---
title: "Deploy Mongo Express"
description: "Web admin interface for browsing and editing MongoDB data"
category: "Storage"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/mongo-express-ui
---

# Deploy Mongo Express

Web admin interface for browsing and editing MongoDB data

**[Deploy Mongo Express on Railway](https://railway.com/template/mongo-express-ui)**

Machine-readable deploy manifest (JSON, validated by TemplateCI): https://railway.com/deploy/mongo-express-ui/manifest.json

- **Creator:** A3A
- **Category:** Storage
- **Total deploys:** 1

## Template content

### MongoDB https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/homarr-labs/dashboard-icons/svg/mongodb.svg

- **Image:** mongo:8.0
- **Start command:** `docker-entrypoint.sh mongod --ipv6 --bind_ip ::,0.0.0.0 --setParameter diagnosticDataCollectionEnabled=false`

### mongo-express https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/mongo-express/mongo-express@master/public/images/mongo-express-logo.svg

- **Source:** https://github.com/gridalpha/mongo-express-railway
- **Health check:** /status
- **Public domain:** Yes

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host Mongo Express on Railway

Mongo Express is a web-based admin interface for MongoDB, written in Node.js and Express and open source since 2011. It puts the everyday chores — browsing collections, running a find query, fixing one wrong field, adding an index — in a browser tab instead of a shell. Teams reach for it when a MongoDB instance lives on a server nobody wants to SSH into, or when support needs to look up a record without holding database credentials.

Deploy Mongo Express on Railway and two services arrive wired together. **mongo-express** is the admin interface, built from the upstream repository and published on a Railway domain behind a sign-in page. **MongoDB** is a Railway-managed MongoDB 8.0 on its own volume, reachable only over the private network. The interface reads its connection string from the database service, so no credential is copied — and to self-host Mongo Express against a database you already run, you change that one variable.

![Diagram of the Mongo Express and MongoDB services on Railway](https://res.cloudinary.com/rroe4rtk/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1789389177/mongo-express-architecture.webp)

## Getting Started with Mongo Express on Railway

Open the generated URL and you land on a sign-in page, not the database. There is no registration and no default account to change: the credentials are `ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_USERNAME` and `ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_PASSWORD` on the mongo-express service, and the template generates a strong random password — read it from that service's Variables tab, then sign in. The home page lists every database beside a live server-status panel, the quickest confirmation the deployment is healthy and really talking to MongoDB. A fresh server shows only `admin`, `config` and `local`; type a name into **Create database**, open it, create a collection, then use **New Document** to paste a JSON document and save it — the collection view turns your fields into sortable columns. The **Simple** and **Advanced** tabs filter documents, the link button on a row opens it in a full editor, and **New Index** takes a specification such as `{"category": 1, "price": -1}`. Writes can be blocked entirely with `ME_CONFIG_OPTIONS_READONLY`, enforced server-side.

![Mongo Express database list beside live MongoDB server statistics](https://res.cloudinary.com/rroe4rtk/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1789389180/mongo-express-databases.webp)
![Seven product documents listed in the Mongo Express collection view](https://res.cloudinary.com/rroe4rtk/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1789389181/mongo-express-products-collection.webp)
![Editing a stored product document in the Mongo Express editor](https://res.cloudinary.com/rroe4rtk/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1789389183/mongo-express-document-editor.webp)

## About Hosting Mongo Express

Mongo Express is a thin, stateless admin layer over the MongoDB driver. It holds no data of its own — every screen is read live from the server its connection string names, so it is safe to redeploy, repoint or delete.

- Browse every database and collection, with paging and sorting
- Create, edit and delete documents in a syntax-highlighting editor
- Key/value filters, MongoDB query documents and aggregation pipelines
- Create and drop indexes; view collection and index statistics
- Export a collection as JSON or CSV, import `mongoexport` output
- Manage GridFS buckets and their files
- Read-only and no-delete modes, enforced on the server

Two Railway services make that work. mongo-express runs the Node application, holds your browser session and owns the only public domain. MongoDB stores data on a volume at `/data/db` and is published only as `mongodb.railway.internal`, so the database itself is never exposed: the admin interface is the single front door, and it is behind a password.

## Why Deploy Mongo Express on Railway

One click gives you a working admin console and the database it manages:

- MongoDB 8.0 provisioned, persisted on a volume and backed up by Railway
- Connection string wired between the services
- A strong sign-in password generated at deploy
- Private networking keeps the database off the public internet
- HTTPS and a domain, with no reverse proxy to configure
- Scaling and metrics without touching a server

## Common Use Cases

- Giving support or QA a password-protected window into a staging MongoDB, with no database credentials or shell access
- Seeding a staging database by hand, or correcting one wrong record, without writing a script for it
- Checking what an application actually wrote — document shape, a missing field, whether an index survived a migration
- Running a spare MongoDB for prototypes, loading fixtures and exporting a collection as CSV

## Dependencies for Mongo Express

- **mongo-express** — built from [mongo-express/mongo-express](https://github.com/mongo-express/mongo-express) on Node 24. The admin interface, and the only public service.
- **MongoDB** — `mongo:8.0`, Railway-managed, on a volume. The database being administered; it supplies the connection string.

