MERN Stack

Key Features

• Flexible document schema allowing data structure evolution without migrations
• MongoDB aggregation framework for complex data analytics and reporting
• React hot-reloading for instant UI updates during development
• Express.js middleware ecosystem with thousands of available plugins
• Node.js non-blocking I/O for handling thousands of concurrent connections
• MongoDB change streams for real-time data synchronization across components
• Single JavaScript language across entire application stack
• MongoDB horizontal sharding for scaling beyond single server limitations

Common Use Cases

• 1Social media platforms requiring user profiles, posts, and real-time interactions
• 2E-commerce applications with product catalogs, user reviews, and shopping carts
• 3Content management systems with dynamic article structures and media handling
• 4Real-time collaboration tools like project management or document editing platforms
• 5IoT dashboards collecting and visualizing sensor data with flexible schemas
• 6Startup MVPs requiring rapid feature development and frequent data model changes
• 7Educational platforms with courses, user progress tracking, and interactive content

Prerequisites

• Docker Engine 20.10+ and Docker Compose V2 installed on host system
• Minimum 4GB RAM available (MongoDB requires 2GB+, Node.js applications need 512MB each)
• Ports 3000, 5000, and 27017 available on host machine
• Basic JavaScript/ES6 knowledge for customizing React and Express components
• Understanding of RESTful API design principles for Express.js backend development
• Familiarity with MongoDB query syntax and document-oriented data modeling

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  frontend: 
3    build: 
4      context: ./frontend
5      dockerfile: Dockerfile
6    container_name: frontend
7    ports: 
8      - "3000:3000"
9    networks: 
10      - mern
11
12  backend: 
13    build: 
14      context: ./backend
15      dockerfile: Dockerfile
16    container_name: backend
17    environment: 
18      MONGODB_URI: mongodb://mongodb:27017/${DB_NAME}
19    ports: 
20      - "5000:5000"
21    depends_on: 
22      - mongodb
23    networks: 
24      - mern
25
26  mongodb: 
27    image: mongo:7
28    container_name: mongodb
29    volumes: 
30      - mongodb_data:/data/db
31    networks: 
32      - mern
33
34volumes: 
35  mongodb_data: 
36
37networks: 
38  mern: 
39    driver: bridge

.env Template

1DB_NAME=mernapp

Usage Notes

Individual Services(3 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

frontend:
  build:
    context: ./frontend
    dockerfile: Dockerfile
  container_name: frontend
  ports:
    - "3000:3000"
  networks:
    - mern

backend:
  build:
    context: ./backend
    dockerfile: Dockerfile
  container_name: backend
  environment:
    MONGODB_URI: mongodb://mongodb:27017/${DB_NAME}
  ports:
    - "5000:5000"
  depends_on:
    - mongodb
  networks:
    - mern

mongodb:
  image: mongo:7
  container_name: mongodb
  volumes:
    - mongodb_data:/data/db
  networks:
    - mern

Quick Start

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  frontend:
5    build:
6      context: ./frontend
7      dockerfile: Dockerfile
8    container_name: frontend
9    ports:
10      - "3000:3000"
11    networks:
12      - mern
13
14  backend:
15    build:
16      context: ./backend
17      dockerfile: Dockerfile
18    container_name: backend
19    environment:
20      MONGODB_URI: mongodb://mongodb:27017/${DB_NAME}
21    ports:
22      - "5000:5000"
23    depends_on:
24      - mongodb
25    networks:
26      - mern
27
28  mongodb:
29    image: mongo:7
30    container_name: mongodb
31    volumes:
32      - mongodb_data:/data/db
33    networks:
34      - mern
35
36volumes:
37  mongodb_data:
38
39networks:
40  mern:
41    driver: bridge
42EOF
43
44# 2. Create the .env file
45cat > .env << 'EOF'
46DB_NAME=mernapp
47EOF
48
49# 3. Start the services
50docker compose up -d
51
52# 4. View logs
53docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/mern-stack/run | bash

Troubleshooting