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name: databases description: Work with MongoDB (document database, BSON documents, aggregation pipelines, Atlas cloud) and PostgreSQL (relational database, SQL queries, psql CLI, pgAdmin). Use when designing database schemas, writing queries and aggregations, optimizing indexes for performance, performing database migrations, configuring replication and sharding, implementing backup and restore strategies, managing database users and permissions, analyzing query performance, or administering production databases. license: MIT

Databases Skill

Unified guide for working with MongoDB (document-oriented) and PostgreSQL (relational) databases. Choose the right database for your use case and master both systems.

Database Selection Guide

Choose MongoDB When:

• Schema flexibility: frequent structure changes, heterogeneous data
• Document-centric: natural JSON/BSON data model
• Horizontal scaling: need to shard across multiple servers
• High write throughput: IoT, logging, real-time analytics
• Nested/hierarchical data: embedded documents preferred
• Rapid prototyping: schema evolution without migrations

Best for: Content management, catalogs, IoT time series, real-time analytics, mobile apps, user profiles

Choose PostgreSQL When:

• Strong consistency: ACID transactions critical
• Complex relationships: many-to-many joins, referential integrity
• SQL requirement: team expertise, reporting tools, BI systems
• Data integrity: strict schema validation, constraints
• Mature ecosystem: extensive tooling, extensions
• Complex queries: window functions, CTEs, analytical workloads

Best for: Financial systems, e-commerce transactions, ERP, CRM, data warehousing, analytics

Both Support:

• JSON/JSONB storage and querying
• Full-text search capabilities
• Geospatial queries and indexing
• Replication and high availability
• ACID transactions (MongoDB 4.0+)
• Strong security features

Quick Start

MongoDB Setup

Connection

mongodb+srv://user:pass@cluster.mongodb.net/db

Shell

mongosh "mongodb+srv://cluster.mongodb.net/mydb"

Basic operations

db.users.insertOne({ name: "Alice", age: 30 }) db.users.find({ age: { $gte: 18 } }) db.users.updateOne({ name: "Alice" }, { $set: { age: 31 } }) db.users.deleteOne({ name: "Alice" })

PostgreSQL Setup

Start service

sudo systemctl start postgresql

Connect

psql -U postgres -d mydb

Basic operations

CREATE TABLE users (id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT, age INT); INSERT INTO users (name, age) VALUES ('Alice', 30); SELECT * FROM users WHERE age >= 18; UPDATE users SET age = 31 WHERE name = 'Alice'; DELETE FROM users WHERE name = 'Alice';

Common Operations

Create/Insert

Read/Query

Update

Delete

Indexing

Reference Navigation

MongoDB References

• mongodb-crud.md - CRUD operations, query operators, atomic updates
• mongodb-aggregation.md - Aggregation pipeline, stages, operators, patterns
• mongodb-indexing.md - Index types, compound indexes, performance optimization
• mongodb-atlas.md - Atlas cloud setup, clusters, monitoring, search

PostgreSQL References

• postgresql-queries.md - SELECT, JOINs, subqueries, CTEs, window functions
• postgresql-psql-cli.md - psql commands, meta-commands, scripting
• postgresql-performance.md - EXPLAIN, query optimization, vacuum, indexes
• postgresql-administration.md - User management, backups, replication, maintenance

Python Utilities

Database utility scripts in scripts/:

• db_migrate.py - Generate and apply migrations for both databases
• db_backup.py - Backup and restore MongoDB and PostgreSQL
• db_performance_check.py - Analyze slow queries and recommend indexes

Run backup

python scripts/db_backup.py --db postgres --output /backups/

Check performance

python scripts/db_performance_check.py --db mongodb --threshold 100ms

Key Differences Summary

Best Practices

MongoDB:

• Use embedded documents for 1-to-few relationships
• Reference documents for 1-to-many or many-to-many
• Index frequently queried fields
• Use aggregation pipeline for complex transformations
• Enable authentication and TLS in production
• Use Atlas for managed hosting

PostgreSQL:

• Normalize schema to 3NF, denormalize for performance
• Use foreign keys for referential integrity
• Index foreign keys and frequently filtered columns
• Use EXPLAIN ANALYZE to optimize queries
• Regular VACUUM and ANALYZE maintenance
• Connection pooling (pgBouncer) for web apps

Resources

• MongoDB: https://www.mongodb.com/docs/
• PostgreSQL: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/
• MongoDB University: https://learn.mongodb.com/
• PostgreSQL Tutorial: https://www.postgresqltutorial.com/