MongoDB is a leading NoSQL document database that stores data as flexible JSON-like BSON documents. MongoDB 8 introduces improved aggregation performance, enhanced time series collections, and better sharding. This guide installs MongoDB 8 Community Edition on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.

Tested and valid on:

  • Ubuntu 26.04 LTS

Prerequisites

  • Ubuntu 26.04 LTS server
  • A user with sudo privileges
  • At least 1 GB RAM

Step 1 – Add the MongoDB Repository

sudo apt install gnupg curl -y
curl -fsSL https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-8.0.asc | 
  sudo gpg -o /usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg --dearmor
echo "deb [ arch=amd64,arm64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg ] 
  https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu noble/mongodb-org/8.0 multiverse" | 
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-8.0.list
sudo apt update

Step 2 – Install MongoDB

sudo apt install mongodb-org -y

Step 3 – Start and Enable MongoDB

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

Step 4 – Connect to the MongoDB Shell

mongosh

Step 5 – Create an Admin User

use admin
db.createUser({
  user: "adminUser",
  pwd: "SecureAdminPass2026!",
  roles: [ { role: "userAdminAnyDatabase", db: "admin" }, "readWriteAnyDatabase" ]
})
exit

Step 6 – Enable Authentication

sudo nano /etc/mongod.conf

Add or uncomment:

security:
  authorization: enabled
sudo systemctl restart mongod

Step 7 – Test Authenticated Login

mongosh -u adminUser -p --authenticationDatabase admin

Conclusion

MongoDB 8 is now installed and secured on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. Use the MongoDB shell or MongoDB Compass (GUI) to manage your document databases. Pair with Mongoose (Node.js) or PyMongo (Python) for application development.