Installing MongoDB and Mongo Express with Docker

Introduction

This tutorial explains how to install MongoDB and Mongo Express with Docker. It also describes how you can connect Mongo Express with MongoDB.

Requirements

You need a virtual server from netcup with Debian or Ubuntu installed. This tutorial also requires the setup of Docker and Docker Compose. Among the netcup community tutorials, you can find a tutorial that explains how to set up Docker and Docker Compose on Ubuntu.

Step 1 - Check your Docker and Docker Compose versions

Check the Docker version:

sudo docker --version

The output should look like the following, the version and build number may differ:

Docker version 20.10.10, build b485636

Check the Docker Compose version:

docker-compose version

The output should look like the following, the version may differ:

Docker Compose version v2.1.0

Step s - Create a docker-compose.yaml file with MongoDB and Mongo Express

Use a text editor to create a docker-compose.yaml file:

vi ./docker-compose.yaml

Insert the following:

version: '3'

services:
  mongodb:
    container_name: mongodb
    image: mongo:4.4.6
    environment:
      - MONGO_INITDB_DATABASE=mongodb
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=mongouser
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD=mongopasswd
    ports:
      - '27017:27017'
    volumes:
      - mongodb_volume:/data/db
    networks:
      - mongo_backend_network

  mongo-express:
    container_name: mongo-express
    image: mongo-express:1.0.0-alpha.4
    depends_on:
      - mongodb
    environment:
      - ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_SERVER=mongodb
      - ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_ADMINUSERNAME=mongouser
      - ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_ADMINPASSWORD=mongopasswd
      - ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_USERNAME=adminuser
      - ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_PASSWORD=adminpasswd
    ports:
      - '8081:8081'
    volumes:
      - mongo_express_volume:/data/db
    networks:
      - mongo_backend_network
volumes:
  mongodb_volume:
  mongo_express_volume:
networks:
  mongo_backend_network:
    driver: bridge

Save the docker-compose.yaml file.

Two services are defined in this file: One for MongoDB and one for Mongo Express. Both services have a fixed container name and both have their own volume. In the environments definition you can see the credentials for accessing the services. The Mongodb service will be exposed to the outside on port 27017. Mongo Express will be exposed to the outside on port 8081. The two services use the same Docker network "mongo_backend_network", which is also defined in the networks definition. Exposure of port 27017 is not necessary because mongo-express will use mongo_backend_network to connect to the MongoDB. This is only required if you want to connect from an application outside the Docker network, then you can use host <your-server-ip>:27017 for a connection.

Step 3 - Start all Docker services

To start all Docker services run:

docker-compose up -d mongodb
docker-compose up -d mongo-express

With the parameter "-d" all services started in detach mode, which means that all services will run in the background without blocking the command line.

Step 4 - Check the status of your Docker containers

Check the status of the Docker containers with the following command:

docker ps -a

The output should look like this:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                         COMMAND                  CREATED         STATUS         PORTS                                           NAMES
64eea9ca7a0f   mongo:4.4.6                   "docker-entrypoint.s…"   2 minutes ago   Up 2 minutes   0.0.0.0:27017->27017/tcp, :::27017->27017/tcp   mongodb
8c525825faf6   mongo-express:1.0.0-alpha.4   "tini -- /docker-ent…"   2 minutes ago   Up 2 minutes   0.0.0.0:8081->8081/tcp, :::8081->8081/tcp       mongo-express

In this case both services are running, both have the status "Up 2 minutes".

