Uninstall MongoDB in Ubuntu via command line in 3 easy steps

By | December 27, 2015

Step 1: Stop the service

sudo service mongod stop

Step 2: Remove packages

sudo apt-get purge mongodb-org*

Step 3: Remove data directories

sudo rm -r /var/log/mongodb
sudo rm -r /var/lib/mongodb

-r means recursive

Reference: https://docs.mongodb.org/v3.0/tutorial/install-mongodb-on-ubuntu/

13 thoughts on “Uninstall MongoDB in Ubuntu via command line in 3 easy steps”

  1. Tadese

    when i type this command sudo service mongod stop the ff error is raised
    Failed to stop mongod.service: Unit mongod.service not loaded.

    Reply ↓
  2. worhtles

    How about just check the offical mongodb docs?

    Oh; wait; it’s exactly the same as your answer…

    Reply ↓
  3. Luka

    Don’t forget to

    rm -rf /etc/

    folder as well (If you don’t intend on keeping the data). Mongo pre-allocates file sizes, meaning even if you have an almost empty database, the files still occupy a substantial amount of storage.

    Reply ↓
    1. anonymous captain

      Do not rm -rf /etc/ that will delete the entire etc folder with everything else

      Reply ↓
    2. Stuart

      Be careful with that command, you don’t want to delete all the “etc” directory

      Reply ↓
    3. David

      DONT TRY THIS. It will delete the entire etc folder. A$$hole.

      Reply ↓
      1. David

        Why does the admin accept such a comment?? Do you really understand this stuff? Or just copying from askubuntu?

        Reply ↓
        1. cloudnthings Post author

          Good point! Seems like this comment slipped through. Thanks for picking this up.

          Reply ↓
  4. Armando

    Thank you a lot!

    I install the wrong version for my ubuntu, and when i tried to install the correct version it was impossible.

    This command sudo rm -r /var/log/mongodb solve the problem. thanks

    Reply ↓
  5. Sam

    Luka’s response above of rm -rf /etc/ will completely screw your computer.

    Don’t run this command. It will delete the entire directory that contains all your config files.

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *