Manage databases in Atlas

Atlas tools let you browse databases and collections in the selected cluster. Confirm the project and cluster before editing data or changing access settings.

MongoDB Atlas is the official cloud service provided by MongoDB Inc. It allows developers to run, manage, and scale MongoDB clusters in the cloud — with no need to manually install MongoDB on a server.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a MongoDB database in Atlas, access it using MongoDB Compass, and manage your collections and documents from the cloud.

Before working through the examples, make sure you can connect with mongosh and select your database. Use a practice database for writes and deletions.

Visit mongodb.com/cloud/atlas and create a free account. Choose the Free Shared Cluster (M0) tier during setup — it’s enough for learning and small projects.

Step 2: Create a Cluster

Once signed in:

• Click on “Build a Cluster”
• Choose a cloud provider (AWS/GCP/Azure) and a region close to you
• Name your cluster (e.g., Cluster0)
• Click “Create Cluster”

This takes a couple of minutes to provision.

Step 3: Create a Database and Collection

Once your cluster is ready, click on “Browse Collections” and then:

• Click “Add My Own Data”
• Enter myFirstDatabase as the database name
• Enter users as the collection name
• Click “Insert Document” to add your first record

Let’s add this document:

    {
      "name": "Alice",
      "email": "alice@example.com",
      "age": 28
    }

    {
      _id: ObjectId("..."),
      name: "Alice",
      email: "alice@example.com",
      age: 28
    }

Explanation: You’ve just created a database, a collection, and inserted your first document — all from the browser interface of MongoDB Atlas.

To connect from your code or Compass, you must:

• Go to “Database Access”
• Create a new user with username and password (e.g., mongoUser)
• Go to “Network Access”
• Add your IP address (or use 0.0.0.0/0 to allow access from anywhere)

Step 5: Connect Using Compass or Code

Click “Connect” and choose “Connect using MongoDB Compass”. Copy the connection string and paste it in Compass.

    mongodb+srv://mongoUser:<password>@cluster0.xxxxx.mongodb.net/myFirstDatabase?retryWrites=true&w=majority

Replace <password> with your database password and click “Connect”. You should now see your database and the users collection with the inserted document.

Install MongoDB driver in your Node.js project:

    npm install mongodb

Then use the following code:

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

    const uri = 'mongodb+srv://mongoUser:<password>@cluster0.xxxxx.mongodb.net/myFirstDatabase?retryWrites=true&w=majority';

    async function run() {
      const client = new MongoClient(uri);
      try {
        await client.connect();
        const database = client.db("myFirstDatabase");
        const collection = database.collection("users");

        const user = { name: "Bob", email: "bob@example.com", age: 32 };
        const result = await collection.insertOne(user);
        console.log("Inserted:", result.insertedId);
      } finally {
        await client.close();
      }
    }

    run().catch(console.dir);

    Inserted: 651e72f5e60adf003abc1234

Explanation: This Node.js script connects to your MongoDB Atlas cluster and inserts a document into the users collection.

Question

Q: What if I forget to whitelist my IP address?

A: You’ll get a network timeout error when trying to connect. Always make sure your current IP is whitelisted in the “Network Access” settings in Atlas.

From the Atlas UI, you can:

• Add new collections or documents
• Edit existing documents directly
• Run filter queries and aggregations from the web UI

Atlas tools let you browse databases and collections in the selected cluster. Confirm the project and cluster before editing data or changing access settings.

Summary

MongoDB Atlas makes it incredibly easy to create and manage databases in the cloud. You can insert documents, connect from applications, and manage everything via a secure and user-friendly dashboard.

In the next topic, you’ll learn how to connect your Atlas database to real-world applications using Python and Node.js drivers.

• Connect a local application to Atlas