Command to show the database currently being used in MongoDB?

The command to show the database currently used in MongoDB is the following −

Syntax

db;

This command returns the name of the currently active database in your MongoDB session.

Check Available Databases

Let us first check how many databases are present. The query is as follows −

show dbs;

The following is the output displaying all the databases −

admin 0.000GB
config 0.000GB
local 0.000GB
sample 0.000GB
sampleDemo 0.000GB
studentSearch 0.000GB
test 0.003GB

Example 1: Check Current Database

Now, we have the list of all databases. Let us use the above syntax to check current database. The query is as follows −

db;

The following is the output −

sample

Look at the above sample output, we are currently using 'sample' database.

Example 2: Switch Database and Verify

Let us switch the database and verify again the correctness of command db. The query is as follows to switch database −

use test;
switched to db test

Now let us once again check the current database name. The query is as follows −

db;

The following is the output −

test

Alternative Method: Using getName()

You can also use the getName() function. The query is as follows −

db.getName();

The following is the output −

test

Conclusion

The db command is the simplest way to check your current working database in MongoDB. Both db and db.getName() return the same result, with db being more commonly used.

Updated on: 2026-03-15T00:11:10+05:30

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