How to copy a collection from one database to another in MongoDB

Question

Is there a simple way to do this?

Answer 1

Actually, there is a command to move a collection from one database to another. It's just not called "move" or "copy".

To copy a collection, you can clone it on the same database, then move the cloned collection.

To clone:

> use db1
switched to db db1

> db.source_collection.find().forEach(
      function(x){
          db.collection_copy.insert(x)
      }
  );

To move:

> use admin
switched to db admin

> db.runCommand(
      {
          renameCollection: 'db1.source_collection',
          to              : 'db2.target_collection'
      }
  );

The other answers are better for copying the collection, but this is especially useful if you're looking to move it.