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How to Connect a Node.js App to MongoDB

How to Connect a Node.js App to MongoDB
Hostman Team
Technical writer
Node.js MongoDB
21.05.2024
Reading time: 7 min

When developing Node.js applications, you might need to store data somewhere. Using application variables or files on the host machine as data storage is not always convenient. A better option to consider is connecting to an external database application.

MongoDB is great for integration with Node.js. In MongoDB, data is presented in JSON format, which works well with JavaScript. 

In this article, we'll show you how to connect a MongoDB database to your Node.js application and look at several common database queries.

This guide works for Node.js version 14 and higher and MongoDB version 4.4 and higher.

Test database

As a test database, we will use the testdb database, which contains the employees collection. It stores information about a company's employees: their department, date of birth, salary level, and other information. 

We will connect the Node.js application to this database, and we will work with the employees collection.

Creating a User in MongoDB Compass

Create a new user to work with the database. For testing purposes, we will assign the user administrator privileges for all databases; however, you shouldn't do this in production—it will negatively impact security.

Open a MongoDB Shell terminal and run the following query:

>use admin
> db.createUser({
user: "Hostman",
pwd: "password",
roles: [
{ role: "userAdmin", db: "admin" },
{ role: "dbAdminAnyDatabase", db: "admin" }
]
})

Output:

{ok: 1}

We have created a user named "Hostman" with a password "password" and will use it to connect to the database.

Setup

To connect a Node.js application to a MongoDB database, you need to install the additional mongodb package:

npm install mongodb --save
npm install mongodb-core --save

Connection

The main object through which we will interact with the MongoDB database is an object of the MongoClient class. Let's import this class:

const {MongoClient} = require('mongodb')

And declare the DBclient object using the constructor:

const MongoDBclient = new MongoClient('URI')

The class constructor is given a URI as input, which contains information about the user, IP, and server port. Here's the URI structure:

mongodb://login:password@IP:PORT/?authMechanism=method

In the case of a database hosted on a local machine, the URI looks like this:

mongodb://Hostman:[email protected]:27017/?authMechanism=DEFAULT

Here, we are using:

  • Hostman as username;

  • password as password;

  • port 27017;

  • DEFAULT as the authorization mechanism.

Let's connect to the server with the database:

const {MongoClient} = require('mongodb')
const MongoDBclient = new MongoClient('mongodb://Hostman:[email protected]:27017/?authMechanism=DEFAULT')
const connect = async() =>{
    try {
        await MongoDBclient.connect()
        console.log("Successfully connected to database")
        await MongoDBclient.close()
        console.log("Connection closed")
    } catch (e) {
        console.log(e)
    }
}
connect()

Output:

Successfully connected to database
Connection closed

Any interactions with the database are asynchronous operations, therefore, it is necessary to use async and await. Let's look at several popular operations.

Inserting documents

To insert a new document, you need to execute a query to the database with document data as an argument.

Inserting a single document

const {MongoClient} = require('mongodb')
const MongoDBclient = new MongoClient('mongodb://Hostman:[email protected]:27017/?authMechanism=DEFAULT')
const employee = {
    surname: 'Smith',
    age: 45,
    salary: 260000,
    department: 'DevRel',
    date_of_birth: '15/11/1977',
    first_name: 'John'
}
const Insert = async() =>{
    try {
        await MongoDBclient.connect()
        console.log("Successfully connected to database")
        const employees = MongoDBclient.db('testdb').collection('employees')
        await employees.insertOne(employee)
        await MongoDBclient.close()
        console.log("Connection closed")
    } catch (e) {
        console.log(e)
    }
}
Insert()

Inserting multiple documents

const {MongoClient} = require('mongodb')
const MongoDBclient = new MongoClient('mongodb://Hostman:[email protected]:27017/?authMechanism=DEFAULT')
const ManyEmployees = [{
    surname: 'Hernandez',
    age: 27,
    salary: 160000,
    department: 'Legal Department',
    date_of_birth: '15/05/1995',
    first_name: 'Juan'
},
    {
        surname: 'Miles',
        age: 30,
        salary: 200000,
        department: 'Tech Support',
        date_of_birth: '06/02/1992',
        first_name: 'Mary'
    }]
const Insert = async() =>{
    try {
        await MongoDBclient.connect()
        console.log("Successfully connected to database")
        const employees = MongoDBclient.db('testdb').collection('employees')
        await employees.insertMany(ManyEmployees)
        await MongoDBclient.close()
        console.log("Connection closed")
    } catch (e) {
        console.log(e)
    }
}
Insert()

