MongoDB Shell Commands
MongoDB Shell is the quickest way to connect, configure, query, and work with your MongoDB database. It acts as a command-line client of the MongoDB server.
You can start MongoDB Shell by executing mongo or mongosh command on the command prompt/terminal. mongosh is the new MongoDB shell with some more features than the old mongo shell.
mongosh <commands>
The --help command display all the commands which you can use with mongo or mongosh, as shown below.
C:>mongosh --help
$ mongosh [options] [db address] [file names (ending in .js or .mongodb)]
Options:
-h, --help Show this usage information
-f, --file [arg] Load the specified mongosh script
--host [arg] Server to connect to
--port [arg] Port to connect to
--version Show version information
--verbose Increase the verbosity of the output of the shell
--quiet Silence output from the shell during the connection process
--shell Run the shell after executing files
--nodb Don't connect to mongod on startup - no 'db address' [arg] expected
--norc Will not run the '.mongoshrc.js' file on start up
--eval [arg] Evaluate javascript
--retryWrites Automatically retry write operations upon transient network errors
Authentication Options:
-u, --username [arg] Username for authentication
-p, --password [arg] Password for authentication
--authenticationDatabase [arg] User source (defaults to dbname)
--authenticationMechanism [arg] Authentication mechanism
--awsIamSessionToken [arg] AWS IAM Temporary Session Token ID
--gssapiServiceName [arg] Service name to use when authenticating using GSSAPI/Kerberos
--sspiHostnameCanonicalization [arg] Specify the SSPI hostname canonicalization (none or forward, available on Windows)
--sspiRealmOverride [arg] Specify the SSPI server realm (available on Windows)
TLS Options:
--tls Use TLS for all connections
--tlsCertificateKeyFile [arg] PEM certificate/key file for TLS
--tlsCertificateKeyFilePassword [arg] Password for key in PEM file for TLS
--tlsCAFile [arg] Certificate Authority file for TLS
--tlsAllowInvalidHostnames Allow connections to servers with non-matching hostnames
--tlsAllowInvalidCertificates Allow connections to servers with invalid certificates
--tlsCertificateSelector [arg] TLS Certificate in system store (Windows and macOS only)
--tlsCRLFile [arg] Specifies the .pem file that contains the Certificate Revocation List
--tlsDisabledProtocols [arg] Comma separated list of TLS protocols to disable [TLS1_0,TLS1_1,TLS1_2]
API version options:
--apiVersion [arg] Specifies the API version to connect with
--apiStrict Use strict API version mode
--apiDeprecationErrors Fail deprecated commands for the specified API version
FLE Options:
--awsAccessKeyId [arg] AWS Access Key for FLE Amazon KMS
--awsSecretAccessKey [arg] AWS Secret Key for FLE Amazon KMS
--awsSessionToken [arg] Optional AWS Session Token ID
--keyVaultNamespace [arg] database.collection to store encrypted FLE parameters
--kmsURL [arg] Test parameter to override the URL of the KMS endpoint
DB Address Examples:
foo Foo database on local machine
192.168.0.5/foo Foo database on 192.168.0.5 machine
192.168.0.5:9999/foo Foo database on 192.168.0.5 machine on port 9999
mongodb://192.168.0.5:9999/foo Connection string URI can also be used
File Names:
A list of files to run. Files must end in .js and will exit after unless --shell is specified.
Examples:
Start mongosh using 'ships' database on specified connection string:
$ mongosh mongodb://192.168.0.5:9999/ships
For more information on usage: https://docs.mongodb.com/mongodb-shell.
For example, the --nodb allows you to run MongoDB shell without connecting to a database.
