Install MongoDB Community on Windows using msiexec.exe
On this page
Note
MongoDB Atlas
MongoDB Atlas is a hosted MongoDB service option in the cloud which requires no installation overhead and offers a free tier to get started.
Overview
Use this tutorial to install MongoDB 5.0 Community Edition on
Windows in an unattended fashion using msiexec.exe from the command
line. This is useful for system administrators who wish to
deploy MongoDB using automation.
MongoDB Version
This tutorial installs MongoDB 5.0 Community Edition. To install a different version of MongoDB Community, use the version drop-down menu in the upper-left corner of this page to select the documentation for that version.
Installation Method
This tutorial installs MongoDB on Windows using the command-line tool
msiexec.exe. To install MongoDB using the graphical MSI Installer
instead, see Install MongoDB using the MSI Installer.
Considerations
MongoDB Shell, mongosh
The MongoDB Shell (mongosh) is not installed with MongoDB Server. You need to follow the mongosh installation instructions to download and install mongosh separately.
Platform Support
MongoDB 5.0 Community Edition supports the following 64-bit versions of Windows on x86_64 architecture:
Windows Server 2019
Windows 10 / Windows Server 2016
MongoDB only supports the 64-bit versions of these platforms.
See Platform Support for more information.
Note
MongoDB is not supported on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). To run MongoDB on Linux, use a supported Linux system.
Virtualization
Oracle offers experimental support for VirtualBox on Windows hosts where Hyper-V is running. However, Microsoft does not support VirtualBox on Hyper-V.
Disable Hyper-V if you want to install MongoDB on Windows using VirtualBox.
Production Notes
Before deploying MongoDB in a production environment, consider the Production Notes for Self-Managed Deployments document which offers performance considerations and configuration recommendations for production MongoDB deployments.
Install MongoDB Community Edition
Procedure
Follow these steps to install MongoDB Community Edition unattended on
Windows from the Windows command prompt/interpreter (cmd.exe) using msiexec.exe.
Run the Windows Installer from the Windows Command Interpreter.
Important
You must open the command interpreter as an Administrator.
Use the .msi installer to install all MongoDB binaries, including
MongoDB Compass.
From the Command Interpreter, go to the directory containing the
.msi installation binary and run:
msiexec.exe /l*v mdbinstall.log /qb /i mongodb-windows-x86_64-5.0-signed.msi
The operation installs the binaries to the default directory
C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\5.0\bin.
To specify a different installation location for the executables,
add the INSTALLLOCATION value.
msiexec.exe /l*v mdbinstall.log /qb /i mongodb-windows-x86_64-5.0-signed.msi ^ INSTALLLOCATION="C:\MongoDB\Server\5.0\"
To suppress the installation of MongoDB
Compass, you must explicitly include the
SHOULD_INSTALL_COMPASS="0" argument.
msiexec.exe /l*v mdbinstall.log /qb /i mongodb-windows-x86_64-5.0-signed.msi ^ SHOULD_INSTALL_COMPASS="0"
To install specific MongoDB component sets, you can specify them in
the ADDLOCAL argument using a comma-separated list including one
or more of the following component sets:
Component Set Name | Binaries Included in the Component Set |
|---|---|
ServerNoService | |
ServerService | Set up mongod.exe as a Windows service. |
Router | |
MiscellaneousTools |
For example, to install the MongoDB server
(mongod.exe) with the legacy mongo
client and then set up the MongoDB server as a Windows service,
run:
msiexec.exe /l*v mdbinstall.log /qb /i mongodb-windows-x86_64-5.0-signed.msi ^ ADDLOCAL="ServerService,LegacyClient" ^ SHOULD_INSTALL_COMPASS="0"
To include Compass in the installs, remove SHOULD_INSTALL_COMPASS="0".
Start MongoDB Community Edition from the Command Interpreter
Open a Windows command prompt/interpreter (cmd.exe) as an Administrator.
Important
You must open the command interpreter as an Administrator.
Create database directory.
Create the data directory where MongoDB stores data.
