﻿---
title: Elastic MongoDB connector reference
description: The Elastic MongoDB connector is a connector for MongoDB data sources. This connector is written in Python using the Elastic connector framework. View...
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors/es-connectors-mongodb
---

# Elastic MongoDB connector reference
The *Elastic MongoDB connector* is a [connector](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors) for [MongoDB](https://www.mongodb.com) data sources. This connector is written in Python using the [Elastic connector framework](https://github.com/elastic/connectors/tree/main).
View the [**source code** for this connector](https://github.com/elastic/connectors/tree/main/app/connectors_service/connectors/sources/mongo) (branch *main*, compatible with Elastic *9.0*).
<important>
  As of Elastic 9.0, managed connectors on Elastic Cloud Hosted are no longer available. All connectors must be [self-managed](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors/self-managed-connectors).
</important>


## **Self-managed connector**


### Availability and prerequisites

This connector is also available as a **self-managed connector** from the **Elastic connector framework**. To use this connector as a self-managed connector, satisfy all [self-managed connector requirements](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors/self-managed-connectors).

### Compatibility

This connector is compatible with **MongoDB Atlas** and **MongoDB 3.6 and later**.
The data source and your Elastic deployment must be able to communicate with each other over a network.

### Configuration

The following configuration fields are required to set up the connector:
<definitions>
  <definition term="host">
    The URI of the MongoDB host. Examples:
    - `mongodb+srv://my_username:my_password@cluster0.mongodb.net/mydb?w=majority`
    - `mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017`
  </definition>
  <definition term="user">
    The MongoDB username the connector will use.
    The user must have access to the configured database and collection. You may want to create a dedicated, read-only user for each connector.
  </definition>
  <definition term="password">
    The MongoDB password the connector will use.
  </definition>
</definitions>

<note>
  Anonymous authentication is supported for *testing purposes only*, but should not be used in production. Omit the username and password, to use default values.
</note>

<definitions>
  <definition term="database">
    The MongoDB database to sync. The database must be accessible using the configured username and password.
  </definition>
  <definition term="collection">
    The MongoDB collection to sync. The collection must exist within the configured database. The collection must be accessible using the configured username and password.
  </definition>
  <definition term="direct_connection">
    Whether to use the [direct connection option for the MongoDB client](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/ruby-driver/current/reference/create-client/#direct-connection). Default value is `False`.
  </definition>
  <definition term="ssl_enabled">
    Whether to establish a secure connection to the MongoDB server using SSL/TLS encryption. Ensure that your MongoDB deployment supports SSL/TLS connections. **Enable** if your MongoDB cluster uses DNS SRV records (namely MongoDB Atlas users).
    Default value is `False`.
  </definition>
  <definition term="ssl_ca">
    Specifies the root certificate from the Certificate Authority. The value of the certificate is used to validate the certificate presented by the MongoDB instance.
  </definition>
</definitions>

<tip>
  Atlas users can leave this blank because [Atlas uses a widely trusted root CA](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/atlas/reference/faq/security/#which-certificate-authority-signs-mongodb-atlas-tls-certificates-).
</tip>

<definitions>
  <definition term="tls_insecure">
    Skips various certificate validations (if SSL is enabled). Default value is `False`.
  </definition>
</definitions>

<note>
  We strongly recommend leaving this option disabled in production environments.
</note>


### Create a MongoDB connector


#### Use the UI

To create a new MongoDB connector:
1. In the Kibana UI, navigate to the **Search → Content → Connectors** page from the main menu, or use the [global search field](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/tree/main/explore-analyze/query-filter/filtering#_finding_your_apps_and_objects).
2. Follow the instructions to create a new  **MongoDB** self-managed connector.