C:>mongosh --nodb Current Mongosh Log ID: 6166bab1a1acde9f7f388c27 Using Mongosh: 1.1.0 For mongosh info see: https://docs.mongodb.com/mongodb-shell/ Warning: Found ~/.mongorc.js, but not ~/.mongoshrc.js. ~/.mongorc.js will not be loaded. You may want to copy or rename ~/.mongorc.js to ~/.mongoshrc.js. >
Connect to MongoDB Database
By default, the mongosh or mongo command connects with the local MongoDB database on the localhost:27017. So, mongosh and mongosh "mongodb://localhost:27017" are the same that connect to a database on the localhost at port 27017.
To connect with the local database on a different port, use the --port option:
C:\>mongosh --port 23023
The following connects to the remote database on mymongodb.example.com at port 23023.
C:\>mongosh "mongodb://mymongodb.example.com:23023"
Or, use the --host and --port options:
mongosh --host mongodb0.example.com --port 28015
Use the --username and --authenticationDatabase command-line options to connect with the database that requires authentication.
mongosh "mongodb://mymongodb.example.com:23023" --username steve --authenticationDatabase admin
Learn more about connect to mongodb options.
MongoDB Command Help
You can also get help on mongosh or mongo commands after connecting to a database using the help command, as shown below.
test> help
Using MongoDB: 5.0.3
Shell Help:: 1.1.0
use Set current database
show 'show databases'/'show dbs': Print a list of all available databases.
'show collections'/'show tables': Print a list of all collections for current database.generated these startup warnings when booting:
'show profile': Prints system.profile information.access to data and conf
'show users': Print a list of all users for current database.
'show roles': Print a list of all roles for current database.
'show log <type>': log for current connection, if type is not set uses 'global'
'show logs': Print all logs.
exit Quit the MongoDB shell with exit/exit()/.exit
quit Quit the MongoDB shell with quit/quit()
Mongo Create a new connection and return the Mongo object. Usage: new Mongo(URI, options [optional])
connect Create a new connection and return the Database object. Usage: connect(URI, username [optional], password [optional])
it result of the last line evaluated; use to further iterate
version Shell version
load Loads and runs a JavaScript file into the current shell environment
enableTelemetry Enables collection of anonymous usage data to improve the mongosh CLI
disableTelemetry Disables collection of anonymous usage data to improve the mongosh CLI
passwordPrompt Prompts the user for a password
sleep Sleep for the specified number of milliseconds
print Prints the contents of an object to the output
printjson Alias for print()
cls Clears the screen like console.clear()
isInteractive Returns whether the shell will enter or has entered interactive mode
For more information on usage: https://docs.mongodb.com/manual/reference/method
test>
As you can see above, use various commands to work with the connected database. Append .help on the above command to get the help of that command. For example, execute the show.help command to display the help of the show, as shown below.
test> show.help
'show databases'/'show dbs': Print a list of all available databases.
'show collections'/'show tables': Print a list of all collections for current database.
'show profile': Prints system.profile information.
'show users': Print a list of all users for current database.
'show roles': Print a list of all roles for current database.
'show log <type>': log for current connection, if type is not set uses 'global'
'show logs': Print all logs.
The show dbs command will display all the databases on the connected server.
test> show dbs admin 41 kB config 73.7 kB humanresourcedb 41 kB local 73.7 kB
The show collections commands shows collections in current database admin.
admin> show collections system.version
Use the db.help() command to get the help on db command.
test> db.help()
Database Class:
getMongo Returns the current database connection
getName Returns the name of the DB
getCollectionNames Returns an array containing the names of all collections in the current database.
getCollectionInfos Returns an array of documents with collection information, i.e. collection name and options, for the current database.
runCommand Runs an arbitrary command on the database.
adminCommand Runs an arbitrary command against the admin database.
aggregate Runs a specified admin/diagnostic pipeline which does not require an underlying collection.
getSiblingDB Returns another database without modifying the db variable in the shell environment.
getCollection Returns a collection or a view object that is functionally equivalent to using the db.<collectionName>.
dropDatabase Removes the current database, deleting the associated data files.
createUser Creates a new user for the database on which the method is run. db.createUser() returns a duplicate user error if the user already exists on the database.
