MongoDB

APPLIES TO:

Too complicated? Not what you're looking for? Consider a hosted Nightscout service! Check for easier solutions here.

Interested in building a Nightscout DIY site? Make sure you read and understand this before starting.

Pros:

The sandbox M0 cluster for your Atlas database from MongoDB is free
Nightscout has been adapted for MongoDB Atlas

Cons:

Database size is limited to 512MiB. For learning and exploring MongoDB, not for production
You will eventually need to perform cleanup, make sure you add dbsize in enable to avoid unexpected Nightscout failure
You can increase database size with an M2 shared cluster the additional cost is 9$ per month

Note

MongoDB Atlas regularly changes the site aspect. If you encounter a page not matching this documentation search for keywords like not now, skip or later to continue. Report discrepancies here.

Create an Atlas database

a) Open another tab at: https://www.mongodb.com/cloud/atlas/register

b) Enter your information, click Continue then Create account

MongoDB Atlas will send you an email, if you don't receive it check your Spam folder.

In the email you received from MongoDB Atlas (mongodb-atlas @ mongodb.com), click on Verify email

Another browser tab will open with your confirmed MongoDB account, Continue.

Enter some information (like below) and click Finish.

c) Select Create a cluster in Shared Clusters (FREE)

If you ever see this, just STOP

We're building a free cluster: you don't need to provide any billing information.

d) Check you selected Shared, leave all default values and click Create Cluster

e) Select Username and Password and invent a database username (for example nightscout) and a database password (for example soo5ecret but please make one that's yours!).

Database credentials: Do not use your Atlas account credentials. Do not use special characters: only letters and numbers. No spaces.

Write down the password in the line below (yes, in this browser window you're reading now, unless you're reading a printed version). You’ll need it later.

Database password (write here ->)

Then click Create User.

f) Select My Local Environment and in the box My IP address write 0.0.0.0/0 (mind these are all zeroes, not the letter O)

If you don't allow access from anywhere (IP 0.0.0.0/0) Nightscout will not be able to access your database.

Then click Add Entry.

g) Click on Finish and Close

h) Click on Go to Databases

i) Atlas will create your default cluster, it can take more than 3 minutes

j) Click on CONNECT

k) If displayed, click on Choose a connection method (else skip)

l) Select Connect your application

m) Copy the connection string: click Copy and paste it somewhere to edit it (like Notepad).

n) Paste the string in the line below (yes, in this browser window you're reading now, unless you're reading a printed version).

(paste here ->)

It should be similar to this (xxxxx will be different):

mongodb+srv://nightscout:<password>@cluster0.xxxxx.mongodb.net/?retryWrites=true&w=majority

o) (Optional) Invent a name for your database, this is not a critical information (for example myCGMitc). Only letters and numbers, no spaces.

Database Name (write here ->)

p) Click on the word Generate (just here below this line: in this browser window you're reading):

-> Generate

The connection string will appear here

Warning

Keep this string safely aside, it is called your MONGODB_URI

p) If you want to do it manually: replace <password> with your database password as noted previously (in the example below soo5ecret) and <dbname> by any text you want, say mycgmic for example. The result will be like this:

mongodb+srv://nightscout:soo5ecret@cluster0.xxxxx.mongodb.net/myCGMitc?retryWrites=true&w=majority

Note

There should be NO < and NO > characters in the final string, neither for password nor for database name.

You have completed a MongoDB Atlas database creation.
Now that you have copied the resulting MONGODB_URI string to a safe place, go back to the instructions page you were following.