MongoDB Data Browser Interface #572
Description
Brief overview
A web-based data browser interface built on top of the Template Rendering Plugin that provides visual exploration and navigation of MongoDB collections and documents through server-rendered HTML pages.
Rationale
While RESTHeart excels at exposing MongoDB data via REST APIs, developers and content managers often need a human-friendly interface to browse, search, and visualize data without building custom frontends. This feature leverages the Template Rendering Plugin to provide:
- Immediate data visibility without custom UI development
- Built-in navigation between collections and documents
- Schema-aware rendering of complex data structures
- Accessible interface for non-technical users
- Customizable presentation through template modification
Detailed documentation
Overview
The MongoDB Data Browser is a pre-built set of templates and endpoints that automatically generates an interactive web interface for exploring database contents.
Core features
Collection listing
- Displays all accessible collections in the database
- Shows document counts and basic metadata
- Provides search and filtering capabilities
Document browsing
- Paginated views of collection documents
- Configurable column display and sorting
- Support for nested objects and arrays visualization
Document detail view
- Formatted display of individual documents
- Handles complex data types (ObjectId, Date, Binary, etc.)
- Renders embedded documents and references
- Navigation breadcrumbs for easy traversal
Default templates
The browser ships with responsive, customizable templates:
- Collection index page
- Document list view with pagination
- Document detail view
- Search results page
Customization
Users can override default templates to match branding or add domain-specific visualizations while maintaining the underlying navigation logic.