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Mongo WebUI

What is Mongo WebUI?​

Mongo WebUI is a browser-based admin interface for MongoDB (built on the mongoclient project), letting you browse databases, collections, and documents without installing a desktop GUI. In Laradock it's a thin companion container that talks to the mongo service over the internal Docker network.

Start Mongo WebUI​

./laradock start mongo-webui

compose.yml declares depends_on: mongo, so Docker Compose starts the mongo container automatically if it isn't already running.

Stop Mongo WebUI​

Stopping just pauses the container; its own settings are safe:

./laradock stop mongo-webui

To delete the container entirely (its data on disk is still untouched, it lives under DATA_PATH_HOST):

./laradock remove mongo-webui

Configuration​

All settings live in mongo-webui/defaults.env:

VariableDefaultWhat it does
MONGO_WEBUI_PORT3000Host-side port the UI is published on (host:container).
MONGO_WEBUI_ROOT_URLhttp://localhostRoot URL the UI reports itself as running at.
MONGO_WEBUI_MONGO_URLmongodb://mongo:27017/Connection string the UI uses to reach the mongo container by name.
MONGO_WEBUI_INSTALL_MONGOfalseWhether the image should bundle and manage its own embedded MongoDB instance instead of connecting to an external one.

Access the UI​

With both mongo and mongo-webui running, open http://localhost:3000 (or your MONGO_WEBUI_PORT). The first time you open it you'll be asked to create an account for the UI itself, this login is separate from any MongoDB credentials and is stored in Mongo WebUI's own data (see Configuration and the volume below), not in the mongo container. If authentication is enabled on the mongo instance you're connecting to, you'll also need its MONGO_USERNAME/MONGO_PASSWORD (from mongo/defaults.env) once inside.

Point it at a different Mongo instance​

By default MONGO_WEBUI_MONGO_URL targets Laradock's own mongo service by container name. To browse a different MongoDB instance (a remote server, or one outside Laradock), override MONGO_WEBUI_MONGO_URL in .env with its full connection string, then restart:

./laradock restart mongo-webui

Reset Mongo WebUI's own data​

compose.yml mounts ${DATA_PATH_HOST}/mongo-webui to /data/db, that's where Mongo WebUI keeps its own app state (your login account, saved connections), separate from any actual MongoDB data (which lives in the mongo service's own volume, untouched by any of this). If you're locked out of the UI or just want a clean slate for it:

./laradock stop mongo-webui
./laradock remove mongo-webui
rm -rf "${DATA_PATH_HOST:-~/.laradock/data}/mongo-webui"
./laradock start mongo-webui

This re-runs first-boot setup, so you'll be prompted to create the UI login again on next visit. Your actual MongoDB databases and collections are unaffected either way.

Common issues​

  • Blank page or connection error on load. Make sure mongo is actually up (docker compose ps mongo), Mongo WebUI depends on it but a slow first boot of Mongo can still leave the UI briefly unable to connect.
  • Can't reach it from another machine. MONGO_WEBUI_ROOT_URL defaults to http://localhost; if you're accessing it from another host, adjust accordingly and ./laradock restart mongo-webui.
  • Port already in use on your host. Another local service is bound to 3000. Change MONGO_WEBUI_PORT in .env and ./laradock restart mongo-webui.
  • Wrong data shows up. Double check MONGO_WEBUI_MONGO_URL isn't still pointing at a stale or unintended Mongo instance after switching projects.
  • Locked out of the UI itself. That's the UI's own login, not a MongoDB credential, see Reset Mongo WebUI's own data above.

Need the database itself, not just the UI? See MongoDB. For the full list of services, see Getting Started.