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Install MongoDB Community Edition on Windows

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Overview

Use this tutorial to install MongoDB 4.4 Community Edition on Windows using the default installation wizard.

MongoDB Version

This tutorial installs MongoDB 4.4 Community Edition. To install a different version of MongoDB Community, use the version drop-down menu in the upper-left corner of this page to select the documentation for that version.

Installation Method

This tutorial installs MongoDB on Windows using the default installation wizard. Alternatively, you may chose to install MongoDB on Windows in an unattended fashion, using msiexec.exe from the command line (cmd.exe). This is useful for system administrators who wish to deploy MongoDB using automation.

➤ See Install MongoDB Community on Windows using msiexec.exe for instructions.

Considerations

Platform Support

EOL Notice

  • MongoDB 4.4 Community Edition removes support for Windows 8.1 / Server 2012 R2
  • MongoDB 4.4 Community Edition removes support for Windows 8 / Server 2012
  • MongoDB 4.4 Community Edition removes support for Windows 7 / Server 2008 R2

MongoDB 4.4 Community Edition supports the following 64-bit versions of Windows on x86_64 architecture:

  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows 10 / Windows Server 2016

MongoDB only supports the 64-bit versions of these platforms.

See Supported Platforms for more information.

Production Notes

Before deploying MongoDB in a production environment, consider the Production Notes document which offers performance considerations and configuration recommendations for production MongoDB deployments.

Install MongoDB Community Edition

Procedure

Follow these steps to install MongoDB Community Edition using the MongoDB Installer wizard. The installation process installs both the MongoDB binaries as well as the default configuration file <install directory>\bin\mongod.cfg.

1

Download the installer.

Download the MongoDB Community .msi installer from the following link:

➤ MongoDB Download Center

  1. In the Version dropdown, select the version of MongoDB to download.
  2. In the Platform dropdown, select Windows.
  3. In the Package dropdown, select msi.
  4. Click Download.
2

Run the MongoDB installer.

For example, from the Windows Explorer/File Explorer:

  1. Go to the directory where you downloaded the MongoDB installer (.msi file). By default, this is your Downloads directory.
  2. Double-click the .msi file.
3

Follow the MongoDB Community Edition installation wizard.

The wizard steps you through the installation of MongoDB and MongoDB Compass.

  1. Choose Setup Type

    You can choose either the Complete (recommended for most users) or Custom setup type. The Complete setup option installs MongoDB and the MongoDB tools to the default location. The Custom setup option allows you to specify which executables are installed and where.

  2. Service Configuration

    Starting in MongoDB 4.0, you can set up MongoDB as a Windows service during the install or just install the binaries.

    The following installs and configures MongoDB as a Windows service.

    Starting in MongoDB 4.0, you can configure and start MongoDB as a Windows service during the install, and the MongoDB service is started upon successful installation.

    Image of the MongoDB Installer wizard - Service Configuration.

    • Select Install MongoD as a Service MongoDB as a service.

    • Select either:

      • Run the service as Network Service user (Default)

        This is a Windows user account that is built-in to Windows

        or

      • Run the service as a local or domain user

        • For an existing local user account, specify a period (i.e. .) for the Account Domain and specify the Account Name and the Account Password for the user.
        • For an existing domain user, specify the Account Domain, the Account Name and the Account Password for that user.

    • Service Name. Specify the service name. Default name is MongoDB. If you already have a service with the specified name, you must choose another name.

    • Data Directory. Specify the data directory, which corresponds to the --dbpath. If the directory does not exist, the installer will create the directory and sets the directory access to the service user.

    • Log Directory. Specify the Log directory, which corresponds to the --logpath. If the directory does not exist, the installer will create the directory and sets the directory access to the service user.

    The following installs MongoDB only and does not configure MongoDB as a Windows service.

    If you choose not to configure MongoDB as a Windows service, uncheck the Install MongoD as a Service.

    Image of the MongoDB Installer wizard. Not as a service.
  3. Install MongoDB Compass

    Optional. To have the wizard install MongoDB Compass, select Install MongoDB Compass (Default).

  4. When ready, click Install.

If You Installed MongoDB as a Windows Service

The MongoDB service is started upon successful installation [1].

To begin using MongoDB, connect a mongo.exe shell to the running MongoDB instance. Either:

  • From Windows Explorer/File Explorer, go to C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\4.4\bin\ directory and double-click on mongo.exe.

  • Or, open a Command Interpreter with Administrative privileges and run:

    copy 
    "C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\4.4\bin\mongo.exe"

For information on CRUD (Create,Read,Update,Delete) operations, see:

[1]The MongoDB instance is configured using the configuration file <install directory>\bin\mongod.cfg.

