View a markdown version of this page

Getting started with Amazon DocumentDB - AWS SDK Code Examples

There are more AWS SDK examples available in the AWS Doc SDK Examples GitHub repo.

Getting started with Amazon DocumentDB

The following code example shows how to:

  • Create a DB subnet group

  • Create a DocumentDB cluster

  • Create a DocumentDB instance

  • Configure security and connectivity

  • Clean up resources

Bash
AWS CLI with Bash script
Note

There's more on GitHub. Find the complete example and learn how to set up and run in the Sample developer tutorials repository. 

#!/bin/bash
# Amazon DocumentDB - Getting Started
# This script creates a DocumentDB cluster with encrypted storage, stores the
# master password in Secrets Manager, and displays connection information.

set -eE

###############################################################################
# Configuration
###############################################################################
SUFFIX=$(LC_ALL=C tr -dc 'a-z0-9' </dev/urandom | head -c 8)
CLUSTER_ID="docdb-gs-${SUFFIX}"
INSTANCE_ID="${CLUSTER_ID}-inst"
SUBNET_GROUP_NAME="docdb-subnet-${SUFFIX}"
SECRET_NAME="docdb-secret-${SUFFIX}"
MASTER_USER="docdbadmin"
ENGINE_VERSION="5.0.0"
INSTANCE_CLASS="db.t3.medium"
DOCDB_PORT=27017
WAIT_TIMEOUT=900

TEMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
LOG_FILE="${TEMP_DIR}/documentdb-gs.log"
trap 'rm -rf "$TEMP_DIR"' EXIT

CREATED_RESOURCES=()

###############################################################################
# Logging
###############################################################################
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG_FILE") 2>&1

echo "Log file: $LOG_FILE"
echo ""

###############################################################################
# Region pre-check
###############################################################################
CONFIGURED_REGION=$(aws configure get region 2>/dev/null || true)
if [ -z "$CONFIGURED_REGION" ] && [ -z "$AWS_DEFAULT_REGION" ] && [ -z "$AWS_REGION" ]; then
    echo "ERROR: No AWS region configured."
    echo "Run 'aws configure set region <region>' or export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION."
    exit 1
fi
REGION="${AWS_REGION:-${AWS_DEFAULT_REGION:-$CONFIGURED_REGION}}"
echo "Using region: $REGION"
echo ""

###############################################################################
# Error handler
###############################################################################
handle_error() {
    echo ""
    echo "==========================================="
    echo "ERROR at $1"
    echo "==========================================="
    echo ""
    if [ ${#CREATED_RESOURCES[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
        echo "Resources created before error:"
        for r in "${CREATED_RESOURCES[@]}"; do
            echo "  - $r"
        done
        echo ""
        echo "Attempting cleanup..."
        cleanup_resources
    fi
    exit 1
}

trap 'handle_error "line $LINENO"' ERR

###############################################################################
# Wait function
###############################################################################
wait_for_status() {
    local resource_type="$1"
    local resource_id="$2"
    local target_status="$3"
    local timeout="${4:-$WAIT_TIMEOUT}"
    local elapsed=0
    local interval=30

    echo "Waiting for $resource_type '$resource_id' to reach '$target_status'..."

    while true; do
        local current_status=""
        if [ "$resource_type" = "cluster" ]; then
            current_status=$(aws docdb describe-db-clusters \
                --db-cluster-identifier "$resource_id" \
                --query "DBClusters[0].Status" --output text 2>&1)
        elif [ "$resource_type" = "instance" ]; then
            current_status=$(aws docdb describe-db-instances \
                --db-instance-identifier "$resource_id" \
                --query "DBInstances[0].DBInstanceStatus" --output text 2>&1)
        fi

        if echo "$current_status" | grep -iq "error"; then
            echo "ERROR checking status: $current_status"
            return 1
        fi

        echo "  Status: $current_status ($elapsed/${timeout}s)"

        if [ "$current_status" = "$target_status" ]; then
            echo "  $resource_type '$resource_id' is now '$target_status'."
            return 0
        fi

        if [ "$elapsed" -ge "$timeout" ]; then
            echo "ERROR: Timed out after ${timeout}s waiting for $resource_type '$resource_id'."
            return 1
        fi

        sleep "$interval"
        elapsed=$((elapsed + interval))
    done
}

###############################################################################
# Wait for deletion
###############################################################################
wait_for_deletion() {
    local resource_type="$1"
    local resource_id="$2"
    local timeout="${3:-$WAIT_TIMEOUT}"
    local elapsed=0
    local interval=30

    echo "Waiting for $resource_type '$resource_id' to be deleted..."

