dcli — Database CLI

dcli (short for Database CLI) is a command-line tool for MongoDB data management. Designed for terminal use. Requires Node.js 18+.

Features

export — Export a MongoDB database to JSON file(s) (BSON Extended JSON; preserves ObjectId/Date)
import — Import a database or specific collection(s) from JSON file(s)
ping — Ping databases to prevent idle/inactivity pause
info — Show database collections and document counts
add — Register a database URI in the auto-ping list (with optional name)
remove — Remove a database by URI or friendly name
auto-ping — Schedule dcli ping via Windows Task Scheduler (ONLOGON, DAILY, HOURLY, ONCE)
view — Browse collections and documents in a styled table
show — Display the auto-ping or auto-clone database list
clone-add — Register a database URI in the auto-clone list
clone-remove — Remove a database from the auto-clone list
clone — Clone a single database by friendly name (or URI) to JSON
auto-clone — Clone all databases in the clone list to JSON files
auto-backup — Schedule daily backups of clone-list databases via Windows Task Scheduler
gui — Launch the local web GUI in your browser

Installation

npm install -g @mohamed1_1ibrahim/dcli

git clone https://github.com/Mohamed-Ibrahim183/dcli
cd dcli
npm install
npm link

Many commands accept a friendly name from your ping or clone list in place of a URI (ping list is checked first, then clone list). When the stored URI has no database in the path (common with Atlas), dcli lists databases on the cluster and picks the best match — exact name, close spelling (e.g. quran-hafez → quran-hafaza), or the only database on the cluster.

Usage

export

Export a MongoDB database to JSON file(s). Output uses BSON Extended JSON (prettified by default) so types like ObjectId and Date round-trip on import.

dcli export "mongodb://localhost:27017/mydb"
dcli export dbName

Default output name: data-<timestamp>-<db>.json.

Option	Description
`-o, --output <name>`	Output name (without or with `.json` extension)
`--format <type>`	`file` (single JSON), `split` (per collection), `all` (both). Default: `file`
`--compact`	Minify JSON output (default is prettified)
`--include <collections...>`	Only export these collections
`--exclude <collections...>`	Skip these collections
`--dry-run`	Preview without writing files

If the output file already exists, it auto-increments — file.json → file (1).json → file (2).json.

dcli export "mongodb://..." -o mydata
dcli export "mongodb://..." --format split
dcli export "mongodb://..." --format all --compact
dcli export "mongodb://..." --include users posts
dcli export "mongodb://..." --exclude logs analytics
dcli export "mongodb://..." --dry-run

import

Restore from a full file, single collection file, or directory. Asks for confirmation before writing.

`-f` path	Behavior
Full `.json` file	Backup current DB → drop database → restore
Single collection `.json`	Replace that collection (drop + insert)
Directory of `.json` files	Replace each file as a collection

dcli import "mongodb://localhost:27017/mydb" -f backup.json
dcli import "mongodb://..." -f ./users.json
dcli import "mongodb://..." -f ./collections/
dcli import dbName -f backup.json

ping

Ping databases to prevent inactivity pause. Exits with code 1 if any ping fails.

dcli ping                          # ping all from config
dcli ping "mongodb://..."          # ping a raw URI
dcli ping dbName                   # ping by friendly name (ping list, then clone list)
dcli ping --file my-dbs.json       # ping all from a custom file

info

Show collections and document counts.

dcli info "mongodb://localhost:27017/mydb"
dcli info dbName

add / remove

Manage the auto-ping list (~/.dcli/refresh.json).

dcli add "mongodb://..." -n dbName          # add with friendly name
dcli add "mongodb://..." -n dbName          # updates name if URI already exists
dcli remove "mongodb://user:pass@..."       # remove by URI
dcli remove dbName                          # remove by friendly name or URI path db name

auto-ping

Schedule dcli ping with Windows Task Scheduler (schtasks). Windows only. Creating/removing the task usually requires administrator privileges. The scheduled command is dcli ping, so dcli must be on the system PATH used by Task Scheduler.

dcli auto-ping                       # ONLOGON, 5 min delay (default)
dcli auto-ping --remove              # remove the task
dcli auto-ping --schedule DAILY --at 09:00
dcli auto-ping --schedule HOURLY --every 2
dcli auto-ping --schedule ONCE --at 18:00
dcli auto-ping --schedule ONLOGON --delay 10

Option	Description
`--remove`	Remove the scheduled task
`--schedule <type>`	`ONLOGON`, `DAILY`, `HOURLY`, or `ONCE` (default: `ONLOGON`)
`--at <time>`	Time for `DAILY`/`ONCE` schedules (24h, e.g. `09:00`)
`--every <n>`	Interval in hours for `HOURLY` (default: 1)
`--delay <n>`	Delay in minutes for `ONLOGON` (default: 5)

view

Browse collections and documents in a styled table.

dcli view "mongodb://localhost:27017/mydb"              # list collections
dcli view "mongodb://localhost:27017/mydb" users         # browse documents
dcli view dbName users --limit 5
dcli view "mongodb://..." users --fields name,email --sort name
dcli view "mongodb://..." users --all --json

