How can I tell where mongoDB is storing data? (its not in the default /data/db!)

Question

My host came with a mongodb instance and there is no /db directory so now I am wondering what I can do to find out where the data is actually being stored.

There is a more recent question on this which has a better answer: ["What is the default database path for mongodb?"](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7247474/how-can-i-tell-where-mongodb-is-storing-data-its-not-in-db). The data path will either be the default of `/data/db` (if no config file is being used) or discoverable via `db.adminCommand("getCmdLineOpts").parsed.dbpath`. — Stennie, Jan 31 '14 at 05:34
on OSX, mongo 3.0.4, i had to use "db.adminCommand("getCmdLineOpts").parsed.storage.dbPath" — ski_squaw, Jul 24 '15 at 23:45
@Stennie your comment helped me (I'm on Windows so I'm using Robomongo), but your question-link points at this question, not at your intended target -- http://stackoverflow.com/a/12738557/112764 -- and in 3.x, it's actually `db.adminCommand("getCmdLineOpts").parsed.storage.dbpath` — NateJ, May 03 '16 at 16:10
@NateJ Thanks! The [answer on the related question](http://stackoverflow.com/a/12738557/112764) has examples for MongoDB 2.6+ as well as the older form in <= 2.4. There's also a shell helper you can use instead of remembering to change to the `admin` database or using `adminCommand`: `db.serverCmdLineOpts().parsed.storage.dbPath` (MongoDB 2.6+). — Stennie, May 04 '16 at 00:15

score 164 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 18 '16 at 16:02

164

mongod defaults the database location to /data/db/.

If you run ps -xa | grep mongod and you don't see a --dbpath which explicitly tells mongod to look at that parameter for the db location and you don't have a dbpath in your mongodb.conf, then the default location will be: /data/db/ and you should look there.

edited Jul 18 '16 at 16:02

erip

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answered Sep 02 '11 at 18:00

EhevuTov

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@user2384994 mine was located at `/etc/mongod.conf` – basickarl Mar 28 '15 at 02:44
1

Did not see the path, but `/usr/bin/mongod -f /etc/mongod.conf`. Took the dbpatch from the config. – Putnik Jun 05 '16 at 16:41
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Check `/usr/local/etc/mongod.conf`(config file) and `/usr/local/var/mongodb` (database location) as well. On some systems, these will be the defaults. – Miles Erickson Aug 05 '16 at 02:43
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Well this one SHOULD print the current path precisely for all mongodb version https://stackoverflow.com/a/52036070/248616 – Nam G VU Jun 02 '19 at 10:51
i.e. the `db.serverCmdLineOpts()` – Nam G VU Jun 02 '19 at 10:51
can someone help me with Windows, please? How do I know where my data path is in Windows 10? – Tarun Mar 15 '20 at 15:36

Tomasz Nurkiewicz · Answer 2 · 2011-08-30T17:58:54.080

63

What does your configuration file say?

$ grep dbpath /etc/mongodb.conf

If it is not correct, try this, your database files will be present on the list:

$ sudo lsof -p `ps aux | grep mongodb | head -n1 | tr -s ' ' | cut -d' ' -f 2` | grep REG

It's /var/lib/mongodb/* on my default installation (Ubuntu 11.04).

Note that there is also a /var/lib/mongodb/mongod.lock file holding mongod PID for convenience, however it is located in the data directory - which we are looking for...

edited Aug 30 '11 at 17:58

answered Aug 30 '11 at 17:53

Tomasz Nurkiewicz

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No /var/lib directory on this server and those two commands do not work (first one cannot find /etc/mongodb.conf second one unrecognized lsof) – Aaron Silverman Aug 30 '11 at 20:33
Maybe you should add infos for your host. Doesn't seem to be an Ubuntu like distro. – DrColossos Aug 31 '11 at 07:15
6

On Ubuntu 16.04 mongodb v3.4.10, it is `$ grep dbPath /etc/mongod.conf` – ihsan Nov 20 '17 at 11:10

score 54 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 27 '18 at 09:15

54

I find db.serverCmdLineOpts() the most robust way to find actual path if you can connect to the server. The "parsed.storage.dbPath" contains the path your server is currently using and is available both when it's taken from the config or from the command line arguments.

Also in my case it was important to make sure that the config value reflects the actual value (i.e. config didn't change after the last restart), which isn't guaranteed by the solutions offered here.

db.serverCmdLineOpts()

Example output:

{
    "argv" : [ 
        // --
    ],
    "parsed" : {
        "config" : "/your-config",
        "storage" : {
            "dbPath" : "/your/actual/db/path",
            // --
        }
    },
    "ok" : 1.0
}

answered Aug 27 '18 at 09:15

glock18

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This looks great, but is there a way to do it on mongocxx? – Dariusz Sep 19 '21 at 23:45
@Dariusz, as far as I understand it, it's just a C++ driver. Are you unable to connect to mongo directly via its native client? – glock18 Sep 20 '21 at 07:22
This should have been the correct answer! It always shows what the db sees – EigenFool Feb 14 '23 at 13:58

score 36 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 28 '14 at 10:19

36

In the newer version of mongodb v2.6.4 try:

grep dbpath /etc/mongod.conf

It will give you something like this:

dbpath=/var/lib/mongodb

And that is where it stores the data.

