Running MongoDB Compass 1.28.x (or lower) in Docker (Ubuntu 24.04+)

running-mongodb-compass-1.28.4-or-lower-in-docker-and-ubuntu24.04.md

Running MongoDB Compass 1.28.4 in Docker (Ubuntu 24.04)

This guide walks you through installing and running MongoDB Compass 1.28.4 inside a Docker container, with GUI support, and connected to a MongoDB 3.6 container on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

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Why this setup?

• Compass 1.28.4 is one of the last versions that supports MongoDB 3.6.
• Ubuntu 24.04 no longer includes libgconf-2-4, which Compass depends on.
• Docker allows isolating these older dependencies.

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🗄 Step 1: Run MongoDB 3.6 Container

mkdir -p ~/databases/mongo3.6

docker run -d --name mongo3.6 \
  -p 27017:27017 \
  -v ~/databases/mongo3.6:/data/db \
  mongo:3.6

You can connect to this MongoDB instance via the Docker bridge network using 172.17.0.1 as the host.

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🧰 Step 2: Build Docker Image for Compass 1.28.4

Lets put a Dockerfile in a folder

$ mkdir $HOME/mongodbcompass1284
$ cd $HOME/mongodbcompass1284

Create a file named Dockerfile with the following contents:

$ nano Dockerfile

FROM debian:bullseye

ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive

# Install dependencies
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    curl ca-certificates \
    libgtk-3-0 libxss1 libasound2 libnss3 libx11-xcb1 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxrandr2 \
    libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libx11-6 libxcb1 libxext6 libxfixes3 \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Download and install MongoDB Compass 1.28.4 .deb
RUN curl -L -o /tmp/compass.deb https://downloads.mongodb.com/compass/mongodb-compass_1.28.4_amd64.deb \
    && apt-get update && apt-get install -y /tmp/compass.deb \
    && rm /tmp/compass.deb

# Entry point for Compass
ENTRYPOINT ["mongodb-compass", "--no-sandbox"]

Then build the Docker image:

docker build -t compass-1284 .

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🖼 Step 3: Enable X11 Forwarding on Host

Make sure X11 apps from Docker can use your display:

xhost +local:docker

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🚀 Step 4: Run Compass Container with GUI Support

docker run -it --rm \
  -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY \
  -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
  compass-1284

MongoDB Compass should open! Now, try to connect, not to localhost, but to where your mongo is.

Then in Compass, connect to:

mongodb://172.17.0.1:27017

This IP is the default gateway from the container to the host (Docker bridge network).

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✅ Summary

This setup lets you use legacy MongoDB Compass 1.28.4 on modern systems, fully isolated, with GUI and network connectivity to MongoDB 3.6 running on the Docker host.