If You Did Not Install MongoDB as a Windows Service

If you only installed the executables and did not install MongoDB as a Windows service, you must manually start the MongoDB instance.

See Run MongoDB Community Edition from the Command Interpreter for instructions to start a MongoDB instance.

Run MongoDB Community Edition as a Windows Service

Starting in version 4.0, you can install and configure MongoDB as a Windows Service during the install, and the MongoDB service is started upon successful installation. MongoDB is configured using the configuration file <install directory>\bin\mongod.cfg.

Start MongoDB Community Edition as a Windows Service

To start/restart the MongoDB service, use the Services console:

  1. From the Services console, locate the MongoDB service.
  2. Right-click on the MongoDB service and click Start.

To begin using MongoDB, connect a mongo.exe shell to the running MongoDB instance. To connect, open a Command Interpreter with Administrative privileges and run:

copy 
"C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\4.4\bin\mongo.exe"

For more information on connecting a mongo.exe shell, such as to connect to a MongoDB instance running on a different host and/or port, see The mongo Shell. For information on CRUD (Create,Read,Update,Delete) operations, see:

Stop MongoDB Community Edition as a Windows Service

To stop/pause the MongoDB service, use the Services console:

  1. From the Services console, locate the MongoDB service.
  2. Right-click on the MongoDB service and click Stop (or Pause).

Remove MongoDB Community Edition as a Windows Service

To remove the MongoDB service, first use the Services console to stop the service. Then open a Windows command prompt/interpreter (cmd.exe) as an Administrator, and run the following command:

copy 
sc.exe delete MongoDB

Run MongoDB Community Edition from the Command Interpreter

You can run MongoDB Community Edition from the Windows command prompt/interpreter (cmd.exe) instead of as a service.

Open a Windows command prompt/interpreter (cmd.exe) as an Administrator.

Important

You must open the command interpreter as an Administrator.

1

Create database directory.

Create the data directory where MongoDB stores data. MongoDB’s default data directory path is the absolute path \data\db on the drive from which you start MongoDB.

From the Command Interpreter, create the data directories:

copy 
cd C:\
md "\data\db"
2

Start your MongoDB database.

To start MongoDB, run mongod.exe.

copy 
"C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\4.4\bin\mongod.exe" --dbpath="c:\data\db"

The --dbpath option points to your database directory.

If the MongoDB database server is running correctly, the Command Interpreter displays:

copy 
[initandlisten] waiting for connections

Important

Depending on the Windows Defender Firewall settings on your Windows host, Windows may display a Security Alert dialog box about blocking “some features” of C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\4.4\bin\mongod.exe from communicating on networks. To remedy this issue:

  1. Click Private Networks, such as my home or work network.
  2. Click Allow access.

To learn more about security and MongoDB, see the Security Documentation.

3

Connect to MongoDB.

To connect a mongo.exe shell to the MongoDB instance, open another Command Interpreter with Administrative privileges and run:

copy 
"C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\4.4\bin\mongo.exe"

For more information on connecting a mongo.exe shell, such as to connect to a MongoDB instance running on a different host and/or port, see The mongo Shell. For information on CRUD (Create,Read,Update,Delete) operations, see:

Additional Considerations

Localhost Binding by Default

By default, MongoDB launches with bindIp set to 127.0.0.1, which binds to the localhost network interface. This means that the mongod.exe can only accept connections from clients that are running on the same machine. Remote clients will not be able to connect to the mongod.exe, and the mongod.exe will not be able to initialize a replica set unless this value is set to a valid network interface.

This value can be configured either:

  • in the MongoDB configuration file with bindIp, or
  • via the command-line argument --bind_ip

Warning

Before binding to a non-localhost (e.g. publicly accessible) IP address, ensure you have secured your cluster from unauthorized access. For a complete list of security recommendations, see Security Checklist. At minimum, consider enabling authentication and hardening network infrastructure.

For more information on configuring bindIp, see IP Binding.

Point Releases and .msi

If you installed MongoDB with the Windows installer (.msi), the .msi automatically upgrades within its release series (e.g. 4.2.1 to 4.2.2).

Upgrading a full release series (e.g. 4.0 to 4.2) requires a new installation.

Add MongoDB binaries to the System PATH

All command-line examples in this tutorial are provided as absolute paths to the MongoDB binaries. You can add C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\4.4\bin to your System PATH and then omit the full path to the MongoDB binaries.

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