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How to Compile and Install MongoDB From Source on Ubuntu

Learn how to compile MongoDB from source on Ubuntu using Bazel, choose the right install target, start and verify mongod, troubleshoot common failures, and decide when apt or a tarball is more practical.
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To compile MongoDB on Ubuntu, use a checkout of the MongoDB source tree, install a C++20-capable toolchain, Python 3.13, libcurl development headers, Ubuntu’s liblzma-dev, and about 13 GB of free disk space. MongoDB’s current build workflow installs Bazel with python buildscripts/install_bazel.py, adds ~/.local/bin to PATH, and builds a selected install target such as install-mongod or install-dist. The resulting binaries remain under bazel-bin/install until you decide how to run or deploy them.

What you need before compiling

A source build is appropriate when you need a particular MongoDB branch, a local patch, a controlled compiler, an unusual supported architecture, or a debugging-oriented build. It is not the shortest route to a routine production installation: source builds do not automatically provide Ubuntu package metadata, a systemd unit, upgrade handling, or a ready-made configuration file.

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The current MongoDB source-build documentation lists these baseline requirements:

Requirement What MongoDB specifies Why it matters
Operating system Ubuntu with a supported compiler and development libraries The build scripts and dependency names are written for the Ubuntu/Linux toolchain.
CPU architectures x86-64, arm64, ppc64le, and s390x These architectures are identified in the source-build documentation; binary availability and performance still depend on your exact Ubuntu release and hardware.
C++ compiler C++20 capable; the listed versions are GCC 14.2, Clang 19.1, Apple Xcode 16.4, or Visual Studio 2022 version 17.0 MongoDB’s code requires modern language support. A compiler newer than the listed versions can turn warnings into build errors.
Python Python 3.13 MongoDB’s build and dependency scripts use Python.
Development packages build-essential; one of libcurl4-openssl-dev, libcurl4-nss-dev, or libcurl4-gnutls-dev; and liblzma-dev These provide the compiler, linker, headers, and libraries needed by the server and build tools.
Free disk space About 13 GB Source, intermediate objects, Bazel caches, and installed build output all consume space.

Use the compiler versions named by MongoDB whenever possible. If your distribution supplies a newer compiler and the build stops because warnings are treated as errors, the documented escape hatch is --disable_warnings_as_errors=True. That option can let a build proceed, but matching the supported version is the safer choice because it avoids hiding genuinely useful diagnostics.

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Prepare Ubuntu

Install the general toolchain and headers

Refresh package metadata and install the packages named by MongoDB. Select exactly one libcurl development implementation; OpenSSL is a common choice, but NSS and GnuTLS are also supported.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential libcurl4-openssl-dev liblzma-dev

If your environment standardizes on another TLS stack, replace libcurl4-openssl-dev with libcurl4-nss-dev or libcurl4-gnutls-dev, not all three.

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Check the versions before a long build

Confirm that the commands resolve to the tools you intend to use:

python3 --version
gcc --version
clang --version
df -h .

The source tree requires Python 3.13 and a C++20-capable compiler. The version checks do not install those versions; they expose a mismatch before Bazel has compiled thousands of files. If Ubuntu’s default repositories do not provide the required compiler or Python release, install those prerequisites using the supported method for your Ubuntu release, then make sure python, gcc, or clang points to the intended binaries in the shell that will run the build.

Keep at least the documented 13 GB free in the filesystem containing the checkout and Bazel cache. A nearly full home partition can fail late even when the source directory itself appears small.

Get a MongoDB source checkout

Change into the root of the MongoDB source tree you want to build. The root must contain the buildscripts directory; otherwise buildscripts/install_bazel.py cannot be found.

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cd /path/to/mongodb-source
ls buildscripts

Use a released branch or commit that matches the features and wire protocol your application requires. Keep the commit identifier with your build notes: a source build is reproducible only when the source revision, compiler, Python version, build flags, and dependency versions are recorded.

Install Bazel and compile MongoDB

Use the documented quick start

From the source-tree root, install the Bazel version selected by MongoDB’s helper script, make its user-local installation visible, and build the distribution test target:

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python buildscripts/install_bazel.py
export PATH=~/.local/bin:$PATH
bazel build install-dist-test
bazel-bin/install/bin/mongod --version

The export applies only to the current shell. If you open a new terminal, repeat it or add the same path adjustment to the shell startup file used for your build account. Run the version command after compilation to confirm that the generated daemon starts far enough to report its identity and version.

install-dist-test is a broad quick-start build. It is useful when you want a distribution-style output and test-oriented artifacts, but it is larger than a daemon-only build. For an initial compile that produces only the database server, choose install-mongod instead.

