Your cluster type determines the method Atlas uses to deliver version upgrades to your cluster. Atlas offers two methods for receiving MongoDB versions: Auto Upgrades and Manual Upgrades.
Auto Upgrades and Manual Upgrades in Atlas
Upgrade method | What it does |
|---|---|
Auto Upgrades in Atlas | Atlas delivers new major, minor, and patch releases to you automatically. In the Atlas UI, select Latest Version With Auto Upgrades under Additional Settings. |
Manual Upgrades in Atlas | You choose a specific major MongoDB version and control when you upgrade, while receiving patch releases automatically. In the Atlas UI, choose from the Select a version dropdown under Additional Settings. |
Cluster types in Atlas receive upgrades as follows:
For Atlas Core clusters, you can rely on Auto Upgrades, where Atlas delivers new major, minor, and patch releases to you automatically, or use Manual Upgrades, where you choose a specific major MongoDB version and control when you upgrade. To learn how to select or change your version, see Select or Change the Cluster Version on Atlas Core clusters.
For Atlas Infinite clusters, Atlas always uses Auto Upgrades. The Latest Version With Auto Upgrades option is always enabled, and you can't disable it in the Atlas UI. To learn how, see Database Edition Versions.
For Free clusters and Flex clusters, Atlas upgrades them automatically and keeps them on a major version (currently, MongoDB 8.0).
The MongoDB Software Lifecycle Schedules page describes the supported versions and end-of-life dates for MongoDB Server releases.
For general guidance on MongoDB version numbering, release types, and upgrade paths, see MongoDB Versions and Upgrade Paths.
For most Atlas deployments, Auto Upgrades is the best way to receive the latest MongoDB features and enhancements automatically as Atlas rolls them out.
For Atlas Core clusters, you can choose to stay on a specific major version. In this case, if you must validate a release before it reaches production, stay on a major-version cadence.
Clusters that receive automatic upgrades, which include Atlas Infinite clusters and Atlas Core clusters that you set to Auto Upgrades, rely on maintenance waves to validate releases in a non-production environment first.
The following table compares the two upgrade methods:
Consideration | Auto Upgrades | Manual Upgrades |
|---|---|---|
Automatic upgrades | Major, minor, and patch releases | Patch releases only |
Control over upgrade timing | No | Yes |
Version selection | Not available | Choose from the available versions |
Switching cadence | Switch from Auto Upgrades to Manual Upgrades only in the window after a new major version releases. Available for Atlas Core clusters only. | Switch Atlas Core clusters to Auto Upgrades at any time by modifying the cluster |
Best for | Staying current with the latest features and improvements automatically | Direct control over release acceptance, such as coordinating versions across environments or certifying release contents before adoption |
Avoid if | You require direct control over release acceptance, such as coordinating versions across environments or certifying release contents before adoption | You want to stay current with the latest features and improvements without managing upgrade timing yourself |
To learn more about MongoDB Server versions in general, see MongoDB Versioning.
Auto Upgrades in Atlas
When you choose your cluster version and select Latest Version With Auto Upgrades on an Atlas Core cluster, Atlas automatically upgrades your cluster to the latest available MongoDB major or minor version, enables new features as they become available, and upgrades patch releases through a rolling process to maintain cluster availability. You can't select a specific major, minor, or patch version.
On an Atlas Infinite cluster, Latest Version With Auto Upgrades is always enabled, and you can't disable it.
Switching from Auto Upgrades to Manual Upgrades
If your Atlas Core cluster is on a minor version while on Latest Version With Auto Upgrades, you can switch to a major-version cadence only when the next major version becomes available.
For example, if you opt in while MongoDB 8.3 is the latest release, your Atlas Core cluster remains on the latest minor version until MongoDB 9.0 is released. You can switch back to a major-version cadence only in the window between the 9.0 release and the first 9.x minor release. If you miss that window, you must wait until the next major release cycle.
Important
Live Migration and Mongosync are not supported on minor versions, and therefore won't work if your cluster uses Latest Version With Auto Upgrades. To migrate a cluster that is currently on a minor version, use self-guided migration tools instead.
Manual Upgrades in Atlas
If your Atlas Core cluster remains on a major version, you control when major-version upgrades happen. You can upgrade the major version of your Atlas cluster at any time by modifying the cluster. Major versions also automatically receive patch release updates.
Before upgrading a major version in production, test your application against a staging cluster and review compatibility changes in the release notes. If applicable, rely on the Stable API.
End of Life for a Major Version
For the end-of-life policy for MongoDB versions, including notification timing and upgrades after the cut-off date, see MongoDB Versions and Upgrade Paths.
Version Availability
The following table shows the MongoDB versions available for each cluster type.
Version | Available on M10+ Atlas Core clusters | Available on Free clusters and Flex clusters | Available on M30+ Atlas Infinite clusters |
|---|---|---|---|
MongoDB 7.0 | |||
MongoDB 8.0 | |||
MongoDB 9.0 | |||
MongoDB 9.x |
Database Edition Versions
For the duration of public preview, Atlas Infinite clusters run the latest MongoDB 9.x version, using the Latest Version With Auto Upgrades release option in the Atlas UI. Atlas Infinite clusters might run a later version than Atlas Core clusters, but these versions don't introduce compatibility changes unless the Atlas changelog states otherwise. To learn about Atlas Infinite, see MongoDB Atlas Infinite: Overview.
Atlas updates an Atlas Infinite cluster about once a month. You can't select a specific MongoDB version for an Atlas Infinite cluster. To see the exact version number, view the activity feed.
Select or Change the Cluster Version on Atlas Core clusters
Important
Before you upgrade your cluster, review the recommended best practices for major version upgrades.
Atlas upgrades Atlas Infinite clusters automatically. The following steps apply to Atlas Core clusters.
Important
If your project contains a custom role that uses actions introduced in a specific MongoDB version, you can't create a cluster with a MongoDB version earlier than that version unless you delete the custom role.
To select or change the cluster version:
Open the cluster configuration.
To set the version for a new cluster, complete the steps to create a cluster and expand Additional Settings.
To change the version for an existing cluster, click Edit Config to open the cluster form and expand Additional Settings.
Select a version.
From the Select a version dropdown, select the version for your cluster.
Atlas supports the following upgrade paths for Atlas Core clusters:
MongoDB 7.0 to MongoDB 8.0
MongoDB 8.0 to MongoDB 9.0
MongoDB 8.0 to Latest Version With Auto Upgrades
MongoDB 9.0 to Latest Version With Auto Upgrades
Atlas always upgrades the cluster to the latest patch release of the specified major version. The upgrade uses a rolling update process to maintain cluster availability.
You can't downgrade the cluster to an earlier MongoDB version unless you pinned the cluster's FCV before upgrading.
You can switch from using the Latest Release to using a specific release only if the latest MongoDB version is a major release.