How to delete a collection in MongoDB?

Question

What is the best way to delete a collection in MongoDB?

I am using the following:

db.collection.drop() 

As described in the manual :

db.collection.drop ()

Deletes a collection from the database. The method also removes any indexes associated with the dropped collection. The method provides a wrapper around the drop command.

But how can I remove it from the command line?

Answer 1

Thus, any of these methods is valid:

 mongo <dbname> --eval 'db.<collection>.drop()' db.<collection>.drop() 

---

So I tested it completely by creating a mytest database with the hello collection.

• Create db mytest :

   > use mytest switched to db mytest 

• Create a hello collection:

   > db.createCollection("hello") { "ok" : 1 } 

• Show all collections there:

   > db.getCollectionNames() [ "hello", "system.indexes" ] 

• Insert some dummy data:

   > db.hello.insert({'a':'b'}) WriteResult({ "nInserted" : 1 }) 

• Make sure it is inserted:

   > db.hello.find() { "_id" : ObjectId("55849b22317df91febf39fa9"), "a" : "b" } 

• Delete the collection and make sure that it is no longer there:

   > db.hello.drop() true > db.getCollectionNames() [ "system.indexes" ] 

This also works (I do not repeat the previous commands, since this is just a recreation of the database and collection):

 $ mongo mytest --eval 'db.hello.drop()' MongoDB shell version: 2.6.10 connecting to: mytest true $ 

Answer 2

To remove the 'users' collection from the 'mydb' database:

 $ use mydb $ db.users.drop()