Running MongoDB in a Docker Container on CentOS, AlmaLinux, and RockyLinux

Running MongoDB in a Docker container keeps the database separate from the rest of your server, makes the version easy to pin and upgrade, and lets you rebuild it with one command. This guide installs Docker Engine on AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux, runs the official MongoDB image with persistent storage and authentication, and covers backups and upgrades. It applies to your own VPS or server with root access, not to shared hosting.

1. Before you start

You need:

• A server running AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux 9 or 8, with root or sudo access.
• At least 2 GB of RAM for a small database. MongoDB uses about half of the available memory for its cache by default.
• A CPU with AVX support. MongoDB 5.0 and later need it on x86_64 servers, and a container does not change that. Check first:

grep -qw avx /proc/cpuinfo && echo "AVX OK" || echo "No AVX: MongoDB 5+ will not start"

If AVX is missing, read Downgrading MongoDB to version 4.4 before you go further.

2. Install Docker Engine

Update the system and remove older container packages that conflict with Docker (on a fresh server most of these are not installed, and that's fine):

sudo dnf -y upgrade
sudo dnf -y remove podman buildah runc

Add Docker's repository and install Docker Engine with the Compose plugin:

sudo dnf -y install dnf-plugins-core
sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://download.docker.com/linux/rhel/docker-ce.repo
sudo dnf -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin
sudo systemctl enable --now docker
sudo docker run --rm hello-world

The last command pulls a tiny test image and prints a welcome message if Docker works. The old docker-compose command is replaced by docker compose (with a space), which the plugin provides.

3. Run MongoDB with storage and a password

Choose a version and pin it. mongo:latest changes under you when a new major version appears, which can break an upgrade. At the time of writing MongoDB 8.0 is the current major release; check Docker Hub for newer ones.

sudo docker volume create mongo-data

sudo docker run -d --name mongodb \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 127.0.0.1:27017:27017 \
  -v mongo-data:/data/db \
  -e MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=admin \
  -e MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD='use-a-long-random-password' \
  mongo:8.0

What each part does:

The root user is created only when the data volume is empty. Changing the environment variables later does not change an existing password.

4. Check that it works

sudo docker ps
sudo docker logs --tail 50 mongodb
sudo docker exec -it mongodb mongosh -u admin -p --authenticationDatabase admin

At the mongosh prompt, db.runCommand({ ping: 1 }) should return { ok: 1 }. The old mongo shell is no longer included in current images; use mongosh.

5. Create an app user

Don't let your application log in as the root user. Inside mongosh:

use appdb
db.createUser({ user: "appuser", pwd: passwordPrompt(), roles: [{ role: "readWrite", db: "appdb" }] })

An app on the same server connects with:

mongodb://appuser:[email protected]:27017/appdb?authSource=appdb

If the app also runs in Docker, put both containers on the same Docker network and use the container name (mongodb:27017) as the host instead of 127.0.0.1.

6. The same setup with Docker Compose

A Compose file keeps the whole configuration in one place and out of your shell history. Save this as compose.yaml, with the password in a .env file next to it (chmod 600 .env):

services:
  mongodb:
    image: mongo:8.0
    container_name: mongodb
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:27017:27017"
    environment:
      MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME: admin
      MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MONGO_ROOT_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - mongo-data:/data/db

volumes:
  mongo-data:

echo "MONGO_ROOT_PASSWORD=use-a-long-random-password" > .env
chmod 600 .env
sudo docker compose up -d

7. Back up and restore

A volume is not a backup. Dump the data to a compressed archive on the host:

sudo docker exec mongodb sh -c \
  'mongodump -u admin -p "$MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD" --authenticationDatabase admin --archive --gzip' \
  > mongo-$(date +%F).archive.gz

Restore with mongorestore the same way, feeding the archive in:

sudo docker exec -i mongodb sh -c \
  'mongorestore -u admin -p "$MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD" --authenticationDatabase admin --archive --gzip' \
  < mongo-2026-09-23.archive.gz

Run the backup from cron, keep several days of archives, and copy them off the server. Test a restore on a spare container now and then.

8. Upgrade or change versions

Minor updates within a version are simple:

sudo docker pull mongo:8.0
sudo docker stop mongodb && sudo docker rm mongodb
# run the same docker run command as before (or: sudo docker compose up -d)

The data stays in the volume. Major upgrades (for example 7.0 to 8.0) must go one major version at a time, with featureCompatibilityVersion set at each step, and a backup first; follow MongoDB's upgrade notes.

Going backwards is different. Pointing an older image such as mongo:4.4 at a volume written by a newer version fails, because the data files are not compatible. Start the older version with a new, empty volume and restore from a mongodump archive. MongoDB 4.4 has been end of life since February 2024, so use it only as a stopgap on a CPU without AVX.

9. Running this on Domain India

A Domain India VPS gives you KVM virtualisation, full root access and a choice of Linux distribution, so Docker and everything in this guide run as written. The VPS is self-managed: you look after updates, security and backups. If you prefer MongoDB installed directly on the server rather than in a container, follow installing MongoDB on a Domain India VPS.

MongoDB is not available from shared hosting, and our shared servers' outbound firewall does not allow MongoDB's usual port, so an outside service such as MongoDB Atlas can't normally be reached from there either. Use a VPS, the App Platform (test the connection from your app), or MySQL or PostgreSQL instead. Choosing between PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite and MongoDB compares them.

Prices on the cards are live Domain India list prices and exclude 18% GST.

Ready to run MongoDB? Compare VPS plans, or read the native MongoDB install guide if you'd rather not use Docker.