What is the default database path for MongoDB?

Question

I got an error about dbpath (/data/db/) does not exist, but /etc/mongodb.conf named it dbpath = /var/lib/mongodb. So, which is the default dbpath for MongoDB?

Answer 1

The default dbpath for mongodb is /data/db.

There is no default config file, so you will either need to specify this when starting mongod with:

 mongod --config /etc/mongodb.conf

.. or use a packaged install of MongoDB (such as for Redhat or Debian/Ubuntu) which will include a config file path in the service definition.

Note: to check the dbpath and command-line options for a running mongod, connect via the mongo shell and run:

db.serverCmdLineOpts()

In particular, if a custom dbpath is set it will be the value of:

db.serverCmdLineOpts().parsed.dbpath           // MongoDB 2.4 and older
db.serverCmdLineOpts().parsed.storage.dbPath   // MongoDB 2.6+