    while true; do
        local result=""
        if [ "$resource_type" = "cluster" ]; then
            result=$(aws docdb describe-db-clusters \
                --db-cluster-identifier "$resource_id" \
                --query "DBClusters[0].Status" --output text 2>&1) || true
        elif [ "$resource_type" = "instance" ]; then
            result=$(aws docdb describe-db-instances \
                --db-instance-identifier "$resource_id" \
                --query "DBInstances[0].DBInstanceStatus" --output text 2>&1) || true
        fi

        if echo "$result" | grep -iq "DBClusterNotFoundFault\|DBInstanceNotFound\|not found"; then
            echo "  $resource_type '$resource_id' deleted."
            return 0
        fi

        echo "  Still deleting... ($elapsed/${timeout}s)"

        if [ "$elapsed" -ge "$timeout" ]; then
            echo "WARNING: Timed out waiting for $resource_type '$resource_id' deletion."
            return 1
        fi

        sleep "$interval"
        elapsed=$((elapsed + interval))
    done
}

###############################################################################
# Cleanup
###############################################################################
cleanup_resources() {
    echo ""
    echo "Cleaning up resources..."
    echo ""

    # Revoke security group ingress rule
    if [ -n "${SG_ID:-}" ] && [ -n "${MY_IP:-}" ]; then
        echo "Revoking security group ingress rule..."
        aws ec2 revoke-security-group-ingress \
            --group-id "$SG_ID" \
            --protocol tcp \
            --port "$DOCDB_PORT" \
            --cidr "${MY_IP}/32" 2>&1 || echo "WARNING: Failed to revoke SG ingress rule."
    fi

    # Delete instance (must be deleted before cluster)
    if printf '%s\n' "${CREATED_RESOURCES[@]}" | grep -q "instance:"; then
        echo "Deleting instance '${INSTANCE_ID}'..."
        aws docdb delete-db-instance \
            --db-instance-identifier "$INSTANCE_ID" 2>&1 || echo "WARNING: Failed to delete instance."
        wait_for_deletion "instance" "$INSTANCE_ID" || true
    fi

    # Delete cluster (skip final snapshot)
    if printf '%s\n' "${CREATED_RESOURCES[@]}" | grep -q "cluster:"; then
        echo "Deleting cluster '${CLUSTER_ID}'..."
        aws docdb delete-db-cluster \
            --db-cluster-identifier "$CLUSTER_ID" \
            --skip-final-snapshot 2>&1 || echo "WARNING: Failed to delete cluster."
        wait_for_deletion "cluster" "$CLUSTER_ID" || true
    fi

    # Delete subnet group (must wait for cluster deletion)
    if printf '%s\n' "${CREATED_RESOURCES[@]}" | grep -q "subnet-group:"; then
        echo "Deleting subnet group '${SUBNET_GROUP_NAME}'..."
        aws docdb delete-db-subnet-group \
            --db-subnet-group-name "$SUBNET_GROUP_NAME" 2>&1 || echo "WARNING: Failed to delete subnet group."
    fi

    # Delete secret with scheduled deletion instead of immediate deletion
    if printf '%s\n' "${CREATED_RESOURCES[@]}" | grep -q "secret:"; then
        echo "Deleting secret '${SECRET_NAME}' (scheduled for 7 days)..."
        aws secretsmanager delete-secret \
            --secret-id "$SECRET_NAME" \
            --recovery-window-in-days 7 2>&1 || echo "WARNING: Failed to delete secret."
    fi

    echo ""
    echo "Cleanup complete."
}

###############################################################################
# Step 1: Generate password and store in Secrets Manager
###############################################################################
echo "==========================================="
echo "Step 1: Create master password in Secrets Manager"
echo "==========================================="
echo ""