updateUser Updates the user's profile on the database on which you run the method. An update to a field completely replaces the previous field's values. This includes updates to the user's roles array.
changeUserPassword Updates a user's password. Run the method in the database where the user is defined, i.e. the database you created the user.
logout Ends the current authentication session. This function has no effect if the current session is not authenticated.
dropUser Removes the user from the current database.
dropAllUsers Removes all users from the current database.
auth Allows a user to authenticate to the database from within the shell.
grantRolesToUser Grants additional roles to a user.
revokeRolesFromUser Removes a one or more roles from a user on the current database.
getUser Returns user information for a specified user. Run this method on the user's database. The user must exist on the database on which the method runs.
getUsers Returns information for all the users in the database.
createCollection Create new collection
createView Create new view
createRole Creates a new role.
updateRole Updates the role's profile on the database on which you run the method. An update to a field completely replaces the previous field's values.
dropRole Removes the role from the current database.
dropAllRoles Removes all roles from the current database.
grantRolesToRole Grants additional roles to a role.
revokeRolesFromRole Removes a one or more roles from a role on the current database.
grantPrivilegesToRole Grants additional privileges to a role.
revokePrivilegesFromRole Removes a one or more privileges from a role on the current database.
getRole Returns role information for a specified role. Run this method on the role's database. The role must exist on the database on which the method runs.
getRoles Returns information for all the roles in the database.
currentOp Calls the currentOp command. Returns a document that contains information on in-progress operations for the database instance. The db.currentOp() method wraps the database command currentOp.
killOp Calls the killOp command. Terminates an operation as specified by the operation ID. To find operations and their corresponding IDs, see $currentOp or db.currentOp().
shutdownServer Calls the shutdown command. Shuts down the current mongod or mongos process cleanly and safely. You must issue the db.shutdownServer() operation against the admin database.
fsyncLock Calls the fsync command. Forces the mongod to flush all pending write operations to disk and locks the entire mongod instance to prevent additional writes until the user releases the lock with a corresponding db.fsyncUnlock() command.
fsyncUnlock Calls the fsyncUnlock command. Reduces the lock taken by db.fsyncLock() on a mongod instance by 1.
version returns the db version. uses the buildinfo command
serverBits returns the db serverBits. uses the buildInfo command
isMaster Calls the isMaster command
hello Calls the hello command
serverBuildInfo returns the db serverBuildInfo. uses the buildInfo command
serverStatus returns the server stats. uses the serverStatus command
stats returns the db stats. uses the dbStats command
hostInfo Calls the hostInfo command
serverCmdLineOpts returns the db serverCmdLineOpts. uses the getCmdLineOpts command
rotateCertificates Calls the rotateCertificates command
printCollectionStats Prints the collection.stats for each collection in the db.
getFreeMonitoringStatus Calls the getFreeMonitoringStatus command
disableFreeMonitoring returns the db disableFreeMonitoring. uses the setFreeMonitoring command
enableFreeMonitoring returns the db enableFreeMonitoring. uses the setFreeMonitoring command
getProfilingStatus returns the db getProfilingStatus. uses the profile command
setProfilingLevel returns the db setProfilingLevel. uses the profile command
setLogLevel returns the db setLogLevel. uses the setParameter command
getLogComponents returns the db getLogComponents. uses the getParameter command
cloneDatabase deprecated, non-functional
cloneCollection deprecated, non-functional
copyDatabase deprecated, non-functional
commandHelp returns the db commandHelp. uses the passed in command with help: true
listCommands Calls the listCommands command
getLastErrorObj Calls the getLastError command
getLastError Calls the getLastError command
printShardingStatus Calls sh.status(verbose)
printSecondaryReplicationInfo Prints secondary replicaset information
getReplicationInfo Returns replication information
printReplicationInfo Formats sh.getReplicationInfo
printSlaveReplicationInfo DEPRECATED. Use db.printSecondaryReplicationInfo
setSecondaryOk This method is deprecated. Use db.getMongo().setReadPref() instead
watch Opens a change stream cursor on the database
Use db.test.help() command to get the help on collection related commands.