Let's check the total number of documents in the collection after insertions:

const {MongoClient} = require('mongodb')
const MongoDBclient = new MongoClient('mongodb://Hostman:[email protected]:27017/?authMechanism=DEFAULT')
const Count = async() =>{
    try {
        await MongoDBclient.connect()
        console.log("Successfully connected to database")
        const AllDocuments = await MongoDBclient.db('testdb').collection('employees').find().toArray()
        console.log("Number of documents in the database:", AllDocuments.length)
        await MongoDBclient.close()
        console.log("Connection closed")
    } catch (e) {
        console.log(e)
    }
}
Count()

Output:

Successfully connected to database
Number of documents in the database: 5
Connection closed

Querying documents

To query documents in the database, use the following construction:

MongoClienObject.db('dbname').collection('collectionname').operation

Where:

  • MongoClienObject is an object of the MongoClient class;

  • dbname is the name of the database we are accessing;

  • collectionname is the name of the collection we are accessing;

  • operation is the query to a database or collection, for example, findOne;

If the request is made directly to the database, then collection('collectionname') is not needed.

Let's display all documents in the employees collection:

const {MongoClient} = require('mongodb')
const MongoDBclient = new MongoClient('mongodb://Hostman:[email protected]:27017/?authMechanism=DEFAULT')
const Find = async() =>{
    try {
        await MongoDBclient.connect()
        console.log("Successfully connected to database")
        const AllDocuments = await MongoDBclient.db('testdb').collection('employees').find().toArray()
        console.log(AllDocuments)
        await MongoDBclient.close()
        console.log("Connection closed")
    } catch (e) {
        console.log(e)
    }
}
Find()

Ouput:

Connection successful
[
   {
     _id: new ObjectId("637c9cbd7025c2523a76fe64"),
     surname: 'Williams',
     age: 50,
     salary: 100000,
     department: 'marketing',
     date_of_birth: '15/11/1972',
     first_name: 'Natalie'
   },
   {
     _id: new ObjectId("637ca6127025c2523a76fe65"),
     surname: 'Rubio',
     age: 35,
     salary: 200000,
     department: 'QA',
     date_of_birth: '12/06/1987',
     first_name: 'Manuel'
   }
]
Connection closed

Updating documents

Updating documents is performed in the same way as the operations above.

Updating a single document

const {MongoClient} = require('mongodb')
const MongoDBclient = new MongoClient('mongodb://Hostman:[email protected]:27017/?authMechanism=DEFAULT')
const Update = async() =>{
    try {
        await MongoDBclient.connect()
        console.log("Successfully connected to database")
        const employees = MongoDBclient.db('testdb').collection('employees')
        await employees.findOneAndUpdate({first_name: 'John'} , { $set: {first_name: "Johnny"}})
        await MongoDBclient.close()
        console.log("Connection closed")
    } catch (e) {
        console.log(e)
    }
}
Update()

Updating multiple documents

const {MongoClient} = require('mongodb')
const MongoDBclient = new MongoClient('mongodb://Hostman:[email protected]:27017/?authMechanism=DEFAULT')
const Update = async() =>{
    try {
        await MongoDBclient.connect()
        console.log("Successfully connected to database")
        const employees = MongoDBclient.db('testdb').collection('employees')
        await employees.updateMany({$or:[{department: 'DevRel'},{department: 'marketing'}]} , { $set: {department: "PR"}})
        await MongoDBclient.close()
        console.log("Connection closed")
    } catch (e) {
        console.log(e)
    }
}
Update()

Conclusion

MongoDB is a great tool, especially when coupled with Node.js. In this material, we used a local database, but there are other options, like cloud. At Hostman, you can deploy a MongoDB cloud database in a few seconds and start working in no time.