answered Aug 28 '14 at 10:19

Timothy

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Mine was here also. For people that wanted to find this directory to check file sizes: `du -sh * | sort -hr` – May 08 '16 at 09:25

Robotnik · Answer 5 · 2022-05-26T01:25:53.797

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While this question asks about Linux/Unix instances of Mongo, it's one of the first search results regardless of the operating system used, so for future Windows users that find this:

If MongoDB is set up as a Windows Service in the default manner, you can usually find it by looking at the 'Path to executable' entry in the MongoDB Service's Properties:

edited May 26 '22 at 01:25

answered Sep 23 '16 at 02:34

Robotnik

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It is not that obvious, but questions is for *nix os – st78 Nov 19 '17 at 07:01
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@st78 I know, but it's still one of the first Google results when searching for the location in Windows, which is why I left an answer addressing the Windows path (once I figured it out) for the people like me who stumble across it. – Robotnik Nov 19 '17 at 10:09

score 15 · Answer 6 · edited Jan 06 '15 at 17:15

15

From my experience the default location is /var/lib/mongodb after I do

sudo apt-get install -y mongodb-org

edited Jan 06 '15 at 17:15

lrineau

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answered Jan 06 '15 at 16:49

zillabunny

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I can confirm this for Linux Mint 17.3 users. – Matheus Dal'Pizzol May 30 '17 at 13:44

Prashant Pokhriyal · Answer 7 · 2020-08-06T10:25:17.427

Actually, the default directory where the mongod instance stores its data is

/data/db on Linux and OS X,

\data\db on Windows

To check the same, you can look for dbPath settings in mongodb configuration file.

On Linux, the location is /etc/mongod.conf, if you have used package manager to install MongoDB. Run the following command to check the specified directory:
```
grep dbpath /etc/mongodb.conf
```
On Windows, the location is <install directory>/bin/mongod.cfg. Open mongod.cfg file and check for dbPath option.
On macOS, the location is /usr/local/etc/mongod.conf when installing from MongoDB’s official Homebrew tap.

The default mongod.conf configuration file included with package manager installations uses the following platform-specific default values for storage.dbPath:

+--------------------------+-----------------+------------------------+
|         Platform         | Package Manager | Default storage.dbPath |
+--------------------------+-----------------+------------------------+
| RHEL / CentOS and Amazon | yum             | /var/lib/mongo         |
| SUSE                     | zypper          | /var/lib/mongo         |
| Ubuntu and Debian        | apt             | /var/lib/mongodb       |
| macOS                    | brew            | /usr/local/var/mongodb |
+--------------------------+-----------------+------------------------+

The storage.dbPath setting in the configuration file is available only for mongod.

The Linux package init scripts do not expect storage.dbPath to change from the defaults. If you use the Linux packages and change storage.dbPath, you will have to use your own init scripts and disable the built-in scripts.

Source

Actually this should be the top-answer! The default `dbPath` are different to the dbPath in pre-installed `mongod.cfg` config files. Many people don't recognize it. — Wernfried Domscheit, Mar 04 '21 at 09:24

score 9 · Answer 8 · answered Jun 18 '16 at 11:38

9

I found mine here on a OSX system /usr/local/var/mongodb

answered Jun 18 '16 at 11:38

Achim Koellner

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This is true for Homebrew users – Matthew Nov 20 '17 at 21:47
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The question is "How can I find" the mongodb data storage location. not just the path for a specific user or platform. – BJYC Jul 31 '18 at 16:11

score 7 · Answer 9 · answered Jan 22 '19 at 09:28

7

For windows Go inside MongoDB\Server\4.0\bin folder and open mongod.cfg file in any text editor. Then locate the line that specifies the dbPath param. The line looks something similar

dbPath: D:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\4.0\data

answered Jan 22 '19 at 09:28

Dibyendu Mitra Roy

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score 4 · Answer 10 · answered Dec 30 '20 at 00:36

4

On MongoDB 4.4+ and on CentOS 8, I found the path by running:

grep dbPath /etc/mongod.conf

answered Dec 30 '20 at 00:36

jjj

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score 2 · Answer 11 · answered Sep 07 '17 at 12:35

2

If you could somehow locate mongod.log and the do a grep over it

grep dbpath mongod.log

The value for dbpath is the data location for mongodb!! All the best :)

answered Sep 07 '17 at 12:35

Nilotpal

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Aaron Silverman · Answer 12 · 2014-09-25T21:30:24.757

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Found it just by poking around in /var/db. Thanks for the help though--I am sure these answers apply to other systems (e.g. Ubuntu) and will help others!

edited Sep 25 '14 at 21:30

answered Sep 05 '11 at 20:26

Aaron Silverman

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score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Nov 15 '16 at 17:59

When you start it up it shows you. But I don't know if it is something you can do or not on your host. If you have access to the command line and can restart the service, you will get something like:

    2016-11-15T12:57:09.182-0500 I CONTROL  [initandlisten]
 MongoDB starting : pid=16448 port=27017 dbpath=C:\data\db\

How can I tell where mongoDB is storing data? (its not in the default /data/db!)

13 Answers13

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