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Select the target that matches your output

Bazel target Produces Use it when
install-mongod The MongoDB database daemon You need the smallest server-focused build and will not run the query router from this tree.
install-mongos The mongos router You are building a routing process separately from a database server.
install-core mongod and mongos with minimal core output You need both primary server components while keeping the build narrower than a full distribution.
install-dist All server components in the distribution output You need a complete server distribution for deployment or broad integration testing.
install-devcore mongod, mongos, and jstestshell You are developing or testing and need the JavaScript test shell alongside the two server processes.

Build one of these targets with the same form, for example:

bazel build install-mongod

MongoDB notes that install-core and install-dist are not guaranteed to be identical. For test work, use install-devcore or install-dist rather than assuming the minimal core target contains every test-required component.

Find the binaries

Successful install targets place files below bazel-bin/install or the corresponding target directory. For a daemon-only build, inspect the generated binary and ask it for its version:

ls bazel-bin/install/bin
bazel-bin/install/bin/mongod --version

Keep using the absolute or checkout-relative path while evaluating the build. Copying a source-built binary into /usr/local/bin is an operational decision, not a required compilation step; if you do it, record which source revision produced the file so a later upgrade does not silently replace a customized build.

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Run a source-built MongoDB locally

Create data and log directories

A source build does not create the directories that a package installation normally supplies. Create directories first and make sure the account that will run mongod can read and write them. A user-local test avoids system ownership changes:

mkdir -p $HOME/mongodb-data $HOME/mongodb-log
chmod 700 $HOME/mongodb-data $HOME/mongodb-log

For a service-style layout, use the documented locations /var/lib/mongo and /var/log/mongodb, then assign both paths to the dedicated service account before starting the daemon. Do not run a long-lived database as root merely to bypass a permissions error.

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Start it in the foreground or fork it

Run the binary produced by your selected target. The documented foreground-to-background form uses the system-style paths and writes the log before forking:

bazel-bin/install/bin/mongod --dbpath /var/lib/mongo --logpath /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log --fork

When testing with the user-local directories, use the equivalent paths:

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bazel-bin/install/bin/mongod --dbpath $HOME/mongodb-data --logpath $HOME/mongodb-log/mongod.log --fork

Omit --fork when you want the process attached to the terminal for immediate diagnostics. A foreground process makes missing-directory, permission, and library errors visible without opening a second log.

Verify startup and connect

Check the log for the message [initandlisten] waiting for connections on port 27017. That line indicates that the listener reached its ready state on the default MongoDB port.

grep 'waiting for connections' $HOME/mongodb-log/mongod.log
mongosh

If you used /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log, substitute that path in the grep command. Once mongosh connects, run a simple status or database command to confirm that the shell is talking to the newly built daemon rather than another MongoDB process already on the machine.

Diagnose common build and startup failures

Warnings are treated as errors

A newer compiler can emit diagnostics that the MongoDB build treats as errors. First compare the active compiler with the versions listed in the requirements. Prefer switching to a supported GCC or Clang release. If that is not possible, retry with the documented Bazel argument:

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bazel build --disable_warnings_as_errors=True install-mongod

Use this only after reviewing the warnings. Suppressing the policy can expose incompatibilities that a matching compiler would have caught cleanly.

A header or library cannot be found

Errors mentioning curl headers normally mean that none of the three supported libcurl development packages is installed. Errors involving LZMA point to liblzma-dev. Install the missing development package, then rerun the same Bazel target; Bazel will reuse completed actions where possible.

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Python or Bazel is not found

If python invokes an older interpreter or does not exist, invoke the MongoDB helper with the Python 3.13 executable used on your system and verify that it can import the standard modules needed by the script. If bazel is not found after installation, inspect ~/.local/bin and re-export PATH=~/.local/bin:$PATH in the current shell.

The build runs out of disk space

Free space on the filesystem holding the checkout and Bazel cache. Remove only build artifacts you can regenerate, and preserve the source revision and configuration notes. Restarting with a smaller target such as install-mongod reduces output, but it does not eliminate the need for the roughly 13 GB estimate for a complete working environment.

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The daemon exits before listening

Run it without --fork and read the terminal output. Check that the data path exists, is writable by the launching account, and is not already locked by another mongod. Also check whether port 27017 is occupied. A successful compilation does not prove that the runtime directories, permissions, shared libraries, or port configuration are correct.

You cannot connect with the shell

Confirm that the log contains the waiting-for-connections line, that mongosh is using the expected local binary and port, and that no older daemon is answering. If the daemon was started with a different bind or port setting, pass the corresponding connection URI to mongosh.

