
cat $(brew --prefix)/var/log/mongodb/mongo.log
  • Ensure data directory has proper permissions: 
    sudo chown -R $(whoami) $(brew --prefix)/var/mongodb

Ubuntu

apt

  1. Import MongoDB public GPG key:

    wget -qO- https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-7.0.asc | sudo apt-key add -

    For newer Ubuntu versions, use:

    wget -qO- https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-7.0.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor --output /usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-archive-keyring.gpg

  2. Create a list file for MongoDB:

    # For Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy)
echo "deb [ arch=amd64,arm64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-archive-keyring.gpg ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu jammy/mongodb-org/7.0 multiverse" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-7.0.list

    Replace "jammy" with your Ubuntu codename (bionic for 18.04, focal for 20.04)

  3. Update package database:

    sudo apt update

  4. Install MongoDB:

    sudo apt install -y mongodb-org

  5. Start and enable MongoDB service:

    sudo systemctl start mongod
sudo systemctl enable mongod

Troubleshooting on Ubuntu

  • Check service status: 
    sudo systemctl status mongod
  • View logs for errors: 
    sudo journalctl -u mongod
  • If service won't start, check directory permissions: 
    sudo chown -R mongodb:mongodb /var/lib/mongodb
sudo chown mongodb:mongodb /tmp/mongodb-27017.sock

CentOS

yum/dnf

  1. Create a repository file for MongoDB:

    sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/mongodb-org-7.0.repo <<EOF
[mongodb-org-7.0]
name=MongoDB Repository
baseurl=https://repo.mongodb.org/yum/redhat/\$releasever/mongodb-org/7.0/x86_64/
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-7.0.asc
EOF

  2. Install MongoDB:

    # For CentOS 8 or newer
sudo dnf install -y mongodb-org

# For CentOS 7
sudo yum install -y mongodb-org

  3. Start and enable MongoDB service:

    sudo systemctl start mongod
sudo systemctl enable mongod

Troubleshooting on CentOS

  • Check service status: 
    sudo systemctl status mongod
  • For SELinux-related issues: 
    sudo setenforce 0  # Temporarily disable SELinux
  • Configure firewall: 
    sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=27017/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Installing on Windows

Installer

  1. Download MongoDB installer from the official website

    • Select "Windows" as the platform
    • Choose the MSI package
    • Click "Download"

  2. Run the installer:

    • Double-click the downloaded MSI file
    • Follow the installation wizard
    • Select "Complete" installation
    • You can choose to install MongoDB Compass (GUI tool)

  3. Verify the service:

    • MongoDB should be installed as a Windows service
    • Open Services (press Win+R, type "services.msc")
    • Look for "MongoDB Server" service and ensure it's running

Chocolatey

  1. Install Chocolatey (if not already installed):

    • Open PowerShell as Administrator
    • Run: 
      Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072
iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))

  2. Install MongoDB:

    choco install mongodb

Troubleshooting on Windows

  • If service fails to start, check Event Viewer for errors
  • Ensure data directory exists and has proper permissions: mkdir C:\data\db
  • Check configuration file at: C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\7.0\bin\mongod.cfg

Verifying Your Installation

To install mongosh, you can refer to this post.

  1. Check if MongoDB is running:

    # Linux/macOS
mongosh

# Windows (Command Prompt or PowerShell)
mongosh

  2. Test basic operations:

    // Show databases
show dbs

// Create/switch to a test database
use test_db

// Insert a document
db.users.insertOne({ name: "Test User", email: "[email protected]" })

// Query documents
db.users.find()

// Exit mongosh
exit

Basic Configuration

Data Directory

By default, MongoDB stores data in:

  • macOS: /usr/local/var/mongodb (Homebrew)
  • Ubuntu/CentOS: /var/lib/mongodb
  • Windows: C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\7.0\data

Configuration File

MongoDB's configuration file is located at:

  • macOS: /usr/local/etc/mongod.conf (Homebrew)
  • Ubuntu/CentOS: /etc/mongod.conf
  • Windows: C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\7.0\bin\mongod.cfg

Securing MongoDB

For basic security, create an admin user:

use admin
db.createUser({
  user: "adminUser",
  pwd: "securePassword",
  roles: [{ role: "userAdminAnyDatabase", db: "admin" }]
})

Then enable authentication in your configuration file:

security:
  authorization: enabled
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