Node.js MongoDB
21.05.2024
Reading time: 7 min

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Within this folder, create three JSON files: spanish.json [ { "question": "How do you say 'I' in Spanish?", "options": ["Yo", "Tú", "Nosotros"], "correct_option_id": 0, "explanation": "The correct answer is: Yo." }, { "question": "What does the verb 'correr' mean?", "options": ["to run", "to walk", "to stand"], "correct_option_id": 0, "explanation": "The correct answer is: to run." }, { "question": "How do you say 'she' in Spanish?", "options": ["Tú", "Ella", "Vosotros"], "correct_option_id": 1, "explanation": "The correct answer is: Ella." } ] history.json [ { "question": "In which year did World War II begin?", "options": ["1939", "1941", "1914"], "correct_option_id": 0, "explanation": "The correct answer is: 1939." }, { "question": "Who was the first president of the United States?", "options": ["Abraham Lincoln", "George Washington", "Franklin Roosevelt"], "correct_option_id": 1, "explanation": "The correct answer is: George Washington." }, { "question": "Which country was the first to send a human into space?", "options": ["USA", "USSR", "China"], "correct_option_id": 1, "explanation": "The correct answer is: USSR." } ] math.json [ { "question": "What is 2 + 2?", "options": ["3", "4", "5"], "correct_option_id": 1, "explanation": "The correct answer is: 4." }, { "question": "What is 5 * 5?", "options": ["10", "20", "25"], "correct_option_id": 2, "explanation": "The correct answer is: 25." }, { "question": "What is 10 / 2?", "options": ["4", "5", "6"], "correct_option_id": 1, "explanation": "The correct answer is: 5." } ] Each JSON file contains the question, answer options, the index of the correct answer, and an explanation that will be sent if the user selects the wrong answer. Telegram Stars Recently, Telegram introduced an internal currency called Telegram Stars, along with an API update allowing bots to support donations in Stars. Let’s add a /donate command to the index.js file. When users send this command, the bot will generate a payment invoice. Add the following code inside index.js: bot.onText(/\/donate/, (msg) => { const chatId = msg.chat.id; bot.sendInvoice(chatId, 'Donation', 'Support the project with a donation', 'unique_payload', '', // Empty provider_token for Stars Payments 'XTR', // Currency "XTR" [{ label: 'Donation', amount: 1 }] // Amount: 1 Star ); }); Support Command Let’s add another command called /support. This command allows a large number of users to contact you without creating multiple unnecessary chats. Users will be able to send text, photos, and videos, and the bot will forward these messages directly to the admin (in this case, you). Place the following code inside index.js. At the beginning of the file, add: const ADMIN_ID = 'ID'; let awaitingSupportMessage = {}; // Stores information about users waiting for support The ADMIN_ID tells the bot where to forward the user’s message. To find your ID, you can use the Get My ID bot by simply sending the /start command to it. At the end of the file, add the following code: bot.onText(/\/support/, (msg) => { const chatId = msg.chat.id; const userId = msg.from.id; // Inform the user that we are waiting for their message bot.sendMessage(chatId, "Please send your message in a single message, including text, photos, or videos!"); // Mark the user as currently composing a support message awaitingSupportMessage[userId] = true; }); Handling All Messages This section processes all incoming messages and checks if they are part of a support request. Add the following code to handle different types of user content: bot.on('message', (msg) => { const userId = msg.from.id; // Check if the user is sending a message after the /support command if (awaitingSupportMessage[userId]) { const chatId = msg.chat.id; const caption = msg.caption || ''; // Include caption if present // Check the type of message and forward the corresponding content to the admin if (msg.text) { // If the message contains text bot.sendMessage(ADMIN_ID, `New support request from @${msg.from.username || msg.from.first_name} (ID: ${userId}):\n\n${msg.text}`); } else if (msg.photo) { // If the message contains a photo const photo = msg.photo[msg.photo.length - 1].file_id; // Select the highest resolution photo bot.sendPhoto(ADMIN_ID, photo, { caption: `New support request from @${msg.from.username || msg.from.first_name} (ID: ${userId})\n\n${caption}` }); } else if (msg.video) { // If the message contains a video const video = msg.video.file_id; bot.sendVideo(ADMIN_ID, video, { caption: `New support request from @${msg.from.username || msg.from.first_name} (ID: ${userId})\n\n${caption}` }); } else { // If the message type is unsupported bot.sendMessage(msg.chat.id, "Sorry, this type of message is not supported."); } // Confirm to the user that their message has been sent bot.sendMessage(chatId, "Your message has been sent. The administrator will contact you soon."); // Remove the user from the list of those composing a support message delete awaitingSupportMessage[userId]; } }); Deployment on a Server For our bot to operate continuously, we must upload and run it on a server. For