**This tutorial presents two ways to install MongoDB on Ubuntu and Ubuntu-based Linux distributions.**
[MongoDB][1] is an increasingly popular free and open-source NoSQL database that stores data in collections of JSON-like, flexible documents, in contrast to the usual table approach you’ll find in SQL databases.
You are most likely to find MongoDB used in modern web applications. Its document model makes it very intuitive to access and handle with various programming languages.
![mongodb Ubuntu][2]
In this article, I’ll cover two ways you can install MongoDB on your Ubuntu system.
### Installing MongoDB on Ubuntu based Distributions
1. Install MongoDB using Ubuntu’s repository. Easy but not the latest version of MongoDB
2. Install MongoDB using its official repository. Slightly complicated but you get the latest version of MongoDB.
The first installation method is easier, but I recommend the second method if you plan on using the latest release with official support.
Some people might prefer using snap packages. There are snaps available in the Ubuntu Software Center, but I wouldn’t recommend using them; they’re outdated at the moment and I won’t be covering that.
#### Method 1. Install MongoDB from Ubuntu Repository
This is the easy way to install MongoDB on your system, you only need to type in a simple command.
##### Installing MongoDB
First, make sure your packages are up-to-date. Open up a terminal and type:
```
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
```
Go ahead and install MongoDB with:
```
sudo apt install mongodb
```
That’s it! MongoDB is now installed on your machine.
The MongoDB service should automatically be started on install, but to check the status type
```
sudo systemctl status mongodb
```
![Check if the MongoDB service is running.][3]
You can see that the service is **active**.
##### Running MongoDB
MongoDB is currently a systemd service, so we’ll use **systemctl** to check and modify it’s state, using the following commands:
```
sudo systemctl status mongodb
sudo systemctl stop mongodb
sudo systemctl start mongodb
sudo systemctl restart mongodb
```
You can also change if MongoDB automatically starts when the system starts up ( **default** : enabled):
```
sudo systemctl disable mongodb
sudo systemctl enable mongodb
```
To start working with (creating and editing) databases, type:
```
mongo
```
This will start up the **mongo shell**. Please check out the [manual][4] for detailed information on the available queries and options.
**Note:** Depending on how you plan to use MongoDB, you might need to adjust your Firewall. That’s unfortunately more involved than what I can cover here and depends on your configuration.
##### Uninstall MongoDB
If you installed MongoDB from the Ubuntu Repository and want to uninstall it (maybe to install using the officially supported way), type:
```
sudo systemctl stop mongodb
sudo apt purge mongodb
sudo apt autoremove
```
This should completely get rid of your MongoDB install. Make sure to **backup** any collections or documents you might want to keep since they will be wiped out!
#### Method 2. Install MongoDB Community Edition on Ubuntu
This is the way the recommended way to install MongoDB, using the package manager. You’ll have to type a few more commands and it might be intimidating if you are newer to the Linux world.
But there’s nothing to be afraid of! We’ll go through the installation process step by step.
##### Installing MongoDB
The package maintained by MongoDB Inc. is called **mongodb-org** , not **mongodb** (this is the name of the package in the Ubuntu Repository). Make sure **mongodb** is not installed on your system before applying this steps. The packages will conflict. Let’s get to it!
If you choose to install a specific version, make sure you change the version number everywhere. If you only change it in the **mongodb-org=4.0.6** part, the latest version will be installed.
By default, when updating using the package manager ( **apt-get** ), MongoDB will be updated to the newest updated version. To stop that from happening (and freezing to the installed version), use:
By default, the package manager will create **/var/lib/mongodb** and **/var/log/mongodb** and MongoDB will run using the **mongodb** user account.
I won’t go into changing these default settings since that is beyond the scope of this guide. You can check out the [manual][5] for detailed information.
The settings in **/etc/mongod.conf** are applied when starting/restarting the **mongodb** service instance.
##### Running MongoDB
To start the mongodb daemon **mongod** , type:
```
sudo service mongod start
```
Now you should verify that the **mongod** process started successfully. This information is stored (by default) at **/var/log/mongodb/mongod.log**. Let’s check the contents of that file:
```
sudo cat /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log
```
![Check MongoDB logs to see if the process is running properly.][6]
As long as you get this: **[initandlisten] waiting for connections on port 27017** somewhere in there, the process is running properly.
**Note: 27017** is the default port of **mongod.**
To stop/restart **mongod** enter:
```
sudo service mongod stop
sudo service mongod restart
```
Now, you can use MongoDB by opening the **mongo shell** :
```
mongo
```
##### Uninstall MongoDB
Run the following commands
```
sudo service mongod stop
sudo apt purge mongodb-org*
```
To remove the **databases** and **log files** (make sure to **backup** what you want to keep!):
```
sudo rm -r /var/log/mongodb
sudo rm -r /var/lib/mongodb
```
**Wrapping Up**
MongoDB is a great NoSQL database, easy to integrate into modern projects. I hope this tutorial helped you to set it up on your Ubuntu machine! Let us know how you plan on using MongoDB in the comments below.
