Quickstart: Use Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore with MongoDB driver for Node.js

2025-06-11
Applies to: ✅ MongoDB (vCore)

In this quickstart, you deploy a basic Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB application using Node.js. Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore is a schemaless data store allowing applications to store unstructured documents in the cloud with MongoDB libraries. You learn how to create documents and perform basic tasks within your Azure Cosmos DB resource using Node.js.

Library source code | Package (npm) | Azure Developer CLI

Prerequisites

Azure Developer CLI
Docker Desktop

An Azure subscription
- If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a free account before you begin.

Node.js 22 or newer

Initialize the project

Use the Azure Developer CLI (azd) to create an Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore cluster and deploy a containerized sample application. The sample application uses the client library to manage, create, read, and query sample data.

Open a terminal in an empty directory.
If you're not already authenticated, authenticate to the Azure Developer CLI using azd auth login. Follow the steps specified by the tool to authenticate to the CLI using your preferred Azure credentials.
```
azd auth login
```

Use azd init to initialize the project.

azd init --template cosmos-db-mongodb-vcore-nodejs-quickstart

During initialization, configure a unique environment name.
Deploy the cluster using azd up. The Bicep templates also deploy a sample web application.
```
azd up
```
During the provisioning process, select your subscription, desired ___location, and target resource group. Wait for the provisioning process to complete. The process can take approximately ten minutes.

Once the provisioning of your Azure resources is done, a URL to the running web application is included in the output.

Deploying services (azd deploy)

  (✓) Done: Deploying service web
- Endpoint: <https://[container-app-sub-___domain].azurecontainerapps.io>

SUCCESS: Your application was provisioned and deployed to Azure in 5 minutes 0 seconds.

Use the URL in the console to navigate to your web application in the browser. Observe the output of the running app.

Screenshot of the running web application.

Install the client library

The client library is available through npm, as the mongodb package.

Open a terminal and navigate to the /src/ts folder.
```
cd ./src/ts
```
If not already installed, install the mongodb package using npm install.
```
npm install --save mongodb
```
If not already installed, install the @azure/identity package using npm install.
```
npm install --save @azure/identity
```
Open and review the src/ts/package.json file to validate that both package entries exist.

Open a terminal and navigate to the /src/js folder.
```
cd ./src/js
```
If not already installed, install the mongodb package using npm install.
```
npm install --save mongodb
```
If not already installed, install the @azure/identity package using npm install.
```
npm install --save @azure/identity
```
Open and review the src/js/package.json file to validate that both package entries exist.

Import libraries

Import the following namespaces into your application code:

	Package	Source
`TokenCredential`	`@azure/identity`	Azure SDK for JavaScript
`DefaultAzureCredential`	`@azure/identity`	Azure SDK for JavaScript
`MongoClient`	`mongodb`	Official MongoDB driver for Node.js

import { DefaultAzureCredential, TokenCredential } from '@azure/identity';

import { MongoClient } from 'mongodb';

Import all required types into your application code including, but not limited to:

	Package	Source
`TokenCredential`	`@azure/identity`	Azure SDK for JavaScript
`DefaultAzureCredential`	`@azure/identity`	Azure SDK for JavaScript
`MongoClient`	`mongodb`	Official MongoDB driver for Node.js

import { AccessToken, DefaultAzureCredential, TokenCredential } from '@azure/identity';

import { Collection, Db, Filter, FindCursor, MongoClient, OIDCCallbackParams, OIDCResponse, UpdateFilter, UpdateOptions, UpdateResult, WithId } from 'mongodb';

Object model

Name	Description
MongoClient	Type used to connect to MongoDB.
`Database`	Represents a database in the cluster.
`Collection`	Represents a collection within a database in the cluster.

The sample code in the template uses a database named cosmicworks and collection named products. The products collection contains details such as name, category, quantity, and a unique identifier for each product. The collection uses the /category property as a shard key.

Authenticate the client

While Microsoft Entra authentication for Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore can use well known TokenCredential types, you must implement a custom token handler. This sample implementation can be used to create a MongoClient with support for standard Microsoft Entra authentication of many identity types.

First, define a callback named AzureIdentityTokenCallback that takes in OIDCCallbackParams and TokenCredential and then asynchronously returns a OIDCResponse.

const AzureIdentityTokenCallback = async (params: OIDCCallbackParams, credential: TokenCredential): Promise<OIDCResponse> => {
    const tokenResponse: AccessToken | null = await credential.getToken(['https://ossrdbms-aad.database.windows.net/.default']);
    return {
        accessToken: tokenResponse?.token || '',
        expiresInSeconds: (tokenResponse?.expiresOnTimestamp || 0) - Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
    };
};

Define variables for your cluster name and token credential.

const clusterName: string = '<azure-cosmos-db-mongodb-vcore-cluster-name>';

const credential: TokenCredential = new DefaultAzureCredential();

Build an instance of MongoClient using your cluster name, and the known best practice configuration options for Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore. Also, configure your custom authentication mechanism.

const client = new MongoClient(
    `mongodb+srv://${clusterName}.global.mongocluster.cosmos.azure.com/`, {
    connectTimeoutMS: 120000,
    tls: true,
    retryWrites: true,
    authMechanism: 'MONGODB-OIDC',
    authMechanismProperties: {
            OIDC_CALLBACK: (params: OIDCCallbackParams) => AzureIdentityTokenCallback(params, credential),
            ALLOWED_HOSTS: ['*.azure.com']
        }
    }
);

