MongoDB is unable to unlink (remove) its socket file. Cannot restart MongoDB service.


{"t":{"$date":"2024-08-07T09:12:21.797-04:00"},"s":"E",  "c":"NETWORK",  "id":23024,   "ctx":"initandlisten","msg":"Failed to unlink socket file","attr":{"path":"/tmp/mongodb-27017.sock","error":"Operation not permitted"}}

This error message indicates that MongoDB is unable to unlink (remove) its socket file. This is often due to permission issues. Let’s break down the problem and provide some solutions:

  1. Error explanation: MongoDB is trying to remove the old socket file (/tmp/mongodb-27017.sock) before starting, but it doesn’t have the necessary permissions to do so.
  2. Possible causes:
    • The MongoDB service is running as a user that doesn’t have permission to delete the file.
    • The /tmp directory permissions are incorrect.
    • The socket file was created by a different user or process.
  3. Solutions to try: a. Remove the socket file manually:
sudo rm /tmp/mongodb-27017.sock

Then try to start MongoDB again