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#

1. Install Homebrew (if not already installed):

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

2. Install MongoDB Shell:

   brew install mongosh

3. Verify installation:

   mongosh --version

Using Manual Download#

1. Download the MongoDB Shell package from the MongoDB Download Center

   • Select your macOS version
   • Choose "tgz" as the package format

2. Extract the downloaded archive:

   tar -zxvf mongosh-*-darwin-x64.tgz

3. Move the binary to a directory in your PATH:

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

4. 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#

1. 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

2. 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

3. Update package index:

   sudo apt update

4. Install MongoDB Shell:

   sudo apt install -y mongodb-mongosh

5. Verify installation:

   mongosh --version

Manual Download#

1. 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

2. Install the package:

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

3. 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#

1. 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

2. Install MongoDB Shell:

   # For CentOS 8+
   sudo dnf install -y mongodb-mongosh
   
   # For CentOS 7
   sudo yum install -y mongodb-mongosh

3. Verify installation:

   mongosh --version

Manual Download#

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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#

1. Download the MSI installer from the MongoDB Download Center

   • Select Windows as your platform
   • Choose "msi" as the package format

2. Run the installer:

   • Double-click the downloaded MSI file
   • Follow the installation wizard
   • Select the "Complete" installation type
   • Complete the installation

3. Verify installation by opening Command Prompt and typing:

   mongosh --version

Chocolatey#

1. 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'))

2. Install MongoDB Shell:

   choco install mongodb-shell

3. 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:password@cluster.mongodb.net/database"

Using MongoDB Shell Configuration File#

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

1. Create a .mongoshrc.js file:

   • On macOS/Linux: ~/.mongoshrc.js
   • On Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.mongoshrc.js

2. 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.