# Generate a strong password using openssl for better randomness
# Meets DocumentDB requirements: 8-100 chars, alphanumeric + special chars
MASTER_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 32 | tr -d '/' | cut -c1-20)

# Securely store password in temporary file with restricted permissions
TEMP_PASS_FILE=$(mktemp)
chmod 600 "$TEMP_PASS_FILE"
echo -n "$MASTER_PASSWORD" > "$TEMP_PASS_FILE"
trap "rm -f '$TEMP_PASS_FILE'; rm -rf '$TEMP_DIR'" EXIT

SECRET_OUTPUT=$(aws secretsmanager create-secret \
    --name "$SECRET_NAME" \
    --description "DocumentDB master password for ${CLUSTER_ID}" \
    --secret-string file://"$TEMP_PASS_FILE" \
    --output text --query "ARN" 2>&1)

# Securely clear password from memory
MASTER_PASSWORD=""

if echo "$SECRET_OUTPUT" | grep -iq "error"; then
    echo "ERROR creating secret: $SECRET_OUTPUT"
    exit 1
fi

SECRET_ARN="$SECRET_OUTPUT"
CREATED_RESOURCES+=("secret:${SECRET_NAME}")
echo "Secret created: $SECRET_NAME"
echo "Secret ARN: $SECRET_ARN"
echo ""

###############################################################################
# Step 2: Find default VPC and subnets
###############################################################################
echo "==========================================="
echo "Step 2: Find default VPC and subnets"
echo "==========================================="
echo ""

VPC_ID=$(aws ec2 describe-vpcs \
    --filters "Name=isDefault,Values=true" \
    --query "Vpcs[0].VpcId" --output text 2>&1)

if echo "$VPC_ID" | grep -iq "error"; then
    echo "ERROR finding default VPC: $VPC_ID"
    exit 1
fi

if [ "$VPC_ID" = "None" ] || [ -z "$VPC_ID" ]; then
    echo "ERROR: No default VPC found. Create one with 'aws ec2 create-default-vpc'."
    exit 1
fi

echo "Default VPC: $VPC_ID"

# Get subnets in at least 2 different AZs (space-separated)
SUBNET_INFO=$(aws ec2 describe-subnets \
    --filters "Name=vpc-id,Values=${VPC_ID}" "Name=default-for-az,Values=true" \
    --query "Subnets[*].[SubnetId,AvailabilityZone]" --output text 2>&1)

if echo "$SUBNET_INFO" | grep -iq "error"; then
    echo "ERROR finding subnets: $SUBNET_INFO"
    exit 1
fi

# Collect unique AZs and their subnet IDs
declare -A AZ_SUBNETS
while IFS=$'\t' read -r sid az; do
    if [ -z "${AZ_SUBNETS[$az]+x}" ]; then
        AZ_SUBNETS[$az]="$sid"
    fi
done <<< "$SUBNET_INFO"

AZ_COUNT=${#AZ_SUBNETS[@]}
if [ "$AZ_COUNT" -lt 2 ]; then
    echo "ERROR: DocumentDB requires subnets in at least 2 AZs. Found $AZ_COUNT."
    exit 1
fi

# Build space-separated subnet ID list
SUBNET_IDS=""
for az in "${!AZ_SUBNETS[@]}"; do
    if [ -n "$SUBNET_IDS" ]; then
        SUBNET_IDS="${SUBNET_IDS} ${AZ_SUBNETS[$az]}"
    else
        SUBNET_IDS="${AZ_SUBNETS[$az]}"
    fi
done

echo "Subnets (${AZ_COUNT} AZs): $SUBNET_IDS"
echo ""

###############################################################################
# Step 3: Create subnet group
###############################################################################
echo "==========================================="
echo "Step 3: Create DocumentDB subnet group"
echo "==========================================="
echo ""

SUBNET_GROUP_OUTPUT=$(aws docdb create-db-subnet-group \
    --db-subnet-group-name "$SUBNET_GROUP_NAME" \
    --db-subnet-group-description "Subnet group for DocumentDB getting started" \
    --subnet-ids $SUBNET_IDS \
    --query "DBSubnetGroup.DBSubnetGroupName" --output text 2>&1)

if echo "$SUBNET_GROUP_OUTPUT" | grep -iq "error"; then
    echo "ERROR creating subnet group: $SUBNET_GROUP_OUTPUT"
    exit 1
fi