MongoDB's default data directory path is the absolute path
\data\db on the drive from which you start MongoDB.
From the Command Interpreter, create the data directories:
cd C:\ md "\data\db"
Start your MongoDB database.
To start MongoDB, run mongod.exe.
"C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\5.0\bin\mongod.exe" --dbpath="c:\data\db"
The --dbpath option points to your
database directory.
If the MongoDB database server is running correctly, the Command Interpreter displays:
[initandlisten] waiting for connections
Important
Depending on the
Windows Defender Firewall
settings on your Windows host, Windows may display a
Security Alert dialog box about blocking
"some features" of C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\5.0\bin\mongod.exe
from communicating on networks. To remedy this issue:
Click Private Networks, such as my home or work network.
Click Allow access.
To learn more about security and MongoDB, see the Security Documentation.
Connect to MongoDB.
If you have not already done so, follow the mongosh installation instructions to download and install the MongoDB Shell (mongosh).
Be sure to add the path to your mongosh.exe binary to your
PATH environment variable during installation.
Open a new Command Interpreter and enter mongosh.exe
to connect to MongoDB.
For more information on connecting to mongod using
mongosh.exe, such as connecting to a MongoDB instance
running on a different host and/or port, see
Connect to a Deployment.
For information on CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations, see:
Run MongoDB Community Edition as a Windows Service
Start MongoDB Community Edition as a Windows Service
You can install and configure MongoDB as a Windows Service during the install, and the MongoDB service starts upon successful installation.
You can also manually manage the service from the command line. To
start the MongoDB service from the command line, open a Windows
command prompt/interpreter (cmd.exe) as an Administrator, and
run the following command:
Verify that MongoDB has started successfully.
Check your MongoDB log file for the following line:
[initandlisten] waiting for connections on port 27017
You may see non-critical warnings in the process output. As long as you see this message in the MongoDB log, you can safely ignore these warnings during your initial evaluation of MongoDB.
Connect to the MongoDB server.
If you have not already done so, follow the mongosh installation instructions to download and install the MongoDB Shell (mongosh).
Be sure to add the path to your mongosh.exe binary to your
PATH environment variable during installation.
Open a new Command Interpreter and enter mongosh.exe
to connect to MongoDB.
Stop MongoDB Community Edition as a Windows Service
To stop/pause the MongoDB service, you can use the Services console:
From the Services console, locate the MongoDB service.
Right-click on the MongoDB service and click Stop (or Pause).
You can also manage the service from the command line. To stop the
MongoDB service from the command line, open a Windows command
prompt/interpreter (cmd.exe) as an Administrator, and
run the following command:
net stop MongoDB
Remove MongoDB Community Edition as a Windows Service
To remove the MongoDB service, first use the Services console to stop
the service. Then open a Windows command prompt/interpreter (cmd.exe) as an Administrator, and
run the following command:
sc.exe delete MongoDB
Additional Considerations
Localhost Binding by Default
By default, MongoDB launches with bindIp set to
127.0.0.1, which binds to the localhost network interface. This
means that the mongod.exe can only accept connections from
clients that are running on the same machine. Remote clients will not be
able to connect to the mongod.exe, and the mongod.exe will
not be able to initialize a replica set unless this value is set
to a valid network interface which is accessible from the remote clients.
This value can be configured either:
Warning
Before binding to a non-localhost (e.g. publicly accessible) IP address, ensure you have secured your cluster from unauthorized access. For a complete list of security recommendations, see Security Checklist for Self-Managed Deployments. At minimum, consider enabling authentication and hardening network infrastructure.
For more information on configuring bindIp, see
IP Binding in Self-Managed Deployments.
Point Releases and .msi
If you installed MongoDB with the Windows installer (.msi), the
.msi automatically upgrades within the same release series (e.g. 7.2.1 to 7.2.2).
Upgrading a full release series (e.g. 6.0 to 7.0) requires a new installation.
Add MongoDB binaries to the System PATH
If you add C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\5.0\bin to your
System PATH you can omit the full path to the MongoDB Server
binaries. You should also add the path to mongosh if you
have not already done so.