[MongoDB] How to install Mongo in WSL2

Install MongoDB

To install MongoDB (version 5.0) on WSL (Ubuntu 20.04):

1. Open your WSL terminal (ie. Ubuntu) and go to your home directory: cd ~
2. Update your Ubuntu packages: sudo apt update
3. Import the public key used by the MongoDB package management system: wget -qO - https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-5.0.asc | sudo apt-key add -
4. Create a list file for MongoDB: echo "deb [ arch=amd64,arm64 ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu focal/mongodb-org/5.0 multiverse" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-5.0.list
5. Reload local package database: sudo apt-get update
6. Install MongoDB packages: sudo apt-get install -y mongodb-org
7. Confirm installation and get the version number: mongod --version
8. Make a directory to store data: mkdir -p ~/data/db
9. Run a Mongo instance: sudo mongod --dbpath ~/data/db
10. Check to see that your MongoDB instance is running with: ps -e | grep 'mongod'
11. To exit the MongoDB Shell, use the shortcut keys: Ctrl + C

 Tip

Installing MongoDB may require slightly different steps depending on the Linux distribution being used for installation. See the MongoDB installation tutorials. Also note that MongoDB installation may differ depending on the version # that you are aiming to install. Use the version drop-down list in the top-left corner of the MongoDB documentation to select the version that aligns with your goal.

MongoDB init system differences

In the example above we ran MongoDB directly. Other tutorials may start MongoDB using the operating system's built-in init system. You might see the command sudo systemctl status mongodb used in tutorials or articles. Currently WSL does not have support for systemd (a service management system in Linux).

You shouldn't notice a difference, but if a tutorial recommends using sudo systemctl, instead use: sudo /etc/init.d/. For example, sudo systemctl status docker, for WSL would be sudo /etc/init.d/docker status ...or you can also use sudo service docker status.

Add the init script to start MongoDB as a service

The installation instructions above install a version of MongoDB that doesn't include a script automatically in /etc/init.d/. If you would like to use the service commands, you can download the init.d script for mongodb from this source, place that manually as a file at this path: /etc/init.d/mongodb and then you can start Mongo as a service using sudo service mongodb start.

1. Download the init.d script for MongoDB: curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mongodb/mongo/master/debian/init.d | sudo tee /etc/init.d/mongodb >/dev/null
2. Assign that script executable permissions: sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/mongodb
3. Now you can use MongoDB service commands:
   • sudo service mongodb status for checking the status of your database. You should see a [Fail] response if no database is running.
   • sudo service mongodb start to start running your database. You should see a [Ok] response.
   • sudo service mongodb stop to stop running your database.
4. Verify that you are connected to the database server with the diagnostic command: mongo --eval 'db.runCommand({ connectionStatus: 1 })' This will output the current database version, the server address and port, and the output of the status command. A value of 1 for the "ok" field in the response indicates that the server is working.

 Note

MongoDB has several default parameters, including storing data in /data/db and running on port 27017. Also, mongod is the daemon (host process for the database) and mongo is the command-line shell that connects to a specific instance of mongod.

VS Code supports working with MongoDB databases via the Azure CosmosDB extension, you can create, manage and query MongoDB databases from within VS Code. To learn more, visit the VS Code docs: Working with MongoDB.

Learn more in the MongoDB docs:

• Introduction to using MongoDB
• Create users
• Connect to a MongoDB instance on a remote host
• CRUD: Create, Read, Update, Delete
• Reference Docs