# Databases in MongoDB are created "on the fly"

MongoDB does not require explicit database creation. Databases in MongoDB are created "on the fly" when you first store data within a collection inside that database.

Here's how this process works:

- **Switch to the desired database:** In the MongoDB shell, use the `use` command followed by the name you want for your database. For example:

Code

``` use myNewDatabase ```

If `myNewDatabase` does not exist, MongoDB will switch to it, but it won't be physically created until data is inserted. If it already exists, you will simply switch to it.

- **Insert data into a collection:** Once you have switched to your desired database, insert a document into a collection. If the collection does not exist, MongoDB will create it automatically when the first document is inserted. For example:

JavaScript

``` db.myCollection.insertOne({ name: "Alice", age: 30 }); ```

In this example, if `myNewDatabase` didn't exist before, it will now be created, and `myCollection` will also be created within it, containing the inserted document.

In summary: You don't "create" a MongoDB database in the traditional sense with a dedicated command. You simply `use` a database name, and it comes into existence when you first populate a collection within it