How to uninstall MongoDB on a Mac, and the logs that outgrew the data
MongoDB from Homebrew is three packages, a data folder and a log folder. On our Mac the logs were larger than the databases. How to remove all of it.
How do I uninstall MongoDB installed with Homebrew?
brew services stop mongodb-community
brew uninstall mongodb-community mongosh mongodb-database-tools
brew untap mongodb/brewMongoDB comes as separate packages. On our Mac: the server mongodb-community 7.0.11 (268 MB), the shell mongosh (99 MB) and mongodb-database-tools (126 MB). Removing only the first leaves the other two.
Where does MongoDB keep its data and logs on a Mac?
| What | Where | Size here |
|---|---|---|
| Databases | /opt/homebrew/var/mongodb | 202 MB |
| Logs | /opt/homebrew/var/log/mongodb | 215 MB |
| Settings | /opt/homebrew/etc/mongod.conf | 4 KB |
| Shell history and settings | ~/.mongodb | 1.2 MB |
| Background launcher | ~/Library/LaunchAgents/homebrew.mxcl.mongodb-community.plist | 4 KB |
None of these are removed by brew uninstall. Export anything you need with mongodump first, then move them to the Trash.
Why are MongoDB's logs so big?
The server writes a log line for every connection and slow query, and on a Homebrew install nothing rotates the file. Left running for months, the log grows past the data it describes, as ours had.
Other databases on the same Mac: MySQL and PostgreSQL.
Common questions
How do I uninstall MongoDB on a Mac?
Run brew services stop mongodb-community, then brew uninstall mongodb-community mongosh mongodb-database-tools, then remove its data and log folders in /opt/homebrew/var.
Where is MongoDB installed on Mac?
With Homebrew, the program is in /opt/homebrew/Cellar, the data in /opt/homebrew/var/mongodb and the logs in /opt/homebrew/var/log/mongodb.