#### Use the API

You can use the Elasticsearch [Create connector API](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/elasticsearch/group/endpoint-connector) to create a new self-managed MongoDB self-managed connector.
For example:
```json

{
  "index_name": "my-elasticsearch-index",
  "name": "Content synced from MongoDB",
  "service_type": "mongodb"
}
```

<dropdown title="You’ll also need to create an API key for the connector to use.">
  <note>
    The user needs the cluster privileges `manage_api_key`, `manage_connector` and `write_connector_secrets` to generate API keys programmatically.
  </note>
  To create an API key for the connector:
  1. Run the following command, replacing values where indicated. Note the `encoded` return values from the response:
     ```json

     {
       "name": "connector_name-connector-api-key",
       "role_descriptors": {
         "connector_name-connector-role": {
           "cluster": [
             "monitor",
             "manage_connector"
           ],
           "indices": [
             {
               "names": [
                 "index_name",
                 ".search-acl-filter-index_name",
                 ".elastic-connectors*"
               ],
               "privileges": [
                 "all"
               ],
               "allow_restricted_indices": false
             }
           ]
         }
       }
     }
     ```
  2. Update your `config.yml` file with the API key `encoded` value.
</dropdown>

Refer to the [Elasticsearch API documentation](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/elasticsearch/group/endpoint-connector) for details of all available Connector APIs.

### Usage

To use this connector as a **self-managed connector**, see [*Self-managed connectors*](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors/self-managed-connectors) For additional usage operations, see [*Connectors UI in Kibana*](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors/connectors-ui-in-kibana).

### Known issues


#### SSL must be enabled for MongoDB Atlas

- A bug introduced in **8.12.0** causes the connector to fail to sync Mongo **Atlas** urls (`mongo+srv`) unless SSL/TLS is enabled.


#### Expressions and variables in aggregation pipelines

It’s not possible to use expressions like `new Date()` inside an aggregation pipeline. These expressions won’t be evaluated by the underlying MongoDB client, but will be passed as a string to the MongoDB instance. A possible workaround is to use [aggregation variables](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/reference/aggregation-variables/).
Incorrect (`new Date()` will be interpreted as string):
```js
{
    "aggregate": {
        "pipeline": [
            {
                "$match": {
                  "expiresAt": {
                    "$gte": "new Date()"
                  }
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}
```

Correct (usage of [$$NOW](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/reference/aggregation-variables/#mongodb-variable-variable.NOW)):
```js
{
  "aggregate": {
    "pipeline": [
      {
        "$addFields": {
          "current_date": {
            "$toDate": "$$NOW"
          }
        }
      },
      {
        "$match": {
          "$expr": {
            "$gte": [
              "$expiresAt",
              "$current_date"
            ]
          }
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}
```


#### Connecting with self-signed or custom CA TLS Cert

Currently, the MongoDB connector does not support working with self-signed or custom CA certs when connecting to your self-managed MongoDB host.
<warning>
  The following workaround should not be used in production.
</warning>

This can be worked around in development environments, by appending certain query parameters to the configured host.
For example, if your host is `mongodb+srv://my.mongo.host.com`, appending `?tls=true&tlsAllowInvalidCertificates=true` will allow disabling TLS certificate verification.
The full host in this example will look like this:
`mongodb+srv://my.mongo.host.com/?tls=true&tlsAllowInvalidCertificates=true`

#### Docker image errors out for versions 8.12.0 and 8.12.1

A bug introduced in **8.12.0** causes the Connectors docker image to error out if run using MongoDB as its source. The command line will output the error `cannot import name 'coroutine' from 'asyncio'`. *** This issue is fixed in versions *8.12.2** and **8.13.0**. ** This bug does not affect Elastic managed connectors.

#### UUIDs are not correctly deserialized, causing problems with ingesting documents into Elasticsearch

MongoDB has special handling of UUID type: there is a legacy and a modern approach. You can read [official docs](https://pymongo.readthedocs.io/en/stable/examples/uuid.html) about the details.
With connector framework version 9.0.3, we improved how standard UUIDs are handled. Now, the MongoDB connector can correctly deserialize UUIDs into valid Elasticsearch values. However, for legacy UUIDs or older connector versions, you might need to adjust the connection string to specify the UUID representation.
For example, if you are using the modern UUID representation, adding the `uuidRepresentation=standard` query parameter to the MongoDB connection URI in the `host` Rich Configurable Field will allow the connector to properly handle UUIDs. With this change, the full `host` Rich Configurable Field value could look like this:`mongodb+srv://my_username:my_password@cluster0.mongodb.net/mydb?w=majority&uuidRepresentation=standard`
If you’re using a legacy UUID representation, you should adjust the connection URI accordingly. For example:
- C#: `uuidRepresentation=csharpLegacy`
- Java: `uuidRepresentation=javaLegacy`
- Python: `uuidRepresentation=pythonLegacy`

You can find a full explanation in the [official docs](https://pymongo.readthedocs.io/en/stable/examples/uuid.html#configuring-a-uuid-representation).
See [Known issues](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/release-notes/known-issues) for any issues affecting all connectors.

