Where Does MongoDB Compass Store Connections and Settings?
Compass stores favorites, recent queries, and pipelines in a per-user data folder, separate from its admin config file.
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Compass keeps your stuff in two different places and mixing them up wastes an afternoon. Favorites, recent queries, and saved aggregation pipelines live in a per-user data folder that migrates cleanly between machines. Administrator options like feature flags live in a separate config file beside the install.
The data folder name changed across editions, with older Community installs using a longer name. If your folder seems empty, check for a sibling with Community in the name and copy Connections, FavoriteQueries, RecentQueries, and SavedPipelines across.
Where MongoDB Compass stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\MongoDB Compass
Connections and query history live here. The admin config file mongodb-compass.cfg sits beside the Compass executable instead. Older Community installs used %APPDATA%\MongoDB Compass Community.
~/Library/Application Support/MongoDB Compass
Same files as Windows. The shared admin config is at /etc/mongodb-compass.conf. Community-era data sits in the MongoDB Compass Community sibling folder.
~/.config/MongoDB Compass
XDG config location with the same layout. Admin config at /etc/mongodb-compass.conf. Copy the whole folder to migrate machines.
Frequently asked questions
How do I move my Compass connections to a new computer?
Copy the Connections file, plus FavoriteQueries, RecentQueries, and SavedPipelines if you want history, into the data folder on the new machine with Compass closed. Passwords may need re-entering on first connect.
Where is the Compass configuration file?
That is the other file: mongodb-compass.cfg beside the install on Windows, or /etc/mongodb-compass.conf on Mac and Linux. It holds admin options like disabled features, not your connections. Most users never need to touch it.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.