test> db.test.help()
Collection Class:
aggregate Calculates aggregate values for the data in a collection or a view.
bulkWrite Performs multiple write operations with controls for order of execution.
count Returns the count of documents that would match a find() query for the collection or view.
countDocuments Returns the count of documents that match the query for a collection or view.
deleteMany Removes all documents that match the filter from a collection.
deleteOne Removes a single document from a collection.
distinct Finds the distinct values for a specified field across a single collection or view and returns the results in an array.
estimatedDocumentCount Returns the count of all documents in a collection or view.
find Selects documents in a collection or view.
findAndModify Modifies and returns a single document.
findOne Selects documents in a collection or view.
renameCollection Renames a collection.
findOneAndDelete Deletes a single document based on the filter and sort criteria, returning the deleted document.
findOneAndReplace Modifies and replaces a single document based on the filter and sort criteria.
findOneAndUpdate Updates a single document based on the filter and sort criteria.
insert Inserts a document or documents into a collection.
insertMany Inserts multiple documents into a collection.
insertOne Inserts a document into a collection.
isCapped Checks if a collection is capped
remove Removes documents from a collection.
save Updates an existing document or inserts a new document, depending on its document parameter.
replaceOne Replaces a single document within the collection based on the filter.
update Modifies an existing document or documents in a collection.
updateMany Updates all documents that match the specified filter for a collection.
updateOne Updates a single document within the collection based on the filter.
convertToCapped calls {convertToCapped:'coll', size:maxBytes}} command
createIndexes Creates one or more indexes on a collection
createIndex Creates one index on a collection
ensureIndex Creates one index on a collection
getIndexes Returns an array that holds a list of documents that identify and describe the existing indexes on the collection.
getIndexSpecs Alias for getIndexes. Returns an array that holds a list of documents that identify and describe the existing indexes on the collection.
getIndices Alias for getIndexes. Returns an array that holds a list of documents that identify and describe the existing indexes on the collection.
getIndexKeys Return an array of key patterns for indexes defined on collection
dropIndexes Drops the specified index or indexes (except the index on the _id field) from a collection.
dropIndex Drops or removes the specified index from a collection.
totalIndexSize Reports the total size used by the indexes on a collection.
reIndex Rebuilds all existing indexes on a collection.
getDB Get current database.
getMongo Returns the Mongo object.
dataSize This method provides a wrapper around the size output of the collStats (i.e. db.collection.stats()) command.
storageSize The total amount of storage allocated to this collection for document storage.
totalSize The total size in bytes of the data in the collection plus the size of every index on the collection.
drop Removes a collection or view from the database.
exists Returns collection infos if the collection exists or null otherwise.
getFullName Returns the name of the collection prefixed with the database name.
getName Returns the name of the collection.
runCommand Runs a db command with the given name where the first param is the collection name.
explain Returns information on the query plan.
stats Returns statistics about the collection.
latencyStats returns the $latencyStats aggregation for the collection. Takes an options document with an optional boolean 'histograms' field.
initializeOrderedBulkOp Initializes an ordered bulk command. Returns an instance of Bulk
initializeUnorderedBulkOp Initializes an unordered bulk command. Returns an instance of Bulk
getPlanCache Returns an interface to access the query plan cache for a collection. The interface provides methods to view and clear the query plan cache.
mapReduce Calls the mapReduce command
validate Calls the validate command. Default full value is false
getShardVersion Calls the getShardVersion command
getShardDistribution Prints the data distribution statistics for a sharded collection.
watch Opens a change stream cursor on the collection
hideIndex Hides an existing index from the query planner.
unhideIndex Unhides an existing index from the query planner.
Visit MongoDB shell commands for all the command options.