Solution 1: Create a Data Directory in the User Home Directory

A simple solution is to create the data directory within our home directory, which is not restricted by SIP. Follow these steps:

1. Create the Directory: Open Terminal and create the MongoDB data directory inside our home directory:

mkdir -p ~/data/db

Explanation: The command creates the directory structure ~/data/db if it doesn’t already exist. The -p flag ensures that any intermediate directories are also created if needed

2. Update MongoDB to Use the New Directory: When starting MongoDB, specify the new data directory using the –dbpath option:

mongod --dbpath ~/data/db

Explanation: This command starts the MongoDB daemon (mongod) and specifies the data directory (~/data/db) where MongoDB will store its data files

3. Create a Configuration File (Optional): For convenience, you can create or modify the MongoDB configuration file to set the new data directory permanently. Edit the MongoDB configuration file (usually mongod.conf or create one if it doesn’t exist):

storage:
  dbPath: /Users/your-username/data/db

Explanation: This configuration sets the dbPath parameter in the MongoDB configuration file (mongod.conf) to /Users/your-username/data/db and specifying the path where MongoDB will store its data files. Replace your-username with your actual username.

Now Start MongoDB using this configuration file:

mongod --config /path/to/mongod.conf

Explanation:This command starts MongoDB using the configuration file located at /path/to/mongod.conf.

When configuring MongoDB on macOS, users may encounter a “Read-only file system” error when attempting to create the default data directory /data/db using the mkdir command. This error is caused by the System Integrity Protection (SIP) feature in macOS, which protects the root directory / from unauthorized changes.

In this article, We will learn about How to fix the Read-only file system when attempting mkdir /data/db on Mac by understanding various approaches in detail.