CREATED_RESOURCES+=("subnet-group:${SUBNET_GROUP_NAME}")
echo "Subnet group created: $SUBNET_GROUP_NAME"
echo ""

###############################################################################
# Step 4: Create DocumentDB cluster
###############################################################################
echo "==========================================="
echo "Step 4: Create DocumentDB cluster"
echo "==========================================="
echo ""

# Read password securely from file for cluster creation
MASTER_PASSWORD=$(cat "$TEMP_PASS_FILE")

CLUSTER_OUTPUT=$(aws docdb create-db-cluster \
    --db-cluster-identifier "$CLUSTER_ID" \
    --engine docdb \
    --engine-version "$ENGINE_VERSION" \
    --master-username "$MASTER_USER" \
    --master-user-password "$MASTER_PASSWORD" \
    --db-subnet-group-name "$SUBNET_GROUP_NAME" \
    --storage-encrypted \
    --kms-key-id "alias/aws/docdb" \
    --no-deletion-protection \
    --enable-cloudwatch-logs-exports '["audit","error","general","slowquery"]' \
    --query "DBCluster.DBClusterIdentifier" --output text 2>&1)

# Clear password immediately after use
MASTER_PASSWORD=""

if echo "$CLUSTER_OUTPUT" | grep -iq "error"; then
    echo "ERROR creating cluster: $CLUSTER_OUTPUT"
    exit 1
fi

CREATED_RESOURCES+=("cluster:${CLUSTER_ID}")
echo "Cluster created: $CLUSTER_ID"
echo ""

wait_for_status "cluster" "$CLUSTER_ID" "available"
echo ""

###############################################################################
# Step 5: Create DocumentDB instance
###############################################################################
echo "==========================================="
echo "Step 5: Create DocumentDB instance"
echo "==========================================="
echo ""

INSTANCE_OUTPUT=$(aws docdb create-db-instance \
    --db-instance-identifier "$INSTANCE_ID" \
    --db-instance-class "$INSTANCE_CLASS" \
    --db-cluster-identifier "$CLUSTER_ID" \
    --engine docdb \
    --query "DBInstance.DBInstanceIdentifier" --output text 2>&1)

if echo "$INSTANCE_OUTPUT" | grep -iq "error"; then
    echo "ERROR creating instance: $INSTANCE_OUTPUT"
    exit 1
fi

CREATED_RESOURCES+=("instance:${INSTANCE_ID}")
echo "Instance created: $INSTANCE_ID"
echo ""

wait_for_status "instance" "$INSTANCE_ID" "available"
echo ""

###############################################################################
# Step 6: Get cluster endpoint and security group
###############################################################################
echo "==========================================="
echo "Step 6: Get cluster endpoint and security group"
echo "==========================================="
echo ""

CLUSTER_DETAILS=$(aws docdb describe-db-clusters \
    --db-cluster-identifier "$CLUSTER_ID" \
    --query "DBClusters[0].[Endpoint,VpcSecurityGroups[0].VpcSecurityGroupId]" \
    --output text 2>&1)

if echo "$CLUSTER_DETAILS" | grep -iq "error"; then
    echo "ERROR getting cluster details: $CLUSTER_DETAILS"
    exit 1
fi

CLUSTER_ENDPOINT=$(echo "$CLUSTER_DETAILS" | awk '{print $1}')
SG_ID=$(echo "$CLUSTER_DETAILS" | awk '{print $2}')

echo "Cluster endpoint: $CLUSTER_ENDPOINT"
echo "Security group: $SG_ID"
echo ""

###############################################################################
# Step 7: Add security group ingress for port 27017 from user's IP
###############################################################################
echo "==========================================="
echo "Step 7: Add security group ingress rule"
echo "==========================================="
echo ""

