In this post, we’ll show you how to connect to MongoDB Atlas, MongoDB’s fully-managed DBaaS, using Studio 3T.
Don’t have a MongoDB Atlas account? Here’s a tutorial on how to set up a free M0 cluster.
If you’re having issues connecting to MongoDB Atlas, we recommend our troubleshooting guide instead.
Prerequisites
- Get your first MongoDB Atlas cluster for free.
- Download the latest Studio 3T version on your Windows, Mac, or Linux machine.
1. Get the connection string from MongoDB Atlas
Log in to your MongoDB Atlas account. This will take you to your Clusters overview.
Click on Connect.
Choose Connect Your Application.
Choose your driver and driver version. We use Java and Version 3.7 or later in this example, but the latest version of any driver should also generate a compatible connection string.
Copy the generated connection string. This is what you’ll need to paste in Studio 3T.
2. Whitelist your IP address
If you have a dynamic IP address – which most of us do – it’s worth double-checking the MongoDB Atlas IP Whitelist tab.
Click on Network Access under the Security tab on the left-hand sidebar. This will take you to the IP Whitelist tab.
Click on Add IP Address in the top-right corner. This will open the Add IP Whitelist Entry dialog.
Click on Add current IP address. MongoDB will automatically detect your current address, then click Confirm.
3. Connect to Studio 3T
Open Studio 3T and click on Connect in the top-left corner of the toolbar. This will open the Connection Manager.
Click on New Connection in the top-left corner, which will open a new connection window.
Name your connection and click on the From URI button.
Paste the connection string you copied from MongoDB Atlas.
Replace the placeholder “<password>” with your actual password and “<dbname>” with the name of the database that connections will use by default. Make sure to replace the brackets too, and click OK.
Studio 3T will automatically extract the information and pre-populate the fields in the Server, Authentication, SSL, SSH Tunnel, and Advanced tabs. It will also save the connection for later use.
Click through the Server, Authentication, SSL, and SSH Tunnel tabs and verify that the information is correct.
Click on Test Connection. A successful test will look like this:
Click Save. Then click Connect.
4. Import data in JSON, CSV, BSON/mongodump or SQL
If you have an empty cluster, you can easily import JSON, CSV, BSON/mongodump or SQL to MongoDB with Studio 3T’s Import Wizard:
5. Explore MongoDB data
Click on a collection in the Connection Tree to open a Collection Tab, which is the starting point of all data exploration in Studio 3T.
Here you can view the contents of your MongoDB collection in either Table View, Tree View, or JSON View:
Or access the Visual Query Builder, a drag-and-drop MongoDB query builder ideal for both newcomers and pros:
Once you’ve built your query, click on Query Code tab to see how it translates to Java, Node.js, PHP, C#, Python, Ruby, and the mongo shell language:
And that’s just one way of querying data in Studio 3T. There’s also IntelliShell, the built-in mongo shell with robust auto-completion; Aggregation Editor, the stage-by-stage aggregation query builder; and SQL Query, which lets you write SQL to query your MongoDB database.
Related reading
- A roundup of the best MongoDB Atlas tools for data migration, data modeling, performance tuning, and more
- Tips on how to reduce your MongoDB Atlas monthly bill
- Find MongoDB tutorials on the Studio 3T Knowledge Base
- Pressed for time? Subscribe to the Studio 3T YouTube Channel for quick MongoDB tips, tricks, and how-tos
While connecting to MongoDB Atlas with Studio 3T 2020.3.1
(plus using SSH Tunnel to our IP Whitelisted server)
The connection timeout with error:
Mongo Server error (MongoCommandException): Command failed with error 8000 (AtlasError): ‘no SNI name sent, make sure using a MongoDB 3.4+ driver/shell.’ on server xxxxxx
I could see it somewhere that Studio 3T uses legacy version of Java Mongodb Driver.
How can I solve this problem?
Hi Ittipan,
Many thanks for reaching out! Are you trying to establish a SSL connection with SNI? As a next step, it would be great if you could you please send us a screenshot of your connection configuration at support at studio3t dot com and we’d be happy to investigate further.
Best,
Kathryn
Big thanks Kathryn, will do.
Hello , i have both mongo and mongo atlas in my java application. Can you please tell me how to find which one is mongodb and which is atlas version via java code ?
Thanks..
Hi Rajat,
From a Java point of view, one won’t be able to distinguish which one is which. This seems to be more of a Java driver question. Sorry we couldn’t help further.
Best,
Kathryn
I cannot find the connection setup as described here. The only “Connect” button I can find in Atlas is on a cluster, but it asks me to white-list an IP first. Which is not suitable for a connection from a home PC.
Hi Tom,
Many thanks for flagging that – we will update the article accordingly. In the meantime, yes, you would need to whitelist your home IP address on the MongoDB Atlas interface following these steps.
Hope this helps,
Kathryn
Hi Tom,
We’ve updated the article – hope you managed to connect in the meantime.
Best,
Kathryn
Hey,
I am trying to connect to an old application that doesn’t support the SRV record redirect.
Is there a way to get a direct DB URI ?
Thanks,
Ran
Hi Ron,
Thanks for getting in touch. In addition to the DNS Seedlist Connection Format, MongoDB also supports the Standard Connection String Format, which has this syntax:
mongodb://[username:[email protected]]host1[:port1][,…hostN[:portN]][/[defaultauthdb][?options]]
Here’s the full documentation: https://docs.mongodb.com/manual/reference/connection-string/
Hope this helps,
Kathryn