Option	Description
`--limit <n>`	Maximum documents (default: 10)
`--fields <fields>`	Comma-separated fields to display (only these columns)
`--sort <field>`	Sort ascending by field
`--all`	Show all documents (no limit)
`--json`	Output raw JSON instead of a table

show

Display the auto-ping or auto-clone database list.

dcli show              # show ping list (~/.dcli/refresh.json)
dcli show --clone      # show clone list (~/.dcli/auto-clone.json)

clone-add / clone-remove

Manage the auto-clone list (~/.dcli/auto-clone.json).

dcli clone-add "mongodb://..." -n dbName
dcli clone-remove dbName

clone

Clone a single database from the clone list to a JSON file (clone-<timestamp>-<db>.json). Accepts a friendly name, full URI, or database name from the URI path for entries in the clone list.

dcli clone dbName
dcli clone dbName -o ./backups

auto-clone

Clone all databases in the clone list to JSON files.

dcli auto-clone
dcli auto-clone -o ./backups
dcli auto-clone -o ./backups --dated    # saves to ./backups/2026-07-20/

auto-backup

Schedule automatic backups of every database in the clone list (~/.dcli/auto-clone.json). Uses Windows Task Scheduler (schtasks). Windows only. Creating/removing the task usually requires administrator privileges.

Each run executes dcli auto-clone --dated, saving one JSON file per database under output/YYYY-MM-DD/.

# 1. Add databases to back up
dcli clone-add "mongodb://..." -n quran-hafez

# 2. Schedule daily backup at 02:00 (default) to ~/.dcli/backups
dcli auto-backup

# Custom folder and time
dcli auto-backup -o C:\Users\pc\db-backups --at 03:00

# Check status / remove schedule
dcli auto-backup --status
dcli auto-backup --remove

Option	Description
`--remove`	Remove the scheduled backup task
`--status`	Show output folder, schedule, and clone-list count
`-o, --output <dir>`	Backup directory (default: `~/.dcli/backups`)
`--schedule <type>`	`DAILY` (default), `HOURLY`, `ONLOGON`, or `ONCE`
`--at <time>`	Time for `DAILY`/`ONCE` schedules (24h, e.g. `02:00`)
`--every <n>`	Interval in hours for `HOURLY` (default: 1)
`--delay <n>`	Delay in minutes for `ONLOGON` (default: 5)

Settings are saved to ~/.dcli/auto-backup.json.

gui

Launch the web GUI bound to localhost only (default port 3456). On Windows, it opens automatically in your default browser.

The GUI has three tabs:

Tab	Features
Databases	View ping and clone lists, add/remove entries
Actions	Export, import, ping, and info
Automation	Schedule auto-ping, run auto-clone, schedule auto-backup

Automation scheduling (auto-ping, auto-backup) is Windows only, same as the CLI commands.

dcli gui
dcli gui -p 8080

Config Files

Ping list — ~/.dcli/refresh.json:

{
  "databases": [
    { "uri": "mongodb://cluster0.example.mongodb.net/mydb", "name": "dbName" },
    "mongodb://backup.example.mongodb.net/otherdb"
  ]
}

Clone list — ~/.dcli/auto-clone.json (same format as above).

Auto-backup settings — ~/.dcli/auto-backup.json:

{
  "output": "C:\\Users\\pc\\.dcli\\backups",
  "at": "02:00",
  "schedule": "DAILY",
  "every": "1",
  "delay": "5"
}

Entries can be objects with uri and optional name, or plain strings (backward compatible). Friendly names resolve from the ping list first, then the clone list. When a URI has no /dbname path segment, dcli discovers the target database on the cluster automatically.

Export Format

Single file (BSON Extended JSON):

{
  "database": "mydb",
  "exportedAt": "2026-05-25T14:30:00.000Z",
  "data": {
    "users": [ { "_id": { "$oid": "..." }, "name": "Alice", "createdAt": { "$date": "..." } } ],
    "posts": [ { "_id": { "$oid": "..." }, "title": "Hello" } ]
  }
}

Clone files use the same shape with clonedAt instead of exportedAt and are import-compatible.

Split (per collection in a folder):

folder/
├── users.json     [ { "_id": { "$oid": "..." }, ... }, ... ]
├── posts.json     [ { "_id": { "$oid": "..." }, ... }, ... ]

Older plain-JSON exports (string _id values) still import, but BSON types are only preserved for Extended JSON files.

Dependencies

commander — CLI framework
mongodb — MongoDB driver
bson — Extended JSON serialization

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
bin		bin
discard		discard
src		src
.gitignore		.gitignore
Design.md		Design.md
README.md		README.md
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json

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dcli — Database CLI

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export

import

ping

info

add / remove

auto-ping

view

show

clone-add / clone-remove

clone

auto-clone

auto-backup

gui

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dcli — Database CLI

Features

Installation

Usage

export

import

ping

info

add / remove

auto-ping

view

show

clone-add / clone-remove

clone

auto-clone

auto-backup

gui

Config Files

Export Format

Dependencies

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