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Secure the first run

MongoDB’s documented default is to bind bindIp to 127.0.0.1, the localhost interface. Keep that default while validating a source build. A localhost-only listener is appropriate for development on the same machine and avoids exposing an unauthenticated database to a network.

Do not bind a source-built server to a publicly reachable address until you have enabled authentication and applied network hardening appropriate to the deployment. Restrict firewall access, limit the listening interfaces, use a dedicated service account, protect the data and log directories, and define an explicit backup and upgrade procedure. Compilation changes how the binaries are produced; it does not remove MongoDB’s operational security requirements.

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Check the open-file limit before treating startup as production-ready. MongoDB’s Ubuntu 7.0 installation documentation warns when the process ulimit is below 64,000. That warning is an operational tuning issue, not evidence that the source compilation failed.

Source build versus Ubuntu installation routes

Compiling is one of three practical ways to place MongoDB on Ubuntu. The right choice depends on whether control or maintenance matters more.

Route Toolchain and customization Maintenance and integration Typical reason to choose it
Source build Maximum control over branch, patches, compiler, architecture, and debug-oriented targets; you choose how much of the server to build. You manage the binary location, service definition, dependencies, upgrades, and configuration. Development, instrumentation, a custom patch, or a compiler/architecture requirement.
Official apt packages Prebuilt binaries with the vendor’s supported package choices. Package installation supplies dependencies, an example configuration file, standard data and log locations, and simpler upgrades. Routine Ubuntu operation where customization is unnecessary.
Official tarball Prebuilt version selected manually and placed wherever you need it. You extract the archive and handle shell installation, directories, permissions, service setup, and upgrades yourself. Manual placement, version isolation, or environments where repository integration is undesirable.

What the apt route changes

The MongoDB 7.0 Ubuntu tutorial covers 64-bit Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal) and 22.04 (Jammy) on x86-64, with ARM64 support on selected platforms. It imports a MongoDB signing key, creates a versioned repository entry, runs apt-get update, and installs mongodb-org. Ubuntu’s separate mongodb package is not maintained by MongoDB and conflicts with mongodb-org; do not mix those package names.

For that package route, the service commands are:

sudo systemctl start mongod
sudo systemctl status mongod
sudo systemctl enable mongod

The package creates /var/lib/mongodb, /var/log/mongodb, and /etc/mongod.conf. Those conveniences are why apt is the maintenance-oriented option, but they are not produced by a source build.

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What the tarball route changes

The MongoDB 8.0 tarball tutorial covers 64-bit Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, and 24.04 (Noble) on x86-64, with ARM64 support on selected platforms. Its runtime prerequisites include libcurl4, OpenSSL, and liblzma5, plus version-specific LDAP, SASL, GSSAPI, and libwrap packages. Installation is software-only: download the selected .tgz, extract it with tar -zxvf, and optionally copy or symlink its bin/ contents into /usr/local/bin.

Tarballs still require you to create data and log directories, grant access to the service account, start the daemon, and arrange a service manager if it must survive reboots. MongoDB recommends apt when possible because it handles dependencies, provides an example configuration, and simplifies maintenance.

Make the source build reproducible

Record the source commit, Ubuntu release, architecture, Python 3.13 installation, compiler version, selected libcurl variant, Bazel version installed by install_bazel.py, and the exact Bazel target and flags. Save the output of mongod --version with those notes.

Build the smallest target that satisfies the job, but do not mistake a smaller artifact for a complete distribution. A daemon-only binary is convenient for a local database; install-devcore or install-dist is the safer choice for testing that needs the broader server components. Keep the checkout and generated output separate from any production data directory so rebuilding or cleaning Bazel artifacts cannot touch database files.

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Before upgrading a customized build, test it against a copy of the data and the client workloads it must serve. Preserve the previous binary and a rollback procedure. Package managers can coordinate files and service units automatically; a source workflow requires you to perform those release-engineering steps deliberately.

A practical decision checklist

  • Choose a source build if you need a custom branch, patch, compiler, supported non-x86 architecture, or debugging/test target.
  • Choose the official apt repository when you want Ubuntu integration, a configuration example, predictable service commands, and simpler upgrades.
  • Choose a tarball when you need manual installation or version isolation and accept responsibility for dependencies and service management.
  • For source compilation, verify C++20 support, Python 3.13, the three classes of development packages, and roughly 13 GB of free disk space first.
  • Install Bazel with the tree’s helper script, expose ~/.local/bin, build the target that matches your required binaries, and verify with mongod --version.
  • Start locally, confirm the log reaches port 27017, connect with mongosh, and apply authentication and network controls before any non-local binding.

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