Connect from your laptop or CI

If your application runs outside the Kubernetes cluster (for example on your laptop, in a CI pipeline, or in another cluster), it cannot use the internal DNS names like <cluster-name>-mongos.<namespace>.svc.cluster.local. You need to make the database reachable from outside the cluster.

Option 1: Port-forward (local development)

For quick local testing, you can forward a port from your machine to the MongoDB service inside the cluster. No changes to the Custom Resource are required.

Sharded cluster (mongos):

kubectl port-forward svc/<cluster-name>-mongos -n <namespace> 27017:27017

Replica set (sharding off):

kubectl port-forward svc/<cluster-name>-rs0 -n <namespace> 27017:27017

Then connect using localhost in your connection string:

• Sharded: mongodb://<user>:<password>@localhost:27017/admin?ssl=false
• Replica set: mongodb://<user>:<password>@localhost:27017/admin?replicaSet=rs0&ssl=false

Replace <cluster-name> and <namespace> with your values. Keep the port-forward running while you use the database. This option is suitable for one developer at a time; for shared dev or staging, use NodePort or LoadBalancer.

Option 2: Expose the cluster (NodePort or LoadBalancer)

To allow multiple developers, CI, or other services to reach the database without running kubectl port-forward, expose the cluster using a NodePort or LoadBalancer service. You configure this in the Custom Resource (for example deploy/cr.yaml).

• NodePort: The database is reachable at <node-ip>:<node-port>. You need the IP of a Kubernetes node and the port that the Operator assigned. Good for dev or staging when you have direct access to node IPs.
• LoadBalancer: The cloud provider (or your environment) creates a load balancer and gives you a hostname or IP. Use that hostname or IP in your connection string. Convenient on GKE, EKS, AKS, and similar.

For the exact Custom Resource options (expose.enabled, expose.type, and where to set them for mongos vs replica set), see Configure external access. The connection string format is the same as in Connect your application; only the host (and port for NodePort) change to the exposed address.

Summary

Scenario	Use
Quick local test, one developer	Port-forward to localhost:27017
Shared dev/staging, or CI	Expose with NodePort or LoadBalancer and use that host (and port) in the URI

After you have the host and port, build your URI as in Connect your application and use it in your app or in Connection examples.

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Last update: March 23, 2026
Created: March 23, 2026