Node.js & Express.js Series | Chapter 10 | Connecting to MongoDB using Node driver

Welcome to Chapter 10 of our Node.js & Express.js Series. In this chapter, we will learn how to connect to MongoDB using the Node driver.

The Node Driver for MongoDB

MongoDB is a popular NoSQL database that is used in many modern web applications. To connect to MongoDB using Node.js, we can use the official MongoDB Node driver. This driver allows us to interact with MongoDB from our Node.js applications, including connecting to the database, performing CRUD operations, and more.

Connecting to MongoDB

First, we need to install the MongoDB Node driver using npm:

npm install mongodb

Once the driver is installed, we can use it to connect to a MongoDB database in our Node.js application. Here’s an example of how we can connect to a local MongoDB database:

const { MongoClient } = require('mongodb');

// Connection URI
const uri = 'mongodb://localhost:27017';

const client = new MongoClient(uri, { useUnifiedTopology: true });

async function connectToMongoDB() {
  try {
    // Connect to the MongoDB database
    await client.connect();
    console.log('Connected to MongoDB');

    // Use the database
    const database = client.db('my-database');

    // Do something with the database

  } catch (e) {
    console.error('Error connecting to MongoDB', e);
  } finally {
    // Close the connection
    await client.close();
  }
}

connect();

In this example, we use the MongoClient class from the mongodb package to connect to a local MongoDB database running on the default port 27017. We then use the connect method to establish a connection to the database and perform any necessary operations.

Conclusion

Connecting to MongoDB using the Node driver is straightforward and allows us to interact with MongoDB from our Node.js applications. In this chapter, we learned how to install the MongoDB Node driver and connect to a MongoDB database in a Node.js application. In the next chapter, we will explore how to perform CRUD operations with MongoDB using the Node driver. Stay tuned!