Open-Source Databases · mongodb

mongo-c-driver

mongo-c-driver is the official MongoDB client library for C, consisting of libmongoc for MongoDB connectivity and libbson for BSON document handling. It is actively maintained, well-documented, and widely adopted for building C applications that require MongoDB database access.

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Source: GitHub — github.com/mongodb/mongo-c-driver

876

GitHub stars

465

Forks

Primary language

Apache-2.0

License (OSI-approved)

Key facts

Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.

Field	Value
Repository	mongodb/mongo-c-driver
Owner	mongodb
Primary language	C
License	Apache-2.0 — OSI-approved
Stars	876
Forks	465
Open issues	10
Latest release	2.3.2 (2026-07-07)
Last updated	2026-07-07
Source	https://github.com/mongodb/mongo-c-driver

What mongo-c-driver is

A dual-library C driver stack providing synchronous MongoDB client operations (libmongoc) built on BSON serialization/deserialization (libbson). Follows semantic versioning with documented API/ABI stability guarantees; built with CMake and supports multiple C compilers across Linux, macOS, and Windows platforms.

Quickstart

Get the mongo-c-driver source

Clone the repository and explore it locally.

terminalbash

1git clone https://github.com/mongodb/mongo-c-driver.git2cd mongo-c-driver3# follow the project's README for install & configuration

Need it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.

Best use cases

Legacy C systems requiring MongoDB integration

Ideal for existing C applications, embedded systems, or performance-critical software where C is the primary language and MongoDB is the target database. Provides native driver support without language-level overhead.

BSON processing and serialization

libbson can be used independently for building and parsing BSON documents, useful in any C application that needs to work with BSON data structures without full MongoDB connectivity.

Systems with strict language/toolchain constraints

Environments where higher-level languages are not viable, such as kernel modules, resource-constrained embedded platforms, or frameworks that mandate C. Direct driver integration reduces FFI overhead.

Implementation considerations

Explicit memory management required; developers must handle malloc/free or use provided allocation hooks. No garbage collection means risk of leaks or use-after-free bugs if not carefully designed.
CMake build system dependency; requires proper configuration of SSL/TLS (OpenSSL, Secure Transport, SCHANNEL), Kerberos (SASL), and platform-specific libraries before compilation succeeds.
Single-threaded connection semantics per connection object; concurrent access requires external synchronization or connection pooling patterns. Review libmongoc thread-safety documentation before designing multi-threaded applications.
Semantic versioning with documented ABI stability policy (see docs/dev/api-abi-policy.rst); minor version bumps are generally safe, but major version changes may require code adaptation.
BSON limitations: driver depends on BSON spec compliance; validate upstream MongoDB BSON handling for any edge cases in your application's document structure.

When to avoid it — and what to weigh

Greenfield projects in managed languages — If you are starting a new service in Python, Node.js, Go, or Java, use the native drivers for those ecosystems instead. C driver introduces maintenance and recruitment friction without corresponding benefit.
Asynchronous I/O is a hard requirement — libmongoc provides synchronous APIs; building high-concurrency async systems in C typically requires external threading or event-loop libraries, adding complexity. Modern C++ or async-first languages are better suited.
Team lacks deep C expertise — C driver usage demands solid understanding of memory management, build toolchains (CMake), C standards, and platform-specific compilation. Teams without this expertise will face longer debugging cycles and deployment issues.
Frequent driver updates or feature backports needed — While actively maintained, C driver is lower priority in MongoDB's roadmap compared to Python/Node/Java drivers. Feature and patch velocity may lag behind other driver families.

License & commercial use

Licensed under Apache License 2.0 (SPDX: Apache-2.0), a permissive open-source license granting rights to use, modify, and distribute subject to attribution and notice preservation.

Apache-2.0 is a permissive OSI-approved license that permits commercial use, modification, and distribution without royalties. However, verify MongoDB's official driver support policy and any contractual obligations in your MongoDB subscription or Atlas agreement separately, as license alone does not guarantee commercial support or indemnification.

DEV.co evaluation signals

Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.

Signal	Assessment
Maintenance	Active
Documentation	Strong
License clarity	Clear
Deployment complexity	Moderate
DEV.co fit	Good
Assessment confidence	High

Security considerations

No specific security vulnerabilities or posture details in provided data. Standard C security practices apply: input validation on BSON documents, secure credential handling (avoid plaintext connection strings), and TLS/SASL authentication support is present. For production use, review MongoDB's security vulnerability reporting process and subscribe to driver release notes. No claims about cryptography, vulnerability scanning, or security audit status can be made from available data.

Alternatives to consider

mongoc (Node.js/JavaScript)

If your team or application can use Node.js, the JavaScript driver (mongodb npm package) offers simpler async/await patterns, faster iteration, and broader ecosystem tooling without C memory management overhead.

PyMongo

For data engineering, scripting, or systems where Python is viable, PyMongo provides a more ergonomic API, rich testing/tooling ecosystem, and faster development cycle than C driver development.

MongoDB Rust driver

If you need systems-level performance with memory safety guarantees and your codebase permits Rust, the async Rust driver (mongodb) offers modern concurrency primitives and zero-copy patterns without C's manual memory burden.

Software development agency

Build on mongo-c-driver with DEV.co software developers

Review the Getting Started tutorial at mongodb.com/docs/languages/c and evaluate your build system compatibility. For teams new to C systems programming, confirm your team has the expertise to manage memory safety and cross-platform builds before committing to production deployment.

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mongo-c-driver FAQ

Can I use mongo-c-driver in a multithreaded application?

Yes, but with caveats. Individual mongoc_client_t and mongoc_collection_t objects are NOT thread-safe; each thread must have its own connection or use external synchronization. Connection pooling via mongoc_client_pool_t is provided for multi-threaded workloads. Review the thread-safety documentation before deploying.

Do I need to build MongoDB server from source to use the driver?

No. The driver is a client library only. It communicates with any MongoDB server (local, remote, Atlas, Enterprise) via the MongoDB Wire Protocol. You do not build or control the server from the driver.

What is the difference between libmongoc and libbson?

libbson is a standalone library for BSON document creation, parsing, and iteration. libmongoc depends on libbson and adds MongoDB server connectivity, authentication, and query/command execution. You can use libbson alone if you only need BSON handling.

Is async/await supported?

No. libmongoc provides synchronous blocking APIs. Async I/O requires manual threading, event loops, or integration with external async libraries (e.g., libuv). For async-first applications, consider higher-level languages with native async support.

Custom software development services

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