Backup and Restore MongoDB Database in Docker Container

Developing projects locally often involves setting up a local database using Docker containers. However, transitioning to a different machine can pose challenges, especially when migrating data. In this guide, we’ll explore how to efficiently backup and restore MongoDB databases within Docker containers using command-line utilities provided by MongoDB.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure Docker is installed on your local machine and MongoDB is set up within a Docker container. If you need assistance with setting up MongoDB with Docker, you can refer to this comprehensive guide.

Creating Backup

mongodump is used to create a binary dump of the contents of a MongoDB instance.

For Unauthenticated Database

If your MongoDB container doesn’t require authentication, you can create a backup using the following command:. Make sure your MongoDB container is running.

# No Authentication
docker exec <mongo_container> sh -c 'mongodump --archive' > db.dump

Here <mongo_container> should be replaced with the actual name or ID of your MongoDB container. This will create a file named db.dump in your current directory.

sh -c 'mongodump --archive' This part of the command is executed inside the container. --archive option is used to export the data in a compact binary format.

For Authenticated Database

For containers with authentication enabled, use the command below:

# Authenticated
docker exec <mongo_container> sh -c 'mongodump --authenticationDatabase admin -u <user> -p <password> --db <database> --archive' > db.dump

Replace <user>, <password>, and <database> with your credentials and database name respectively. This command ensures authentication while creating the backup.

Restoring Data

mongorestore is used to restore data from a binary dump created by mongodump.

To restore the data, first create a MongoDB container in your other local machine and start the container. (You can follow the same guide here)

For Unauthenticated Database

To restore data to an unauthenticated database, execute the following command from the directory which contains db.dump file:

# No Authentication
docker exec -i <mongo_container> sh -c 'mongorestore --archive' < db.dump

Here, <mongo_container> should be replaced with the name or ID of your MongoDB container. The -i flag ensures input from the db.dump file is processed.

For Authenticated Database

Use the below command for authenticated database:

# Authenticated
docker exec <mongo_container> sh -c 'mongorestore --authenticationDatabase admin -u <user> -p <password> --db <database> --archive' < db.dump

Replace <user>, <password>, and <database> with your credentials and database name respectively. This command restores data while ensuring proper authentication.

Summary

This guide demonstrates how to streamline the backup and restoration process for MongoDB databases within Docker containers. By utilizing the mongodump and mongorestore utilities, developers can efficiently migrate database instances across different local machines while preserving data integrity.