Code Summary: Using the MongoDB Shell

The following sections explain how to use mongosh to run external scripts and to edit commands in an external editor.

Run External Scripts

To run an external script in mongosh, use the load() method. For example, to run the randomPost.js file, you would run the following code:

load('randomPost.js')

Within your script, you can use the db.getSiblingDB() method to access a database without having to switch to it in mongosh. For example, here’s how you would access the sample_training database in the randomPost.js script:

db = db.getSiblingDB("sample_training");
console.log(`\nCurrent database: ${db.getName()}`);
console.log("Random post sample of 500 words:\n");
let result = db.posts.aggregate({
 $sample: { size: 1 },
});
printjson(result.next().body.slice(0, 500) + " ...");

Edit Commands in an External Editor

To edit a function or command in an external text editor, like Vim or nano, while using mongosh, use the edit command. To use this command, you must first set the config.editor value in mongosh. To do so, use the config.set() method:

config.set("editor", "vim")

Once the editor is set, you can then use edit to modify a new or existing command. For example, to edit the giveMeADate function, you would run the following code:

edit giveMeADate