# Get the user's public IP with timeout and error handling
MY_IP=$(timeout 5 curl -s --max-time 5 https://checkip.amazonaws.com 2>/dev/null || true)

if [ -z "$MY_IP" ] || echo "$MY_IP" | grep -iq "error\|could not\|failed"; then
    echo "WARNING: Could not determine public IP address. Skipping security group rule."
    echo "You must manually add an ingress rule for your IP to security group $SG_ID"
    MY_IP=""
else
    # Trim whitespace
    MY_IP=$(echo "$MY_IP" | tr -d '[:space:]')
    
    # Validate IP format (basic check)
    if ! echo "$MY_IP" | grep -qE '^[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}$'; then
        echo "WARNING: Invalid IP address format: $MY_IP. Skipping security group rule."
        MY_IP=""
    else
        echo "Your public IP: $MY_IP"
        
        SG_RULE_OUTPUT=$(aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress \
            --group-id "$SG_ID" \
            --protocol tcp \
            --port "$DOCDB_PORT" \
            --cidr "${MY_IP}/32" 2>&1)
        
        if echo "$SG_RULE_OUTPUT" | grep -iq "error"; then
            # Ignore if rule already exists
            if echo "$SG_RULE_OUTPUT" | grep -iq "Duplicate"; then
                echo "Ingress rule already exists."
            else
                echo "ERROR adding ingress rule: $SG_RULE_OUTPUT"
                exit 1
            fi
        else
            echo "Ingress rule added: TCP ${DOCDB_PORT} from ${MY_IP}/32"
            CREATED_RESOURCES+=("sg-rule:${SG_ID}:${MY_IP}")
        fi
    fi
fi

echo ""

###############################################################################
# Step 8: Download CA certificate
###############################################################################
echo "==========================================="
echo "Step 8: Download Amazon DocumentDB CA certificate"
echo "==========================================="
echo ""

CA_CERT_PATH="${TEMP_DIR}/global-bundle.pem"
CA_CERT_URL="https://truststore.pki.rds.amazonaws.com/global/global-bundle.pem"

if timeout 10 curl -s --max-time 10 -o "$CA_CERT_PATH" "$CA_CERT_URL" 2>&1; then
    if [ -s "$CA_CERT_PATH" ]; then
        # Verify it's a valid PEM file and check file permissions
        if grep -q "BEGIN CERTIFICATE" "$CA_CERT_PATH"; then
            chmod 644 "$CA_CERT_PATH"
            echo "CA certificate downloaded to: $CA_CERT_PATH"
        else
            echo "WARNING: Downloaded file is not a valid PEM certificate."
            CA_CERT_PATH=""
        fi
    else
        echo "WARNING: Failed to download CA certificate (empty file)."
        CA_CERT_PATH=""
    fi
else
    echo "WARNING: Failed to download CA certificate (timeout or network error)."
    CA_CERT_PATH=""
fi

echo ""

###############################################################################
# Step 9: Display connection information
###############################################################################
echo "==========================================="
echo "CONNECTION INFORMATION"
echo "==========================================="
echo ""
echo "Cluster endpoint : $CLUSTER_ENDPOINT"
echo "Port             : $DOCDB_PORT"
echo "Master username  : $MASTER_USER"
echo "Secret name      : $SECRET_NAME (contains password)"
echo "Security group   : $SG_ID"
if [ -n "$CA_CERT_PATH" ]; then
    echo "CA certificate   : $CA_CERT_PATH"
fi
echo ""
echo "To connect with mongosh:"
if [ -n "$CA_CERT_PATH" ]; then
    echo "  mongosh --tls --host ${CLUSTER_ENDPOINT} --tlsCAFile ${CA_CERT_PATH} \\"
else
    echo "  mongosh --tls --host ${CLUSTER_ENDPOINT} \\"
fi
echo "    --retryWrites false --username ${MASTER_USER} --password \$(aws secretsmanager get-secret-value --secret-id ${SECRET_NAME} --query SecretString --output text)"
echo ""

###############################################################################
# Step 10: Cleanup
###############################################################################
echo ""
echo "==========================================="
echo "CLEANUP CONFIRMATION"
echo "==========================================="
echo ""
echo "Resources created:"
for r in "${CREATED_RESOURCES[@]}"; do
    echo "  - $r"
done
echo ""
echo "Automatically cleaning up all created resources..."
echo ""

cleanup_resources

echo "Done."