Introduction

MongoDB is a powerful NoSQL database designed for flexibility and scalability. Whether you're a backend developer, a full-stack engineer, or just diving into databases, the MongoDB CLI (mongosh) is a crucial tool to have in your toolkit.

In this post, we’ll go over 10 essential MongoDB CLI commands that will help you interact with databases, query data, and manage your collections efficiently.

1. Connect to the Database

mongosh

Launch the MongoDB Shell (or connect to a remote server using mongosh "mongodb+srv://your-uri").

2. Show All Databases

show dbs

Lists all available databases on the connected server.

3. Switch or Create a Database

use myDatabase

Switch to myDatabase. If it doesn’t exist yet, MongoDB will create it when you insert the first document.

4. Show All Collections in a Database

show collections

Displays all collections (similar to tables) in the current database.

5. Insert a Document

db.users.insertOne({ name: 'Alice', age: 30, email: 'alice@example.com' })

Inserts a single document into the users collection.

6. Find Documents

db.users.find()

Returns all documents in the users collection. You can also add a filter:

db.users.find({ age: { $gt: 25 } })

Finds users older than 25.

7. Update a Document

db.users.updateOne({ name: 'Alice' }, { $set: { age: 31 } })

Updates the age of the user named Alice.

8. Delete a Document

db.users.deleteOne({ name: 'Alice' })

Deletes the first document that matches the query.

9. Count Documents

db.users.countDocuments()

Returns the total number of documents in the collection.

You can also filter:

db.users.countDocuments({ age: { $gt: 25 } })

10. Create an Index

db.users.createIndex({ email: 1 })

Creates an ascending index on the email field to improve query performance.

Conclusion

These MongoDB CLI commands form the foundation of your daily database interactions. Whether you're setting up collections, querying data, or optimizing performance, having these commands at your fingertips makes working with MongoDB smooth and productive.

Stay tuned for more posts diving deeper into MongoDB — including aggregation pipelines, schema design tips, and performance tuning.

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