Run the MongoDB Service with systemd

Linux distributions use systemd to start up and manage services through standard command-line tools. If you installed MongoDB Enterprise or MongoDB Community through the package manager, you can manage the mongod process through the systemctl command.

Syntax

sudo systemctl <command> mongod

Commands

Command	Description
`enable`	Configures systemd to start the MongoDB service during boot.
`restart`	Restarts the MongoDB service.
`start`	Starts the MongoDB service.
`status`	Shows the status of the MongoDB service.
`stop`	Stops the MongoDB service.

Compatibility

On self-managed deployments, you can manage the mongod process with the systemctl command on any supported systemd-based distribution of Linux.

For details on supported platforms, see:

Behavior

User Privileges

Most commands that run through systemd require a user with elevated privileges. While the root user can administer the mongod process directly through the systemctl command, other users must run these commands with sudo privileges.

System Journal

When run through systemd with the default configuration, mongod logs messages through the system journal. The journal allows you to search for specific issues or messages with the journalctl command.

Examples

Start MongoDB

To start the MongoDB service, run the following command:

sudo systemctl start mongod

Show MongoDB Status

To show the status of the MongoDB service, run the following command:

systemctl status mongod

● mongod.service - High-performance, schema-free document-oriented database
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/mongod.service; enabled;
     vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Mon 2026-09-21 09:41:13 UTC;
     4 days ago
       Docs: https://docs.mongodb.org/manual
   Main PID: 8642 (mongod)
     Memory: 148.1M
         CPU: 2m 15s
     CGroup: /system.slice/mongod.service
             └─8642 /usr/bin/mongod --config /etc/mongod.conf

The status of the service is not privileged information. You do not need sudo to run the status command.

Stop MongoDB

To stop the MongoDB service, run the following command:

sudo systemctl stop mongod

Restart MongoDB

To restart the MongoDB service, run the following command:

sudo systemctl restart mongod

Start MongoDB on Boot

To configure the system to start the MongoDB service on startup, run the following command:

sudo systemctl enable mongod

Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/mongod.service → /usr/lib/systemd/system/mongod.service.

Show MongoDB Logs

To show log messages sent by MongoDB to the system journal, run the following command:

sudo journalctl -u mongod

Sep 25 18:08:45 hostname systemd[1]: Started mongod.service - High-performance, schema-free document-oriented database.
Sep 25 18:08:46 hostname mongod[229981]: {"t":{"$date":"2026-09-25T18:08:46.214+00:00"},"s":"I", "c":"STORAGE", "id":4615611, "ctx":"initandlisten", "msg":"MongoDB starting", "attr":{"pid":229981,"port":27017,"dbPath":"/var/lib/mongo","architecture":"64-bit","host":"hostname"}}
Sep 25 18:08:46 hostname mongod[229981]: {"t":{"$date":"2026-09-25T18:08:46.214+00:00"},"s":"I", "c":"CONTROL", "id":51765, "ctx":"initandlisten", "msg":"Operating System", "attr":{"os":{"name":"Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)","version":"Kernel 6.1.0"}}}

Learn More

Back

Install with Docker

Windows