2. Connect and insert sample data

In this tutorial, you connect to the Percona Server for MongoDB cluster you deployed previously, then insert some sample data so later steps have something to work with.

Connect to the database

The Operator creates a Secret with a ready-to-use connection string for the databaseAdmin user. Use it to connect to the database.

1. List the Secrets objects

   kubectl get secrets -n <namespace>
   

   The connection string Secret is named <cluster_name>-databaseadmin-conn-str. The <cluster_name> value is the name of your Percona Server for MongoDB. The default variant is:

   via kubectlvia Helm

   my-cluster-name-databaseadmin-conn-str

   cluster1-databaseadmin-conn-str

2. Retrieve the connection string. Replace <cluster-name> and <namespace> with your values:

   sharding is onsharding is off

   kubectl get secret <cluster-name>-databaseadmin-conn-str -n <namespace> \
     -o jsonpath='{.data.databaseAdmin_mongos_connectionString}' | base64 --decode && echo
   

   Sample output

   mongodb://databaseAdmin:[email protected]:27017/?authSource=admin
   

   kubectl get secret <cluster-name>-databaseadmin-conn-str -n <namespace> \
     -o jsonpath='{.data.databaseAdmin_rs0_connectionStringSrv}' | base64 --decode && echo
   

   Sample output

   mongodb+srv://databaseAdmin:password123456@my-cluster-name-rs0.mongodb-operator.svc.cluster.local/?authSource=admin&replicaSet=rs0
   

   See Connection secrets for other key names (standard URI, exposed endpoints, custom users).

3. Open an interactive mongosh shell using that connection string.

   • Run the container with a MongoDB client and connect its console output to your terminal. The following command does this, naming the new Pod percona-client:

     kubectl -n <namespace> run -i --rm --tty percona-client --image=percona/percona-server-mongodb:8.0.26-11 --restart=Never -- bash -il
     

   • Connect to Percona Server for MongoDB using the connection string from step 2:

     mongosh "<connection-string>"
     

     Example

     The following example connects to the admin database of a Percona Server for MongoDB 8.0 sharded cluster named my-cluster-name in the mongodb-operator namespace:

     mongosh "mongodb://databaseAdmin:databaseAdminPassword@my-cluster-name-mongos.mongodb-operator.svc.cluster.local/admin?authSource=admin"
     

     The exact URI depends on your cluster configuration. Use the value retrieved from the connection string Secret.

To connect from your own application (connection string, credentials, code examples) instead, see Get started (developer path) or Connect your application.

Keep this shell open - you’ll use it in the next section.

Insert sample data

MongoDB provides multiple methods for data insert . We will use a For loop to insert some sample documents.

1. Run the following command:

   admin> for (var i = 1; i <= 50; i++) {
      db.test.insertOne( { x : i } )
   }
   

   If there is no test collection created, MongoDB creates when inserting documents.

   Output

   {
     acknowledged: true,
     insertedId: ObjectId("652567e5eedca48f97e1868f")
   }
   

2. Query the collection to verify the data insertion

   admin> db.test.find()
   

   Output

   [
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e1865e"), x: 1 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e1865f"), x: 2 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18660"), x: 3 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18661"), x: 4 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18662"), x: 5 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18663"), x: 6 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18664"), x: 7 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18665"), x: 8 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18666"), x: 9 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18667"), x: 10 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18668"), x: 11 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18669"), x: 12 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e1866a"), x: 13 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e1866b"), x: 14 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e1866c"), x: 15 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e1866d"), x: 16 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e1866e"), x: 17 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e1866f"), x: 18 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18670"), x: 19 },
     { _id: ObjectId("652567e4eedca48f97e18671"), x: 20 }
   ]
   

   You will have different _id values.

Now your cluster has some data in it.

You’re done with the percona-client Pod now. Exit mongosh and the shell (exit or Ctrl+D, twice), then delete the Pod:

kubectl delete pod percona-client -n <namespace>

Congratulations! You have connected to Percona Server for MongoDB and inserted sample data.

Next steps

Take your first backup

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Last update: September 14, 2026
Created: November 16, 2023