### Troubleshooting

See [Troubleshooting](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors/es-connectors-troubleshooting).

### Security

See [Security](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors/es-connectors-security).

### Deployment using Docker

You can deploy the MongoDB connector as a self-managed connector using Docker. Follow these instructions.
<dropdown title="Step 1: Download sample configuration file">
  Download the sample configuration file. You can either download it manually or run the following command:
  ```sh
  curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/elastic/connectors/main/app/connectors_service/config.yml.example --output ~/connectors-config/config.yml
  ```
  Remember to update the `--output` argument value if your directory name is different, or you want to use a different config file name.
</dropdown>

<dropdown title="Step 2: Update the configuration file for your self-managed connector">
  Update the configuration file with the following settings to match your environment:
  - `elasticsearch.host`
  - `elasticsearch.api_key`
  - `connectors`
  If you’re running the connector service against a Dockerized version of Elasticsearch and Kibana, your config file will look like this:
  ```yaml
  # When connecting to your cloud deployment you should edit the host value
  elasticsearch.host: http://host.docker.internal:9200
  elasticsearch.api_key: <ELASTICSEARCH_API_KEY>

  connectors:
    -
      connector_id: <CONNECTOR_ID_FROM_KIBANA>
      service_type: mongodb
      api_key: <CONNECTOR_API_KEY_FROM_KIBANA>
  ```
  Using the `elasticsearch.api_key` is the recommended authentication method. However, you can also use `elasticsearch.username` and `elasticsearch.password` to authenticate with your Elasticsearch instance.Note: You can change other default configurations by simply uncommenting specific settings in the configuration file and modifying their values.
</dropdown>

<dropdown title="Step 3: Run the Docker image">
  Run the Docker image with the Connector Service using the following command:
  ```sh
  docker run \
  -v ~/connectors-config:/config \
  --network "elastic" \
  --tty \
  --rm \
  docker.elastic.co/integrations/elastic-connectors:9.2.2 \
  /app/bin/elastic-ingest \
  -c /config/config.yml
  ```
</dropdown>

Refer to [`DOCKER.md`](https://github.com/elastic/connectors/tree/main/docs/DOCKER.md) in the `elastic/connectors` repo for more details.
Find all available Docker images in the [official registry](https://www.docker.elastic.co/r/integrations/elastic-connectors).
<tip>
  We also have a quickstart self-managed option using Docker Compose, so you can spin up all required services at once: Elasticsearch, Kibana, and the connectors service. Refer to this [README](https://github.com/elastic/connectors/tree/main/scripts/stack#readme) in the `elastic/connectors` repo for more information.
</tip>


### Documents and syncs

The following describes the default syncing behavior for this connector. Use [sync rules](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors/es-sync-rules) and [ingest pipelines](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/tree/main/solutions/search/ingest-for-search) to customize syncing for specific indices.
All documents in the configured MongoDB database and collection are extracted and transformed into documents in your Elasticsearch index.
- The connector creates one **Elasticsearch document** for each MongoDB document in the configured database and collection.
- For each document, the connector transforms each MongoDB field into an **Elasticsearch field**.
- For each field, Elasticsearch [dynamically determines the **data type**^](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/tree/main/manage-data/data-store/mapping/dynamic-mapping).

This results in Elasticsearch documents that closely match the original MongoDB documents.
The Elasticsearch mapping is created when the first document is created.
Each sync is a "full" sync. For each MongoDB document discovered:
- If it does not exist, the document is created in Elasticsearch.
- If it already exists in Elasticsearch, the Elasticsearch document is replaced and the version is incremented.
- If an existing Elasticsearch document no longer exists in the MongoDB collection, it is deleted from Elasticsearch.
- Embedded documents are stored as an `object` field in the parent document.

