MongoDB Tools

There is a wide-variety of tools available to extend the functionality of MongoDB. Many of them complementary and connectable to Compose. For example, while the Compose UI has a data browser, user-management, and other features, there are a couple of other GUIs that work with your MongoDB deployments. This page has instructions for some, but this not an exhaustive list of what is compatible.

Note: As Compose MongoDB defaults to using TLS/SSL, all examples will include basic TLS/SSL enabling options.

Robo 3T

Robo 3T (formerly Robomongo) is a free product from Studio 3T, and it's main focus is running queries, creating indexes and viewing documents. You can download it from the Robomongo site. To connect it to your Compose deployment you will need to enter the address and port information from Connection info on the Overview page of your MongoDB deployment.

Studio 3T

Studio 3T is the more powerful, paid product from Studio 3T, but there is a free-trial period for 14 days if you would like to get a feel for what it offers. You can download it from the Studio 3T site. To connect it to your Compose deployment you can enter the entire connection string from Connection info on the Overview page of your MongoDB deployment.

There is a side-by-side comparison of these tools in the article Taking a Look at Robomongo and Studio 3T with Compose for MongoDB, if you are exploring either tool for your use-case.

MongoDB Compass

MongoDB has released a community (free) version of MongoDB Compass that you can use with your MongoDB deployment on Compose. It is available on the MongoDB product downloads page where you should select the Community Edition and your platform from the drop-down menus. Once it is installed, the following steps will connect it to your MongoDB deployment.

First, create a user and password for MongoDB Compass to connect with.
Add a user to the admin database on your deployment, which you can do through the Browser on your deployment.

Then, enter the connection information into the MongoDB Compass application. You will need the hostname and port from connection string provided on the Overview of your deployment, the user and password you want to use for MongoDB Compass, and a copy of the self-signed certificate for your deployment. For example:

Click on the Connect button to connect to your deployment and start using MongoDB Compass.

Data Transfer Tools

f you have exisiting data you would like to move into Compose, data that you want to stage outside of Compose, or just generally have the freedom to move data around, there are a few tools that will help you do so.

mongodump, mongorestore

First, there is the MongoDB built-in mongodump and mongorestore commands. Useful for backups, there are more instructions on how to use them over on the Backups for MongoDB page.

Imports

Second, there is the import feature for MongoDB databases that you would like to move into Compose, or to move a database from one deployment to another. To use the import function, use the data browser to create a new, empty database and from the sidebar, navigate to the Imports page.

There are a few limitations on the Imports feature to consider.

• Partial Indexes will not be copied over, causing some indexes to fail. You will need to re-create partial indexes in the new database after running the import.
• DBRefs will be broken by the imports operation. Using Imports is not recommended for databases that depend on DBRefs.

Transporter

Lastly, the Compose Team has an open-source project named Transporter. It's goal is to move your data from one database to another, even between different database types. You can use Transporter to move your data between any two MongoDB instances. The project lives over in the Transporter GitHub repo, you can read it's documentation, and keep track of it's development and how-tos in the over in Compose Articles.

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