First, define a callback named azureIdentityTokenCallback that takes in parameters and a token credential and then asynchronously returns a response.

const azureIdentityTokenCallback = async (_, credential) => {
    const tokenResponse = await credential.getToken(['https://ossrdbms-aad.database.windows.net/.default']);

    if (!tokenResponse || !tokenResponse.token) {
        throw new Error('Failed to retrieve a valid access token.');
    }

    return {
        accessToken: tokenResponse.token,
        expiresInSeconds: Math.floor((tokenResponse.expiresOnTimestamp - Date.now()) / 1000),
    };
};

Define variables for your cluster name and token credential.

const clusterName = '<azure-cosmos-db-mongodb-vcore-cluster-name>';

const credential = new DefaultAzureCredential();

client = new MongoClient(`mongodb+srv://${clusterName}.global.mongocluster.cosmos.azure.com/`, {
    connectTimeoutMS: 120000,
    tls: true,
    retryWrites: true,
    authMechanism: 'MONGODB-OIDC',
    authMechanismProperties: {
        OIDC_CALLBACK: (params) => azureIdentityTokenCallback(params, credential),
        ALLOWED_HOSTS: ['*.azure.com']
    }
});

await client.connect();

Get a database

This sample creates an instance of the Db type using the db function of the MongoClient type.

const database: Db = client.db("<database-name>");

const database = client.db("<database-name>");

Get a collection

This sample creates an instance of the Collection type using the collection function of the Db type.

This function has a generic parameter that uses the Product type defined in an interface.

const collection: Collection<Product> = database.collection<Product>("<collection-name>");

export interface Product {
    _id: string;
    category: string;
    name: string;
    quantity: number;
    price: number;
    clearance: boolean;
}

const collection = database.collection("<collection-name>");

Create a document

Create a document in the collection using collection.updateOne. This method "upserts" the item effectively replacing the item if it already exists.

var document: Product = {
    _id: 'aaaaaaaa-0000-1111-2222-bbbbbbbbbbbb',
    category: 'gear-surf-surfboards',
    name: 'Yamba Surfboard',
    quantity: 12,
    price: 850.00,
    clearance: false
};

var query: Filter<Product> = {
    _id: 'aaaaaaaa-0000-1111-2222-bbbbbbbbbbbb',
    category: 'gear-surf-surfboards'
};
var payload: UpdateFilter<Product> = {
    $set: document
};
var options: UpdateOptions = {
    upsert: true
};
var response: UpdateResult<Product> = await collection.updateOne(query, payload, options);

var document = {
    _id: 'aaaaaaaa-0000-1111-2222-bbbbbbbbbbbb',
    category: 'gear-surf-surfboards',
    name: 'Yamba Surfboard',
    quantity: 12,
    price: 850.00,
    clearance: false
};

const query = {
    _id: 'aaaaaaaa-0000-1111-2222-bbbbbbbbbbbb',
    category: 'gear-surf-surfboards'
};
const payload = {
    $set: document
};
const options = {
    upsert: true,
    new: true
};
var response = await collection.updateOne(query, payload, options);

Read a document

Perform a point read operation by using both the unique identifier (id) and shard key fields. Use collection.findOne to efficiently retrieve the specific item.

var query: Filter<Product> = { 
    _id: 'aaaaaaaa-0000-1111-2222-bbbbbbbbbbbb', 
    category: 'gear-surf-surfboards' 
};

var response: WithId<Product> | null = await collection.findOne(query);

var query = { 
    _id: 'aaaaaaaa-0000-1111-2222-bbbbbbbbbbbb', 
    category: 'gear-surf-surfboards' 
};

var response = await collection.findOne(query);

Query documents

Perform a query over multiple items in a container using collection.find. This query finds all items within a specified category (shard key).

var query: Filter<Product> = { 
    category: 'gear-surf-surfboards' 
};

var response: FindCursor<WithId<Product>> = collection.find(query);

for await (const item of response) {
    // Do something with each item
}

var query = { 
    category: 'gear-surf-surfboards' 
};

var response = collection.find(query);

for await (const item of response) {
    // Do something with each item
}

Delete a document

Delete a document by sending a filter for the unique identifier of the document. Use collection.deleteOne<> to asynchronously remove the document from the collection.

var filter: Filter<Product> = { 
    _id: 'aaaaaaaa-0000-1111-2222-bbbbbbbbbbbb'
};

await collection.deleteOne(filter);

const filter = {
    _id: 'aaaaaaaa-0000-1111-2222-bbbbbbbbbbbb'
};

await collection.deleteOne(filter);

Explore your data

Use the Visual Studio Code extension for Azure Cosmos DB to explore your MongoDB vCore data. You can perform core database operations including, but not limited to:

Performing queries using a scrapbook or the query editor
Modifying, updating, creating, and deleting documents
Importing bulk data from other sources
Managing databases and collections

For more information, see How-to use Visual Studio Code extension to explore Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore data.

Clean up resources

When you no longer need the sample application or resources, remove the corresponding deployment and all resources.

azd down --force

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