DEV Community: RANA SAHA

How to Setup MongoDB with Laravel (Quick Guide)

RANA SAHA — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 11:06:31 +0000

Modern web applications often need scalable and flexible data storage — and that’s where MongoDB fits perfectly.

It’s a NoSQL database that stores data in JSON-like documents, making it ideal for dynamic or unstructured data.

By integrating MongoDB with Laravel, you can enjoy both:

Laravel’s expressive Eloquent-like syntax, and
MongoDB’s flexible schema and high scalability.

This step-by-step guide explains how to connect a Laravel application with MongoDB using the official mongodb/laravel-mongodb package.

You’ll learn how to install dependencies, configure your environment, and test basic CRUD operations seamlessly.

⚙️ What You'll Learn

Install the MongoDB driver for Laravel
Configure your .env and database settings
Create models and run CRUD operations
Test your setup with Tinker
Troubleshoot connection issues

🧩 Prerequisites

PHP (compatible version for your Laravel installation)
Composer
A MongoDB instance (local or MongoDB Atlas)

1️⃣ Install the MongoDB Laravel Package

Run the following command in your Laravel project:

composer require mongodb/laravel-mongodb

If you need to bypass the PHP extension check (not recommended for production):

composer require mongodb/laravel-mongodb --ignore-platform-req=ext-mongodb

2️⃣ Configure Your .env

Update your database configuration in .env:

DB_CONNECTION=mongodb
MONGODB_URI="mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@cluster0.mongodb.net"
MONGODB_DATABASE=laravel_mongo_demo

Replace , , and the database name with your details.

3️⃣ Update config/database.php

Add or modify your MongoDB connection configuration:

'mongodb' => [
    'driver'   => 'mongodb',
    'dsn'      => env('MONGODB_URI'),
    'database' => env('MONGODB_DATABASE'),
],

4️⃣ Create a Model and Use It

Create a model called Post:

php artisan make:model Post

Example usage:

// Create a new post
App\Models\Post::create([
    'title'  => 'First Post',
    'body'   => 'Testing MongoDB with Laravel.',
    'author' => 'Admin',
    'status' => 'published',
]);

// Fetch all posts
App\Models\Post::all();

5️⃣ Quick Test with Tinker

Run Tinker to test the setup:

php artisan tinker

Then try the example create/fetch commands above.

⚡ Optional — Install PHP MongoDB Extension

For better performance and full driver support, install the MongoDB PHP extension.

Install via PECL or your package manager.
On Windows (WAMP/XAMPP):

Download from PECL
Place the .dll file in your PHP ext folder (e.g. C:\wamp64\bin\php<php-version>\ext)
Add extension=mongodb to your php.ini
Restart your server and verify:

php -m | find "mongodb"

🐞 Troubleshooting

If php artisan tinker errors occur, ensure the MongoDB extension is enabled.
Check your .env credentials and MongoDB Atlas IP whitelist.
Review logs at storage/logs/laravel.log for driver or connection issues.

✅ Conclusion

Integrating MongoDB with Laravel is simple and powerful using the mongodb/laravel-mongodb package.
With this setup, you can perform CRUD operations effortlessly while enjoying MongoDB’s flexibility and scalability.

🔗 Resources

📘 Full Blog Post:
👉 How to Setup MongoDB with Laravel (on Blogger)

💻 Source Code on GitHub:
👉 RanaGithub30/Setup-MongoDB-with-Laravel

How to Set Up & Use Laravel Telescope for Debugging and Monitoring

RANA SAHA — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 14:28:19 +0000

Ever wondered what’s happening behind the scenes in your Laravel app? Laravel Telescope gives you full visibility into requests, database queries, exceptions, jobs, mail, notifications, and more—all in one elegant dashboard. Whether you’re debugging or optimizing performance, Telescope is a must-have tool for Laravel developers.

Step 1: Install Telescope
Run this Composer command in your Laravel project directory:

composer require laravel/telescope --dev

The --dev flag ensures Telescope is installed only in your local environment.

Step 2: Publish Telescope Assets
After installation, run:

php artisan telescope:install

Then migrate the database to create the required tables:

php artisan migrate

Step 3: Secure Telescope in Production
Telescope should not be publicly accessible in production. Laravel allows you to define a gate to limit access:

protected function gate()
{
    Gate::define('viewTelescope', function ($user) {
        return in_array($user->email, [
            'admin@example.com',
        ]);
    });
}

Only authorized users will be able to view Telescope if enabled in production.

Step 4: Access the Telescope Dashboard
Start your local server:

php artisan serve

Then open Telescope in your browser:

http://localhost:8000/telescope

You’ll see tabs like Requests, Queries, Exceptions, Logs, Mail, and more.

Step 5: Explore Telescope Features

Requests: Monitor incoming HTTP requests and responses
Exceptions: Track errors with full stack traces
Queries: View SQL queries and execution times
Jobs & Queues: Debug queued jobs and failures
Cache: Inspect cache hits and misses
Mail & Notifications: See emails and notifications sent by your app
Logs: Centralized log entries for easier debugging

Step 6: Manage Telescope Data
Telescope stores data in your database. To avoid it growing too large, prune old entries:

php artisan telescope:prune --hours=48

You can also schedule pruning automatically in app/Console/Kernel.php:

protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule)
{
    $schedule->command('telescope:prune --hours=48')->daily();
}

Conclusion

Laravel Telescope is an essential tool for Laravel developers. It helps you debug queries, track exceptions, monitor jobs, and optimize application performance. Start using it today and see exactly what’s happening inside your application.

You can also read this tutorial on my blogger website
for more Laravel guides and updates.