deployment, we will use Hostman cloud servers. Uploading to GitHub Before launching the bot on the server, you first need to upload the project files to GitHub. Run the following commands in the console in sequence: Add all changes in the current directory to the next commit: git add . Create a commit with the message "first commit", recording all changes added with git add: git commit -m "first commit" Push the changes to GitHub: git push Server Setup Go to your Hostman control panel and: Create a New Project (optional): Specify an icon, a name, a description, and add users if necessary. Create a Cloud Server: Either from your project or from the Cloud servers page start creating a new cloud server. Select the Region: Choose the region that is closest to you or where the lowest ping is available. Go to the Marketplace tab in the second step and select Node.js. Set the Ubuntu version to the latest one. This ensures that Node.js will already be installed on the server when it starts, so you won’t need to install it manually. Choose Configuration: Select the configuration according to your needs. For running the project, the minimum configuration is sufficient. If the project requires more resources in the future, you can upgrade the server without disrupting its operation. Network Settings: Ensure that you assign a public IP for the server. Configure any additional services as needed. Authorization and Cloud-init: In the Authorization step, you can add your SSH key to the server. However, it’s optional, and you can leave these settings as they are. Server Information: Provide the server’s name and description, and select the project to which you want to add the server. Once everything is set up, click the Order button. After a short while, the server will be up and running, and you can proceed with the next steps. Launching the Bot After creating the server, go to the Dashboard tab, copy the Root password, and open the Console tab. Enter the username root and press Enter. Next, paste the password you copied and press Enter again. When typing or pasting the password, it will not be visible! If everything is correct, you will see a welcome message. Now, run the following command to get the latest updates: sudo apt-get update Create a new folder where you will place the bot. Enter these commands in sequence: cd /sudo mkdir Botcd Bot You can replace the folder name "Bot" with any other name you choose. To ensure Git is installed on the server (it is usually pre-installed by default), check the version using: git --version Next, set up global Git settings to link it to your GitHub profile: git config --global user.name "your GitHub username"git config --global user.email "email used during registration" After this, clone the repository by entering the following command with your repository URL: git clone https://github.com/username/School-Quiz During cloning, you will be prompted to enter your username and then your password. If you have two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled on your GitHub account, entering your regular password will result in an error saying the password is incorrect. To clone a repository with 2FA enabled, you need to create a personal access token. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner and select “Settings”. In the left-hand menu, click “Developer settings”. Under the “Personal access tokens” section, select “Tokens (classic)” and click “Generate new token”. Set token parameters: In the “Note” field, provide a description for the token. Set the expiration date for the token in the “Expiration” field. Under “Select scopes”, choose the necessary permissions for the token. For example, to work with repositories, select repo. Click “Generate token”. Copy the generated token and store it in a secure place. Note that you won’t be able to view the token again after closing the page. Once you have the personal access token, use it instead of your password when prompted during the repository cloning process. Navigate to your project folder using the following command: cd School-Quiz Replace School-Quiz with the actual name of your project. To install the project dependencies, run: npm install Once the packages are installed, you can start the project by running: npm start In the console, you should see the message “Bot is running”. However, there is one issue—if you restart the server or close the console, the bot will stop working! To ensure the bot runs continuously and automatically starts after a server reboot, you need to install a process manager like pm2. Install pm2 globally using the following command: sudo npm install pm2 -g Next, start the Node.js server using pm2: sudo pm2 start index.js --name "bot-quiz" --watch In this example, the process is named bot-quiz, but you can use any name you prefer. Set up automatic startup on server reboot: sudo pm2 startup Save all the changes made: sudo pm2 save Conclusion In this guide, we covered the entire process of creating a Telegram bot using Node.js, from registering the bot via BotFather to deploying the finished solution on a server.
31 January 2025 · 15 min to read

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