MongoDB in Docker

Runs a MongoDB 8.0 instance in Docker with an external data folder and pre-configured users.

Prerequisites

• Docker Desktop (Windows/Mac) or Docker Engine (Linux)

Setup

1. Copy .env and set real passwords:

   MONGO_ROOT_USER=admin
   MONGO_ROOT_PASSWORD=your_root_password
   MONGO_DB=formpf3

   Also update the app user password in init/01-create-user.js.

2. Start the container:

   docker compose up -d

On first start, MongoDB will:

• Create the root admin using credentials from .env
• Run init/01-create-user.js to create the app-level user formpf3_user

Data is persisted in ./data/ on the host.

Common Commands

# Start in background
docker compose up -d

# Stop
docker compose down

# View logs
docker logs formpf3-mongo

# Open a Mongo shell inside the container (as root)
docker exec -it formpf3-mongo mongosh -u admin -p your_root_password --authenticationDatabase admin

# Rebuild from scratch (WARNING: deletes all data)
docker compose down
rm -rf ./data
docker compose up -d

Connecting from Your App

Use the app-level user (not root) in your connection string:

mongodb://formpf3_user:changeme_app@localhost:27017/formpf3

Connecting from a Remote Machine (e.g. your laptop → Linux server)

Ensure port 27017 is open in the server's firewall, then:

mongodb://formpf3_user:changeme_app@<server-ip>:27017/formpf3

Or connect with a GUI tool (Compass, Studio 3T, etc.) using the same host/port/credentials.

File Structure

mongo-in-docker/
├── docker-compose.yml       # Service definition
├── .env                     # Credentials (gitignored — never commit this)
├── .gitignore
├── data/                    # MongoDB data files (gitignored)
├── logs/                    # MongoDB log files (gitignored)
└── init/
    └── 01-create-user.js    # Runs once on first boot to create the app user

Notes

• The init/ scripts only run when data/ is empty (i.e. first boot or after a wipe).
• To add more databases or users, add more .js files under init/ — they run in filename order.
• The root user is for admin tasks only; use formpf3_user from application code.