Step 5 - Check the container logs

First check the logs of the MongoDB container:

docker logs mongodb

The logs should look like this:

{"t":{"$date":"2021-11-10T22:00:31.237+00:00"},"s":"I",  "c":"NETWORK",  "id":23015,   "ctx":"listener","msg":"Listening on","attr":{"address":"/tmp/mongodb-27017.sock"}}
{"t":{"$date":"2021-11-10T22:00:31.237+00:00"},"s":"I",  "c":"NETWORK",  "id":23015,   "ctx":"listener","msg":"Listening on","attr":{"address":"0.0.0.0"}}
{"t":{"$date":"2021-11-10T22:00:31.237+00:00"},"s":"I",  "c":"NETWORK",  "id":23016,   "ctx":"listener","msg":"Waiting for connections","attr":{"port":27017,"ssl":"off"}}
{"t":{"$date":"2021-11-10T22:00:31.297+00:00"},"s":"I",  "c":"NETWORK",  "id":22943,   "ctx":"listener","msg":"Connection accepted","attr":{"remote":"172.18.0.3:48792","uuid":"5eb1e2c7-f54a-4686-a55b-945ce75e7b96","connectionId":1,"connectionCount":1}}
{"t":{"$date":"2021-11-10T22:00:31.309+00:00"},"s":"I",  "c":"NETWORK",  "id":51800,   "ctx":"conn1","msg":"client metadata","attr":{"remote":"172.18.0.3:48792","client":"conn1","doc":{"driver":{"name":"nodejs","version":"3.7.3"},"os":{"type":"Linux","name":"linux","architecture":"x64","version":"5.4.0-89-generic"},"platform":"'Node.js v12.22.7, LE (legacy)"}}}
{"t":{"$date":"2021-11-10T22:00:31.337+00:00"},"s":"I",  "c":"ACCESS",   "id":20250,   "ctx":"conn1","msg":"Authentication succeeded","attr":{"mechanism":"SCRAM-SHA-256","speculative":true,"principalName":"mongouser","authenticationDatabase":"admin","remote":"172.18.0.3:48792","extraInfo":{}}}
{"t":{"$date":"2021-11-10T22:01:31.233+00:00"},"s":"I",  "c":"STORAGE",  "id":22430,   "ctx":"Checkpointer","msg":"WiredTiger message","attr":{"message":"[1636581691:232977][1:0x7fca4e9d9700], WT_SESSION.checkpoint: [WT_VERB_CHECKPOINT_PROGRESS] saving checkpoint snapshot min: 3, snapshot max: 3 snapshot count: 0, oldest timestamp: (0, 0) , meta checkpoint timestamp: (0, 0) base write gen: 21"}}
{"t":{"$date":"2021-11-10T22:02:31.249+00:00"},"s":"I",  "c":"STORAGE",  "id":22430,   "ctx":"Checkpointer","msg":"WiredTiger message","attr":{"message":"[1636581751:249677][1:0x7fca4e9d9700], WT_SESSION.checkpoint: [WT_VERB_CHECKPOINT_PROGRESS] saving checkpoint snapshot min: 6, snapshot max: 6 snapshot count: 0, oldest timestamp: (0, 0) , meta checkpoint timestamp: (0, 0) base write gen: 21"}}

Then check the logs of the Mongo Express container:

docker logs mongo-express

The logs should look like this:

Welcome to mongo-express
------------------------


(node:7) [MONGODB DRIVER] Warning: Current Server Discovery and Monitoring engine is deprecated, and will be removed in a future version. To use the new Server Discover and Monitoring engine, pass option { useUnifiedTopology: true } to the MongoClient constructor.
Mongo Express server listening at http://0.0.0.0:8081
Server is open to allow connections from anyone (0.0.0.0)

Step 6 - Open Mongo Express in your browser

Open URL http://localhost:8081/ in the browser. Log in with these credentials:

Username: adminuser
Password: adminpasswd

After successful login you can create a new database with the input field "Database name" and a click on the "Create database" button. After that, the new database is displayed in the table above. With the green "View" button you can open the database in the UI. In this UI you can create a new collection, view a collection, change a collection or delete an existing collection.

Step 7 - Stop and remove all services

If you don't need the MongoDB database and Mongo Express anymore, you can stop and remove the two services with one command. Run in the command-line:

docker-compose down

Conclusion

You learned how to install MongoDB and Mongo Express with Docker and connect Mongo Express with MongoDB. Mongo Express facilitates database management with a web-based UI. You only need a browser for administration. This is very helpful for your local development.

License

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The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

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