> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://smu-portal.gitbook.io/get-started/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://smu-portal.gitbook.io/get-started/backend/creating-a-mongodb-database.md).

# Creating a MongoDB Database

The first step is to create a MongoDB database. Since this project is about collaborative development, we will be hosting the database on the cloud rather than locally

### Creating a MongoDB Account

First, visit MongoDB's [website](https://www.mongodb.com/) to create a [Cluster](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/43445975/what-is-a-cluster-in-mongodb/43447558#:~:text=A%20mongodb%20cluster%20is%20the,the%20nodes%20of%20the%20shard.) that will be hosted on the cloud.

  

![MongoDB main page](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJ3TTR6PNMPf8nOLS4a%2F-MJ3YfbKaVnOM9rul0Bo%2F1.PNG?alt=media\&token=3de4999e-560a-4a6b-abd5-a7a678fab2ef)

Click on **Start free** and you will be redirected to the registration form.

 

![MongoDB registration from](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJ3YhWlWIUJjO1VOhfX%2F-MJ3ZXUcJXcSfzQNsBMz%2F2.PNG?alt=media\&token=6736a0d7-a1d5-49af-9a44-8d53783cf907)

Once that is finished, you will be asked to enter your **organization's and project's names** (in this case I kept the default proposed names) and the **preferred language** (though this step is not required).

![Setting up the MongoDB account](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJ3ZbbLk5rIK4thxRvO%2F-MJ3a6RESF2lyLDEe03W%2F3.PNG?alt=media\&token=f7a046f4-0ada-4824-bc0f-a753e6f2afae)

Once you finished signing up, you will be redirected to the cluster creation page. Choose **Shared Clusters** as your plan (unless you feel fancy then you can choose a paid plan).

 

![Selecting the free plan](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJD3ecVSuXIeiBmbDf7%2F-MJD4FE3gI98cJz5PVWZ%2F4.PNG?alt=media\&token=6b0d9872-e99f-4d6c-91fb-802160cecda8)

### Creating a Cluster

In this step, you will choose a **cloud provider** (AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure) and the region depending on the provider, then click on the **Create Cluster** green button at the bottom right.

![Creating a starter cluster](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJD4iQCk8Vhdw2Sdu-U%2F-MJDKPJQL5vaMq7pi9Ko%2F5.PNG?alt=media\&token=c4e57eae-de92-49e1-bd56-03b6031ab30f)

If everything went well, you will be redirected to your dashboard, and after a few minutes (\~1-3min) your cluster should be ready.

![Waiting for the cluster to be created](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJDKfiC_B69bRWsI9y-%2F-MJDPMmOrkADtwNmNZ4W%2F6.PNG?alt=media\&token=e1a87e4c-9aa0-4a19-8014-1f3661189ec8)

 

![Cluster successfully created](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJDKfiC_B69bRWsI9y-%2F-MJDPVfOh7lykjk9T7nb%2F7.PNG?alt=media\&token=aef0dfed-5bff-4a24-a81e-235fb7259475)

### Retrieving the Connection String

The last step is to retrieve the connection string (i.e. database URI) that you will use to connect the backend to the database. Click on the **Connect** button under the cluster's name.

 

![Setting up the connection parameters](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJDKfiC_B69bRWsI9y-%2F-MJDReue0f8yVf9w2HSb%2F8.PNG?alt=media\&token=c6cc2651-5563-455e-b32e-9e620883bae5)

Click on **Allow Access from Anywhere**, this will allow anyone to connect to your database given the string. The *0.0.0.0/0* IP address will be added to the whitelist. Don't forget to click on **Add Ip Address** to save.

 

![Successfully whitelisting all IP addresses](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJDKfiC_B69bRWsI9y-%2F-MJDSdURoWD2Sl43xbaI%2F9.PNG?alt=media\&token=119d93d0-dd8c-49e9-a8d4-4cbecd179ef7)

Next, you will need to create a user that has permission to connect to the database. For security reasons, it is always recommended to use the auto-generated password. Once you are done, click on **Create Database User**

![Adding a database user](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJDKfiC_B69bRWsI9y-%2F-MJDTNhaa8qbIq-9vczk%2F10.PNG?alt=media\&token=0b15d4cb-4b9b-4255-8b64-70967b2db5ab)

Then, click on **Choose a connection method**, and select **Connect your application**

![Choosing a connection method](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJDKfiC_B69bRWsI9y-%2F-MJDUjA2mCWgJtbUOJ8H%2F11.PNG?alt=media\&token=4fccbbd7-fc4d-4688-834a-3e142f537b5a)

Select **Node.js** as the driver and 3.6 or **later** as the version.

![Specifying the connection driver and copying the database link](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJDKfiC_B69bRWsI9y-%2F-MJDVqu0LchFXUKISIzU%2F12.png?alt=media\&token=d806ebbe-ad99-4d77-b63d-8e13926594af)

In the grey box, a string under the following format will be located.

```bash
mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@[URL-STRING]/<dbname>?retryWrites=true&w=majority
```

Where **\<username>** is the database user's username (in this case it's *mootez*), **\<password> is the password** for the newly created user, and **\<dbname>** is the database name that we will create. You can copy the string and save it elsewhere and click on the **Close** button.

### Creating a Database

For the final part, we will create a database in our cluster.

Click on your cluster's name and navigate to the **Collections** tab. Click on **Add my Own Data** and specify a **name** and a **collection** for your database (collections are analogous to tables in relational databases, so a database can have multiple collections), in this case, I chose *smu* as a DB name and *users* as a first collection.

&#x20;

![Creating a new database](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJDKfiC_B69bRWsI9y-%2F-MJDYqyG4iqVvuwcfdWk%2F14.PNG?alt=media\&token=5e78be99-e7ce-4c18-87ab-5d7f1742b54e)

&#x20;

![Database successfully created](https://3562566727-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJ2dzCH38HoVBUGfU0z%2F-MJDKfiC_B69bRWsI9y-%2F-MJDZ-XNrKL-4s2VOxxm%2F15.PNG?alt=media\&token=e9fe8ae7-6a18-42e3-bd4e-34ffe40a5a02)

Don't forget to replace **\<dbname>** in the connection string with the database's name that you have chosen (it is *smu* in this case).

### Conclusion

You have now successfully created a MongoDB database. In the following section, we will show how to connect the backend code to communicate with the database.