Resolving the Error parsing command line Issue When Running mongod --config path in MongoDB

Discover how to fix the `Error parsing command line: Multiple occurrences of option "--config"` error in MongoDB by understanding the issue with scoop.
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Understanding the Error parsing command line Issue in MongoDB

If you're a developer who has recently tried to set up a MongoDB server using a custom configuration, you might have encountered a frustrating error message while executing the command:

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The error reads:

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This issue can be perplexing, especially if other commands like mongod or mongod --port 12345 appear to work without any problem. In this guide, we’ll provide a detailed walkthrough of the root cause of this issue and how you can resolve it effectively.

What Caused the Error?

The root cause of this specific error lies in the way snap package managers like scoop handle executable files. Here’s a breakdown of the situation:

Scoop's Functionality: Scoop is a command-line installer for Windows that simplifies package management. One of its goals is to prevent "PATH pollution," which can happen if there are too many conflicting executables in your system's PATH. To achieve this, scoop creates shim files that act as proxies to the real executable files.

Finding the Real Executable: When you run the command Get-Command mongod, it might point to a quick access version that's located in a shim folder, rather than the actual executable. In this case, it led to a situation where the shim was executing with additional arguments that caused contradictions, resulting in the same option being loaded multiple times.

Example Debugging Steps

Here’s how the debugging process unfolded:

Running Get-Command mongod revealed the location of the executable:

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Copying the shim and running it resulted in the message:

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Further investigation into the shim file configuration revealed that arguments were incorrectly managed, duplicating the --config option.

Path Information

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Solution: How to Fix the Issue

Fortunately, fixing this problem was straightforward. Here’s the concise summary of the solution:

Registration and Execution: Once that line is removed, your command should work outright without throwing the error.

Conclusion

Understanding the quirks of package managers like scoop can be critical when setting up environments for development with tools like MongoDB. By recognizing that the real executable was being obscured by a shim, and that it was incorrectly passing arguments multiple times, one can successfully resolve the Error parsing command line issue.

If you encounter similar challenges with MongoDB installations, consider exploring how the package manager is handling executables and their configuration.

Call to Action

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