MongoDB Provider for Entity Framework Core Now Available in Public Preview

Shelby Carpenter and Megha Bharadwaj
October 12, 2023

We are pleased to announce that the MongoDB Provider for Entity Framework Core (EF Core) is now available in Public Preview. This makes it possible for developers using EF Core to build C#/.NET applications with MongoDB and take advantage of our powerful developer data platform while continuing to use APIs and design patterns they already know and love.

Building for the C#/.NET community

Nearly one-third of all developers use C# to build applications, with the population of C# developers reaching upwards of 10 million developers worldwide. Forty-one percent of C# developers use EF Core, which is beloved as an abstraction layer to simplify working with data during development. In the past, C# developers could use MongoDB’s C# driver but didn’t have first-party support for EF Core; some turned to community-built projects that could be helpful but lacked official backing or ongoing support from MongoDB.

With the official MongoDB Provider for EF Core now available in Public Preview, developers can use C# and EF Core with confidence when building with MongoDB.

What's in the New Provider for EF Core

In this initial Public Preview release, the MongoDB Provider for EF Core offers developers the following capabilities:

  • Support for code-first workflows: Allows users to build without an initial database; you first create the classes for your application and then match your data model to the classes, not the other way around.
  • Basic CRUD methods: Basic create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) operations are supported.
  • String and numeric type operators: String and numeric type operators needed for basic CRUD operations will be supported. We anticipate adding support for more complex operators in future iterations of the Provider.
  • Embedded documents: The Provider supports embedded documents, making it easier to store related information in the same database record.
  • Class mapping and serialization: Your classes in C# will map to MongoDB in a predictable way, including when working with IDs as well as date and/or time values.
  • LINQ query support: The Provider will support LINQ3 queries with fluent query syntax.
  • Change tracking: The Provider allows you to track and save changes made to entities with each DbContext instance back to your MongoDB database.

And this is just a start. Stay tuned for more advanced functionality when we release the MongoDB provider in General Availability (targeted for 2024).

Benefits of using the provider for EF Core

With the MongoDB Provider for EF Core, C# developers can unlock the full power of MongoDB's developer data platform to build modern applications while leveraging a familiar API interface, query paradigm (LINQ), and design patterns. Developers looking to modernize their data layer can do so with MongoDB while remaining free from cloud vendor lock-in since MongoDB works with all major cloud providers and for multi-cloud deployments

How to get started with MongoDB Provider for Entity Framework Core

All you need to do is download the MongoDB Provider for EF Core from the NuGet package manager and build a DbContext that points to a MongoDB Provider instance. The Provider connects to MongoDB and handles the rest, so you can quickly harness the joint value of EF Core and MongoDB.

You can learn more by diving into our documentation. After you try the new Provider for EF Core, feel free to leave us feedback in our user feedback portal. Your input is important for helping us continue to improve the product experience.

Get started today to unleash the power of your data with MongoDB and EF Core.

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Create and Customize your Own Billing Dashboard with Atlas Charts

When it comes to managing tech stacks, controlling expenses is a top priority for our customers. This summer, we've made it easier than ever to optimize your spend with new ways for visualizing and analyzing your Atlas billing data. Through Cost Explorer , you can conveniently analyze your billing data right within the Billing section of the Atlas UI. But that's not all! We know many of you prefer to craft your own Atlas billing dashboards – allowing you to customize, embed, and share tailor-made charts to align with your optimization strategies. With the latest release of Atlas Charts , we’ve made this easier than ever with a new out-of-the-box billing dashboard! Gone are the days of navigating to a Github repository , running scripts from your command line and manually importing a dashboard to gain insights into your Atlas bill. We understand the importance of quickly accessing and being able to answer questions about your Atlas spending, so we’ve made it a top priority to enhance your user experience by streamlining this process. Now, when you enter Charts, you’ll find a dedicated Ingestions page conveniently located in the left navigation menu. Here, you can effortlessly set up your scheduled billing data ingestion by entering your Organization API keys (or create them up following the steps we’ve included), and selecting the deployment and database where you’d like your data to live. Once you’ve completed the configuration and hit Save , your first ingestion job will be kicked off. Fresh data will be retrieved from the Atlas Billing API once a day to ensure the data in your nominated database is always up-to-date. After this initial job is complete, you can click Add and open to explore your new billing dashboard. Just like any other dashboard, you have the flexibility to filter and highlight charts within the billing dashboard, and customize or add new ones to tailor the dashboard to your specific needs. You could even share the billing dashboard with your team or schedule regular dashboard reports to be sent to your email. You have the freedom to manage your ingestion configuration at any time from the Ingestions page, whether you need to update your API key pair or change the database in which your data is stored. To learn more about visualizing your billing data in Atlas Charts, be sure to check out our documentation . We’re always listening to feature requests that will enhance using Charts across teams, so if you have any requests or feedback, please share them with us here . New to Atlas Charts? Get started today by logging into or signing up for MongoDB Atlas , deploying or selecting a cluster, and activating Charts for free.