This is recursive, because embedded documents can themselves contain embedded documents.
<note>
  - Files bigger than 10 MB won’t be extracted
  - Permissions are not synced. All documents indexed to an Elastic deployment will be visible to **all users with access** to that Elastic Deployment.
</note>


### Sync rules

The following sections describe [Sync rules](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors/es-sync-rules) for this connector.
[Basic sync rules](/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors/es-sync-rules#es-sync-rules-basic) are identical for all connectors and are available by default.
[Advanced rules](/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/reference/search-connectors/es-sync-rules#es-sync-rules-advanced) for MongoDB can be used to express either `find` queries or aggregation pipelines. They can also be used to tune options available when issuing these queries/pipelines.

#### `find` queries

<note>
  You must create a [text index](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/current/core/indexes/index-types/index-text/) on the MongoDB collection in order to perform text searches.
</note>

For `find` queries, the structure of this JSON DSL should look like:
```js
{
	"find":{
		"filter": {
			// find query goes here
		},
		"options":{
			// query options go here
		}
	}
}
```

For example:
```js
{
	"find": {
		"filter": {
			"$text": {
				"$search": "garden",
				"$caseSensitive": false
			}
		},
		"skip": 10,
		"limit": 1000
	}
}
```

`find` queries also support additional options, for example the `projection` object:
```js
{
  "find": {
    "filter": {
      "languages": [
        "English"
      ],
      "runtime": {
        "$gt":90
      }
    },
    "projection":{
      "tomatoes": 1
    }
  }
}
```

Where the available options are:
- `allow_disk_use` (true, false) — When set to true, the server can write temporary data to disk while executing the find operation. This option is only available on MongoDB server versions 4.4 and newer.
- `allow_partial_results` (true, false) — Allows the query to get partial results if some shards are down.
- `batch_size` (Integer) — The number of documents returned in each batch of results from MongoDB.
- `filter` (Object) — The filter criteria for the query.
- `limit` (Integer) — The max number of docs to return from the query.
- `max_time_ms` (Integer) — The maximum amount of time to allow the query to run, in milliseconds.
- `no_cursor_timeout` (true, false) — The server normally times out idle cursors after an inactivity period (10 minutes) to prevent excess memory use. Set this option to prevent that.
- `projection` (Array, Object) — The fields to include or exclude from each doc in the result set. If an array, it should have at least one item.
- `return_key` (true, false) — Return index keys rather than the documents.
- `show_record_id` (true, false) — Return the `$recordId` for each doc in the result set.
- `skip` (Integer) — The number of docs to skip before returning results.


#### Aggregation pipelines

Similarly, for aggregation pipelines, the structure of the JSON DSL should look like:
```js
{
	"aggregate":{
		"pipeline": [
			// pipeline elements go here
		],
		"options": {
            // pipeline options go here
		}
    }
}
```

Where the available options are:
- `allowDiskUse` (true, false) — Set to true if disk usage is allowed during the aggregation.
- `batchSize` (Integer) — The number of documents to return per batch.
- `bypassDocumentValidation` (true, false) — Whether or not to skip document level validation.
- `collation` (Object) — The collation to use.
- `comment` (String) — A user-provided comment to attach to this command.
- `hint` (String) — The index to use for the aggregation.
- `let` (Object) — Mapping of variables to use in the pipeline. See the server documentation for details.
- `maxTimeMs` (Integer) — The maximum amount of time in milliseconds to allow the aggregation to run.


### Migrating from the Ruby connector framework

As part of the 8.8.0 release the MongoDB connector was moved from the [Ruby connectors framework](https://github.com/elastic/connectors/tree/main) to the [Elastic connector framework](https://github.com/elastic/connectors/tree/main).
This change introduces minor formatting modifications to data ingested from MongoDB:
1. Nested object id field name has changed from "_id" to "id". For example, if you had a field "customer._id", this will now be named "customer.id".
2. Date format has changed from `YYYY-MM-DD'T'HH:mm:ss.fff'Z'` to `YYYY-MM-DD'T'HH:mm:ss`

If your MongoDB connector stopped working after migrating from 8.7.x to 8.8.x, read the workaround outlined in [Known issues](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/139405/release-notes/known-issues). If that does not work, we recommend deleting the search index attached to this connector and re-creating a MongoDB connector from scratch.