db.dropDatabase()

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Definition

Compatibility
Syntax
Behavior
Example

Definition

db.dropDatabase(<writeConcern>): Removes the current database, deleting the associated data files.

Compatibility

You can use db.dropDatabase() for deployments hosted in the following environments:

MongoDB Atlas: The fully managed service for MongoDB deployments in the cloud

MongoDB Enterprise: The subscription-based, self-managed version of MongoDB
MongoDB Community: The source-available, free-to-use, and self-managed version of MongoDB

Syntax

The db.dropDatabase() method takes an optional parameter:

Field

Description

writeConcern

Optional. A document expressing the write concern to use if greater than "majority".

{ w: <value>, j: <boolean>, wtimeout: <number> }

Omit to use the default/minimum write concern of "majority".

When issued on a replica set, if the specified write concern results in fewer member acknowledgements than write concern "majority", the operation uses "majority". Otherwise, the specified write concern is used.

When issued on a sharded cluster, MongoDB converts the specified write concern to "majority".

Behavior

The db.dropDatabase() wraps the dropDatabase command.

Locks

The operation takes an exclusive (X) database lock only.

User Management

This command does not delete the users associated with the current database. To drop the associated users, run the dropAllUsersFromDatabase command in the database you are deleting.

Indexes

The db.dropDatabase() method and dropDatabase command abort any in-progress index builds on collections in the target database before dropping the database. Aborting an index build has the same effect as dropping the built index.

For replica sets or shard replica sets, aborting an index on the primary does not simultaneously abort secondary index builds. MongoDB attempts to abort the in-progress builds for the specified indexes on the primary and if successful creates an associated abort oplog entry. Secondary members with replicated in-progress builds wait for a commit or abort oplog entry from the primary before either committing or aborting the index build.

Replica Set and Sharded Clusters

Replica Sets

At minimum, db.dropDatabase() waits until all collection drops in the database have propagated to a majority of the replica set members (i.e. uses the write concern "majority").

You can specify a write concern to the method. If you specify a write concern that requires acknowledgment from fewer than the majority, the method uses write concern "majority".

If you specify a write concern that requires acknowledgement from more than the majority, the method uses the specified write concern.

Sharded Clusters

When issued on a sharded cluster, MongoDB converts the specified write concern to "majority".

If you intend to create a new database with the same name as the dropped database, you must run the dropDatabase command on a mongos.

This ensures that all cluster nodes refresh their metadata cache, which includes the location of the primary shard for the new database. Otherwise, you may miss data on reads, and may not write data to the correct shard. To recover, you must manually intervene.

Starting in MongoDB 5.0, the dropDatabase command and the db.dropDatabase() method return an error if you try to drop the admin database or the config database from a mongos.

Warning

Dropping the admin database or the config database can leave your cluster in an unusable state.

Change Streams

The db.dropDatabase() method and dropDatabase command create an invalidate for any Change Streams opened on the dropped database or opened on the collections in the dropped database.

Example

The following example in mongosh uses the use <database> operation to switch the current database to the temp database and then uses the db.dropDatabase() method to drop the temp database:

use temp
db.dropDatabase()