October 12, 2023
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MongoDB’s 2024 Year in Review

It’s hard to believe that another year is almost over! 2024 was a transformative year for MongoDB, and it was marked by both innovation and releases that further our commitment to empowering customers, developers, and partners worldwide. So without further ado, let’s dive into MongoDB’s 2024 highlights. We’ll also share our executive team’s predictions of what 2025 might have in store. A look back at 2024 MongoDB 8.0: The most performant version of MongoDB ever In October we released MongoDB 8.0 , the fastest, most resilient, secure, and reliable version of MongoDB yet. Architectural optimizations in MongoDB 8.0 have significantly improved the database’s performance, with 36% faster reads and 59% higher throughput for updates. Our new architecture also makes horizontal scaling cheaper and faster. Finally, working with encrypted data is easier than ever, thanks to the addition of range queries in Queryable Encryption (which allows customers to encrypt, store, and perform queries directly on data). Whether you’re a startup building your first app, or you’re a global enterprise managing mission-critical workloads, MongoDB 8.0 offers unmatched power and flexibility, solidifying MongoDB’s place as the world’s most popular document database. Learn more about what makes 8.0 the best version of MongoDB ever on the MongoDB 8.0 page . Delivering customer value with the MongoDB AI Applications Program AI applications have become a cornerstone of modern software, and MongoDB is committed to equipping customers with the technology, tools, and support they need to succeed on their AI journey. That’s why we launched the MongoDB AI Applications Program (MAAP) in 2024, a comprehensive program designed to accelerate the development of AI applications. By offering customers resources like access to AI specialists, an ecosystem of leading AI and tech companies, and AI architectural best practices supported by integrated services, MAAP helps solve customers’ most pressing business challenges, unlocks competitive advantages, and accelerates time to value for AI investments. Overall, MAAP’s aim is to set customers on the path to AI success. Visit the MongoDB AI Applications Program page or watch our session from AWS re:Invent to learn more! Advancing AI with MongoDB Atlas Vector Search In 2024, MongoDB further cemented its role in the AI space with enhancements to MongoDB Atlas Vector Search . Recognized in 2024 (for the second consecutive year!) as one of the most loved vector databases , MongoDB continues to provide a scalable, unified, and secure platform for building cutting-edge AI use cases. Recent advancements like vector quantization in Atlas Vector Search help deliver even more value to our customers, enabling them to scale applications to billions of vectors at a lower cost. Head over to our Atlas Vector Search quick start guide to get started with Atlas Vector Search today, or visit our AI resources hub to learn more about how MongoDB can power AI applications. Search Nodes: Performance at scale Search functionality is indispensable in modern applications, and with Atlas Search Nodes, organizations can now optimize their search workloads like never before. By providing dedicated infrastructure for Atlas Search and Vector Search workloads, Search Nodes ensure high performance (e.g., a 40–60% decrease in query times), scalability, and reliability, even for the most demanding use cases. As of this year , Search Nodes are generally available across AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. This milestone underscores MongoDB’s commitment to delivering powerful solutions that scale alongside our customers’ needs. To learn more about Search Nodes, check out our documentation or watch our tutorial . Looking ahead: MongoDB’s 2025 predictions After the excitement of the past few years, 2025 will be defined by ensuring that technology investments deliver tangible value. Organizations remain excited about the potential AI and emerging technologies hold to solve real business challenges, but are increasingly focused on maintaining a return on investment. “Enterprises need to innovate faster than ever, but speed is no longer the only measure of success. Increasingly, organizations are laser-focused on ensuring that their technology investments directly address critical business challenges and provide clear ROI and competitive advantage—whether it’s optimizing supply chains, delivering hyper-personalized customer experiences, or scaling operations efficiently,” said Sahir Azam, Chief Product Officer at MongoDB. “In 2025, I expect to see organizations make significant strides in driving this innovation and efficiency by applying AI to more production use cases and by maturing the way they leverage their data to build compelling and differentiated customer experiences.” Indeed, we expect to see organizations make more strategic investments in emerging technologies like gen AI—innovating with a sharp focus on solving business challenges. “In 2025, we can expect the focus to shift from ‘what AI can do’ to ‘what AI should do,’ moving beyond the hype to a clearer understanding of where AI can provide real value and where human judgment is still irreplaceable,” said Tara Hernandez, VP of Developer Productivity at MongoDB. “As we advance, I think we’ll see organizations begin to adopt more selective, careful applications of AI, particularly in areas where stakes are high, such as healthcare, finance, and public safety. A refined approach to AI development will be essential—not only for producing quality results but also to build trust, ensuring these tools genuinely support human goals rather than undermining them.” With more capable, accessible application development tools and customer-focused programs like MAAP at developers’ fingertips, 2025 is an opportunity to make a data-driven impact faster than ever before. "Right now, organizations have an opportunity to leverage their data to reimagine how they do business, to more effectively adapt to a changing world, and to revolutionize our quality of life,” said Andrew Davidson, SVP of Products at MongoDB. “By harnessing our latest technologies, developers can build a foundation for a transformative future." Head over to our updates page to learn more about the new releases and updates from MongoDB in 2024. Keep an eye on our events page to learn what's to come from MongoDB in 2025!

December 19, 2024