How to Install and configure MongoDB on Arch Linux

MongoDB is a highly scalable, flexible, and powerful NoSQL database that provides high performance and availability for various applications. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of how to install and configure MongoDB on your Arch Linux system.

Table of Contents:

Prerequisites
Installing MongoDB
Configuring MongoDB
Managing MongoDB
Securing MongoDB
Conclusion

How to Install and configure MongoDB on Arch Linux

Prerequisites

Before we proceed, make sure you have the following:

A running Arch Linux system
Administrative (root) access or a user account with sudo privileges
A working internet connection

Also, ensure your system is up-to-date by running the following command:

sudo pacman -Syu

How to Install MongoDB on Arch Linux

MongoDB is available in the Arch User Repository (AUR), so we’ll need to use an AUR helper like yay or paru. In this example, we’ll use yay. If you don’t have yay installed, you can install it by following the instructions here.

To install MongoDB using yay, run the following command:

yay -S mongodb-bin

This command will download and build the MongoDB package. After the installation is complete, you should see the MongoDB version by running:

mongod --version

How to Configure MongoDB on Arch Linux

Now that MongoDB is installed, we need to configure it. First, create a new directory to store MongoDB data:

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/mongodb
sudo chown -R mongodb:mongodb /var/lib/mongodb

Next, create a new configuration file /etc/mongodb.conf using your preferred text editor, such as Vim or Nano:

sudo nano /etc/mongodb.conf

Add the following configuration:

storage:
  dbPath: /var/lib/mongodb
  journal:
    enabled: true
systemLog:
  destination: file
  logAppend: true
  path: /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log
net:
  bindIp: 127.0.0.1
  port: 27017

Save and close the file. Next, create a new directory for MongoDB logs and set the appropriate permissions:

sudo mkdir -p /var/log/mongodb
sudo chown -R mongodb:mongodb /var/log/mongodb

Finally, enable and start the MongoDB service:

sudo systemctl enable --now mongodb

Managing MongoDB on Arch Linux

To check the status of MongoDB, run:

sudo systemctl status mongodb

You can also stop, start, and restart the MongoDB service using:

sudo systemctl stop mongodb
sudo systemctl start mongodb
sudo systemctl restart mongodb

For additional MongoDB management tasks, use the mongo command-line interface. To start the mongo shell, simply run:

mongo

Securing MongoDB on Arch Linux

It’s crucial to prevent unauthorized access. Follow these steps to set up authentication:

Start the mongo shell by running:

mongo

Switch to the admin database:

use admin

Create an administrative user:

Replace {username} and {password} with the desired username and password.

db.createUser(
  {
    user: "{username}",
    pwd: "{password}",
    roles: [ { role: "userAdminAnyDatabase", db: "admin" } ]
  }
)

Exit the mongo shell by typing exit.
Update the /etc/mongodb.conf configuration file to enable authentication. Add the following line under the net section:

security:
  authorization: enabled

Save and close the file.

Restart the MongoDB service:

sudo systemctl restart mongodb

From now on, you’ll need to authenticate when connecting to the mongo shell. To do so, use the following command, replacing {username} and {password} with your chosen credentials:

mongo -u {username} -p {password} --authenticationDatabase admin

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured MongoDB on your Arch Linux system. You’ve also taken the necessary steps to secure your MongoDB installation. To learn more about MongoDB and its various features, visit the official MongoDB documentation.

While you’re here, you might also be interested in other tutorials related to Arch Linux: