MongoDB with PHP

PHP remains one of the most widely used server-side languages, powering WordPress, Laravel, and millions of web applications. Integrating MongoDB with PHP gives you the flexibility of a document database with PHP's mature web ecosystem. This episode covers installation, CRUD operations, and practical patterns.

Installing the MongoDB PHP Driver

You need two components: the PHP extension (low-level driver) and the PHP library (high-level abstraction).

Step 1: Install the PHP Extension

# Using PECL
pecl install mongodb

# Add to php.ini
extension=mongodb.so

# Verify installation
php -m | grep mongodb
# Output: mongodb

# Check version
php --ri mongodb

Step 2: Install the PHP Library

# Using Composer
composer require mongodb/mongodb

Connecting to MongoDB

<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use MongoDB\Client;

// Connect to local MongoDB
$client = new Client('mongodb://localhost:27017');

// Connect with authentication
$client = new Client('mongodb://username:password@localhost:27017/admin');

// Get a database
$db = $client->blogApp;

// Get a collection
$collection = $db->posts;

echo "Connected to MongoDB!\n";

Insert Documents

// Insert one document
$result = $collection->insertOne([
    'title' => 'Getting Started with MongoDB and PHP',
    'content' => 'This tutorial covers MongoDB basics...',
    'author' => 'John Doe',
    'tags' => ['mongodb', 'php', 'tutorial'],
    'likes' => 0,
    'published' => true,
    'createdAt' => new MongoDB\BSON\UTCDateTime()
]);

echo "Inserted ID: " . $result->getInsertedId() . "\n";

// Insert many documents
$result = $collection->insertMany([
    [
        'title' => 'PHP Arrays Deep Dive',
        'author' => 'Jane Smith',
        'tags' => ['php', 'arrays'],
        'published' => true,
        'createdAt' => new MongoDB\BSON\UTCDateTime()
    ],
    [
        'title' => 'Docker for PHP Developers',
        'author' => 'Bob Wilson',
        'tags' => ['php', 'docker', 'devops'],
        'published' => false,
        'createdAt' => new MongoDB\BSON\UTCDateTime()
    ]
]);

echo "Inserted " . $result->getInsertedCount() . " documents\n";

Query Documents

// Find one document
$post = $collection->findOne(['author' => 'John Doe']);
echo $post['title'] . "\n";

// Find multiple documents
$cursor = $collection->find(['published' => true]);
foreach ($cursor as $post) {
    echo $post['title'] . " by " . $post['author'] . "\n";
}

// With comparison operators
$cursor = $collection->find([
    'likes' => ['$gte' => 10],
    'published' => true
]);

// With sorting, limit, and projection
$options = [
    'sort' => ['createdAt' => -1],
    'limit' => 10,
    'projection' => ['title' => 1, 'author' => 1, '_id' => 0]
];
$cursor = $collection->find(['published' => true], $options);

// Regex search
$cursor = $collection->find([
    'title' => ['$regex' => 'mongodb', '$options' => 'i']
]);

// Count documents
$count = $collection->countDocuments(['published' => true]);
echo "Published posts: $count\n";

Update Documents

// Update one document
$result = $collection->updateOne(
    ['author' => 'John Doe'],
    ['$set' => ['likes' => 42], '$inc' => ['views' => 1]]
);
echo "Modified: " . $result->getModifiedCount() . "\n";

// Update many documents
$result = $collection->updateMany(
    ['published' => false],
    ['$set' => ['status' => 'draft']]
);

// Upsert
$result = $collection->updateOne(
    ['slug' => 'unique-post'],
    ['$set' => ['title' => 'Unique Post', 'views' => 0]],
    ['upsert' => true]
);

// Find and update (returns the document)
$post = $collection->findOneAndUpdate(
    ['_id' => $postId],
    ['$inc' => ['views' => 1]],
    ['returnDocument' => MongoDB\Operation\FindOneAndUpdate::RETURN_DOCUMENT_AFTER]
);

Delete Documents

// Delete one
$result = $collection->deleteOne(['_id' => $postId]);
echo "Deleted: " . $result->getDeletedCount() . "\n";

// Delete many
$result = $collection->deleteMany([
    'createdAt' => ['$lt' => new MongoDB\BSON\UTCDateTime(strtotime('-1 year') * 1000)]
]);

// Find and delete (returns the deleted document)
$deleted = $collection->findOneAndDelete(['status' => 'pending']);

Aggregation

// Posts per author
$pipeline = [
    ['$match' => ['published' => true]],
    ['$group' => [
        '_id' => '$author',
        'postCount' => ['$sum' => 1],
        'totalLikes' => ['$sum' => '$likes']
    ]],
    ['$sort' => ['totalLikes' => -1]],
    ['$limit' => 5]
];

$cursor = $collection->aggregate($pipeline);
foreach ($cursor as $result) {
    echo $result['_id'] . ": " . $result['postCount'] . " posts, " . $result['totalLikes'] . " likes\n";
}

Laravel Integration

For Laravel projects, use the official MongoDB package:

# Install
composer require mongodb/laravel-mongodb

// config/database.php — add MongoDB connection
'mongodb' => [
    'driver' => 'mongodb',
    'host' => env('MONGO_HOST', 'localhost'),
    'port' => env('MONGO_PORT', 27017),
    'database' => env('MONGO_DATABASE', 'blogApp'),
    'username' => env('MONGO_USERNAME', ''),
    'password' => env('MONGO_PASSWORD', ''),
],

// app/Models/Post.php
use MongoDB\Laravel\Eloquent\Model;

class Post extends Model
{
    protected $connection = 'mongodb';
    protected $collection = 'posts';

    protected $fillable = ['title', 'content', 'author', 'tags', 'published'];
    protected $casts = ['published' => 'boolean', 'tags' => 'array'];
}

// Usage — same Eloquent syntax!
$posts = Post::where('published', true)
    ->orderBy('created_at', 'desc')
    ->take(10)
    ->get();

What's Next

You can now use MongoDB with PHP in both standalone and Laravel applications. In the next and final episode, we'll integrate MongoDB with Go — using the official Go driver for high-performance backend services.