MongoDB Database Integration

This database integration allows you to store user specific data in a MongoDB table.

MongoDB is a source-available document database that can be used to store long-term data for your Jovo app.

MongoDB can be hosted on your own servers, which is helpful if you want to run your Jovo apps on your own premises, for example using Express. Alternatively, you can also use MongoDB Atlas for fast and easy setup.

Learn more about connecting your Jovo app to a MongoDB database in the installation and configuration sections.

You can install the plugin like this:

$ npm install @jovotech/db-mongodb

Add it as plugin to any stage you like, e.g. app.prod.ts:

import { MongoDb } from '@jovotech/db-mongodb';
// ...

app.configure({
  plugins: [
    new MongoDb({
      connectionString: '<YOUR-MONGODB-URI>',
    }),
    // ...
  ],
});

Once the configuration is done, the MongoDB database integration will create a MongoDB database and a collection on the first read/write attempt (might take some seconds). No need for you to create the database.

For the integration to work, you need to at least add the connectionString config property. Learn more in the official MongoDB docs.

The configuration section provides a detailed overview of all configuration options.

The following configurations can be added:

new MongoDb({
  connectionString: '<YOUR-MONGODB-URI>',
  databaseName: '<YOUR-DATABASE-NAME>', // optional, can also be set using connectionString
  collectionName: 'jovoUsers',
  libraryConfig: { /* MongoClientOptions */ },
}),

• connectionString: The URI string used to connect to the MongoDB database. Learn more in the official MongoDB docs.
• databaseName: Name of the MongoDB database. This is an optional property. Generally, it is recommended to use the connectionString to reference the database name. If it doesn't contain a database name and the databaseName property is not set either, MongoDb will use the default value test.
• collectionName: Name of the MongoDB collection that stores the user specific data. A new collection is created with that name if doesn't exist yet. Default: jovoUsers.
• libraryConfig: Additional options that can be passed to the MongoDB client. You can find all options in the official MongoClientOptions reference.

If you're testing MongoDb in development together with the Jovo Debugger, we recommend ignoring the $mongoDb object. Update your app.dev.ts like this then:

app.use(
  // ...
  new JovoDebugger({
    ignoredProperties: ['$app', '$handleRequest', '$platform', '$mongoDb'],
  }),
  new MongoDb({
    connectionString: '<YOUR-MONGODB-URI>',
  }),
);

The MongoDb integration works just like any other database integration: The database connection is done in the background so you can focus building app logic.

If you want to access the connection from a handler, for example if you want to access other users' data, you can also use the $mongoDb property:

this.$mongoDb;

// Features
await this.$mongoDb.getClient();
await this.$mongoDb.getDb();
await this.$mongoDb.getCollection();

Here is an example:

async someHandler() {
    // You can read data from another user
    const users = await this.$mongoDb.getCollection();
    const otherUserData = (await users).find({ _id: '<another_id>' });

    // Also store documents in other collections in the same DB Jovo handles users
    const defaultDb = await this.$mongoDb.getDb();
    await defaultDb.collection('myCollection').insertOne({ foo: 'bar' });

    // Or just get the single client to open a transaction
    const client = await this.$mongoDb.getClient();
    const transactionResults = await client.startSession().withTransaction(async () => {
      // Modify some data
      // ...
    });

    // Or create a new DB
    const newDb = client.db("anotherDb");
}

If you run into a problem during deployment, you may be related to the mongodb-client-encryption dependency of MongoDb (see this issue for more information).

To solve this, add --external:mongodb-client-encryption to the bundle script of your Jovo app's package.json (find an example here).

{
  "scripts": {
    "bundle": "[...] --external:mongodb-client-encryption",
  }
}