How to install Mongo Shell (mongosh) on Mac, Ubuntu, CentOS, Windows

MongoDB Shell mongosh is the modern command-line interface for interacting with MongoDB databases. This guide walks you through installing mongosh on Mac, Ubuntu, CentOS, or Windows.

macOS#

Homebrew#

Install Homebrew (if not already installed):

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

Install MongoDB Shell:
```
brew install mongosh
```
Verify installation:
```
mongosh --version
```

Using Manual Download#

Download the MongoDB Shell package from the MongoDB Download Center
- Select your macOS version
- Choose "tgz" as the package format
Extract the downloaded archive:
```
tar -zxvf mongosh-*-darwin-x64.tgz
```

Move the binary to a directory in your PATH:

sudo cp mongosh-*-darwin-x64/bin/mongosh /usr/local/bin/

Verify installation:
```
mongosh --version
```

Troubleshooting on macOS#

If you see "command not found" after installation:
```
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin
```
For permission issues:
```
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/mongosh
```

Ubuntu#

apt#

Import MongoDB GPG key:

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

If that doesn't work, try:

wget -qO- https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-7.0.asc | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/mongodb.asc

Add MongoDB repository:

echo "deb [ arch=amd64,arm64 ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs)/mongodb-org/7.0 multiverse" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-7.0.list

Update package index:
```
sudo apt update
```
Install MongoDB Shell:
```
sudo apt install -y mongodb-mongosh
```
Verify installation:
```
mongosh --version
```

Manual Download#

Download the MongoDB Shell package:
```
wget https://downloads.mongodb.com/compass/mongodb-mongosh_2.1.1_amd64.deb
```
Note: Replace the version number with the latest available

Install the package:

sudo dpkg -i mongodb-mongosh_2.1.1_amd64.deb

Verify installation:
```
mongosh --version
```

Troubleshooting on Ubuntu#

If you encounter dependency issues:
```
sudo apt --fix-broken install
```

For repository key issues:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv 656408E390CFB1F5

CentOS#

yum/dnf#

Create MongoDB repository file:

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

Install MongoDB Shell:

# For CentOS 8+
sudo dnf install -y mongodb-mongosh

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

Verify installation:
```
mongosh --version
```

Manual Download#

Download the MongoDB Shell package:

# For CentOS 8+
wget https://downloads.mongodb.com/compass/mongodb-mongosh-2.1.1.el8.x86_64.rpm

# For CentOS 7
wget https://downloads.mongodb.com/compass/mongodb-mongosh-2.1.1.el7.x86_64.rpm

Note: Replace the version number with the latest available

Install the package:

# For CentOS 8+
sudo dnf install -y ./mongodb-mongosh-2.1.1.el8.x86_64.rpm

# For CentOS 7
sudo yum install -y ./mongodb-mongosh-2.1.1.el7.x86_64.rpm

Verify installation:
```
mongosh --version
```

Troubleshooting on CentOS#

If repository issues occur:
```
sudo yum clean all
sudo yum makecache
```

For SELinux-related issues:

sudo setenforce 0  # Temporarily disable SELinux

Windows#

Using MSI Installer#

Download the MSI installer from the MongoDB Download Center
- Select Windows as your platform
- Choose "msi" as the package format
Run the installer:
- Double-click the downloaded MSI file
- Follow the installation wizard
- Select the "Complete" installation type
- Complete the installation
Verify installation by opening Command Prompt and typing:
mongosh --version

Chocolatey#

Install Chocolatey (if not already installed), in PowerShell (Admin):

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

Install MongoDB Shell:
choco install mongodb-shell
Verify installation:
mongosh --version

Troubleshooting on Windows#

If 'mongosh' command isn't recognized:
1. Open Environment Variables (search "environment variables" in Start menu)
2. Under System variables, edit PATH
3. Add the bin directory (usually C:\Program Files\mongosh\bin)
4. Restart Command Prompt

Connecting to a MongoDB Server#

After installing mongosh, connect to a MongoDB server with:

mongosh "mongodb://hostname:27017"

Or with authentication:

mongosh "mongodb://username:password@hostname:27017/database"

For MongoDB Atlas:

mongosh "mongodb+srv://username:[email protected]/database"

Using MongoDB Shell Configuration File#

You can create a mongosh configuration file to customize your experience:

Create a .mongoshrc.js file:
- On macOS/Linux: ~/.mongoshrc.js
- On Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.mongoshrc.js

Add custom configurations, for example:

// Custom prompt
prompt = () => {
  return `${db.getName()} > `;
};

// Custom helper function
function countDocs(collection) {
  return db[collection].countDocuments();
}

For more information, visit the official MongoDB Shell documentation.