Getting Started with Node.js

Install Node and npm

Ensure you have Node.js v16.20.1 or later and npm (Node Package Manager) installed in your development environment.

For information on how to install Node.js and npm, see downloading and installing Node.js and npm.

Create a Project Directory

In your shell, run the following command to create a directory called node_quickstart for this project:

mkdir node_quickstart

Run the following command to navigate into the project directory:

cd node_quickstart

Run the following command to initialize your Node.js project:

npm init -y

When this command successfully completes, you have a package.json file in your node_quickstart directory.

Install the Node.js Driver

Run the following command in your shell to install the driver in your project directory:

npm install mongodb@6.16

This command performs the following actions:

• Downloads the mongodb package and the dependencies it requires

• Saves the package in the node_modules directory

• Records the dependency information in the package.json file

Create a Free MongoDB deployment on Atlas

Complete the Get Started with Atlas guide to set up a new Atlas account and load sample data into a new free tier MongoDB deployment.

Save your Credentials

After you create your database user, save that user's username and password to a safe location for use in an upcoming step.

Create your Node.js Application

Create a file to contain your application called index.js in your node_quickstart project directory.

Copy and paste the following code into the index.js file:

const { MongoClient } = require("mongodb");
// Replace the uri string with your connection string.
const uri = "<connection string uri>";
const client = new MongoClient(uri);
async function run() {
  try {
    const database = client.db('sample_mflix');
    const movies = database.collection('movies');
    // Query for a movie that has the title 'Back to the Future'
    const query = { title: 'Back to the Future' };
    const movie = await movies.findOne(query);
    console.log(movie);
  } finally {
    // Ensures that the client will close when you finish/error
    await client.close();
  }
}
run().catch(console.dir);

Assign the Connection String

Replace the <connection string uri> placeholder with the connection string that you copied from the Create a Connection String step of this guide.

Run your Node.js Application

In your shell, run the following command to start this application:

node index.js

The output includes details of the retrieved movie document:

{
  _id: ...,
  plot: 'A young man is accidentally sent 30 years into the past...',
  genres: [ 'Adventure', 'Comedy', 'Sci-Fi' ],
  ...
  title: 'Back to the Future',
  ...
}

If you encounter an error or see no output, check whether you specified the proper connection string in the index.js file, and that you loaded the sample data.