### Environment Variables Reference

| Variable | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_URL` | Connection string of the database to administer. Point it elsewhere to manage an existing MongoDB. |
| `ME_CONFIG_OPTIONS_NO_DELETE` | `true` allows edits but refuses deletions. |
| `ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_USERNAME` | Sign-in username. Defaults to `admin`. |
| `ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_PASSWORD` | Sign-in password, generated at deploy. |
| `ME_CONFIG_AUTH_STRATEGY` | `form` for a sign-in page, `basic` for the browser prompt, `oidc` for OpenID Connect. |
| `ME_CONFIG_SITE_GRIDFS_ENABLED` | `true` shows GridFS buckets and their files. |
| `ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_ENABLE_ADMIN` | `true` lists every database; `false` limits the UI to the one in the URL. |
| `ME_CONFIG_OPTIONS_READONLY` | `true` refuses every write, enforced server-side. |
| `ME_CONFIG_SITE_SESSIONSECRET` | Signs the session cookie; keep it stable. |

### Deployment Dependencies

- Source: [mongo-express/mongo-express](https://github.com/mongo-express/mongo-express); the [`mongo-express`](https://hub.docker.com/_/mongo-express) and [`mongo`](https://hub.docker.com/_/mongo) images on Docker Hub
- Runtime: Node.js 24, Express 5, MongoDB driver 7

## Hardware Requirements for Self-Hosting Mongo Express

The interface is light; the database decides the sizing.

| Resource | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 0.5 vCPU | 1 vCPU |
| RAM | 256 MB + 512 MB for MongoDB | 512 MB + 2 GB |
| Storage | None; 1 GB volume for MongoDB | Sized to the data |
| Runtime | Node.js 22+ | Node.js 24 |

## Self-Hosting Mongo Express with Docker

Mongo Express ships an official image on Docker Hub. This starts it against a MongoDB container on the same network, with authentication turned on:

```
docker network create mongo-net
docker run -d --name mongo --network mongo-net \
  -e MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=mongo \
  -e MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD=change-me mongo:8.0
docker run -d --name mongo-express --network mongo-net -p 8081:8081 \
  -e ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_URL="mongodb://mongo:change-me@mongo:27017" \
  -e ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_ENABLE_ADMIN=true \
  -e ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_ENABLED=true \
  -e ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_USERNAME=admin \
  -e ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_PASSWORD=pick-your-own \
  mongo-express
```

To build from source instead — how this template is assembled, and how you pick up fixes not yet cut into a release — build the repository's Dockerfile:

```
git clone https://github.com/mongo-express/mongo-express.git
cd mongo-express
docker build -t mongo-express:local .
docker run -p 8081:8081 -e ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_URL="mongodb://..." mongo-express:local
```

Never expose Mongo Express without authentication: it is a full read-write console over your database, and its shipped defaults are the well-known `admin` / `pass`.

## How Much Does Mongo Express Cost to Self-Host?

Mongo Express is free and open source under the MIT licence — no paid tier, seat limit or hosted edition — and MongoDB Community Edition is likewise free. On Railway you pay only for the compute, memory and volume the two services use, so cost scales with the data you store, not with how many people use the console.

## FAQ

**What is Mongo Express?**

Mongo Express is an open-source, web-based admin interface for MongoDB. It lets you browse databases and collections, run queries, edit documents and manage indexes from a browser rather than the `mongosh` shell or a desktop client.

**What does this Railway template deploy?**

Two services: mongo-express, the admin interface, built from the upstream repository and published behind a sign-in page; and MongoDB 8.0, managed by Railway, on a volume and reachable only on the private network.

**Why does the template include a MongoDB service?**

Mongo Express is an interface, not a database — it needs a MongoDB to administer, so bundling one means the template works as soon as it deploys. If you already run MongoDB elsewhere, point `ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_URL` at it and delete the bundled database.

**How do I log in to self-hosted Mongo Express?**

Sign in with `ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_USERNAME` and `ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_PASSWORD` from the mongo-express service; this template generates a random password rather than shipping the upstream default of `admin` / `pass`. There is no sign-up flow, so anyone needing access shares that credential, or you put an identity provider in front with `ME_CONFIG_AUTH_STRATEGY=oidc`.

**Is Mongo Express a replacement for MongoDB Compass?**

They overlap but differ in shape. Compass is a desktop app with a richer schema analyser, but it runs on one machine and needs network access to the database from there. Mongo Express runs beside the database and is reached over HTTPS, which is what makes it useful for a shared or remote instance.


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