Built for the moments when you need to inspect or correct data in a MongoDB database without spinning up a GUI client or writing throwaway scripts.

Drop it on any PHP 8.2+ server with ext-mongodb, point it at a connection URI, and you have a complete document browser and editor in under a minute. No framework, no build step, nothing in your way.

Once connected, browse collections, read and edit documents with the built-in JSON editor, and manage indexes — all BSON-aware, handling ObjectId, Date, and Binary types natively.

Everything you need to manage MongoDB from a single file

Reading level

Browse collections

Navigate all collections and databases in any MongoDB instance. Fast, paginated document listing.

Document editor

Insert and edit documents with a built-in JSON editor. Full nested object and array support.

BSON-aware

Native rendering of ObjectId, Date, Binary, and other BSON types — no raw hex blobs.

Per-collection rules

Customize labels, readonly fields, and hidden fields per collection via config.php.

CSRF protection

All write operations are protected by token-based CSRF validation.

Extension required

Requires the MongoDB PHP extension (ext-mongodb). No Composer, no other dependencies.

Up in under a minute

Download

Grab the zip or the bare PHP file below.

Upload

Drop maple.php anywhere on a PHP 8.2+ server with ext-mongodb installed.

Connect

Open it in a browser, enter your MongoDB connection URI, and go.

When to reach for MAPLE

Document Inspection During Development

When you’re iterating fast, switching to Compass breaks your flow. Drop MAPLE into your project root, point it at your dev database, and inspect any document in the browser without leaving your editor context. BSON types render correctly — ObjectIds, Dates, and Binary fields are displayed as human-readable values rather than raw bytes, so you see exactly what your application code sees.

Collection Seeding and Verification

Seed scripts write data, but verifying the result usually means falling back to the shell or a GUI tool. MAPLE lets you browse freshly seeded collections immediately, confirm field structure, and hand-edit any document that landed wrong — all from a single PHP file that requires no build step or separate process to run.

Scoped Team Access to Live Collections

Not every team member needs a MongoDB GUI installed or VPN-tunneled shell access. Deploy MAPLE behind your existing auth layer, configure per-collection rules in config.php to restrict writes or hide sensitive fields, and give teammates read — or limited write — access through a browser. No client software to install, no credentials to distribute beyond a URL.

Debugging BSON Type Issues

Type mismatches between your application and the database are notoriously difficult to diagnose. MAPLE’s BSON-aware renderer surfaces the actual stored type alongside the value — so you can confirm at a glance whether a field is a proper Date object or an accidentally stored ISO string, an ObjectId or a plain string that looks like one.

How it compares

MAPLE occupies a different position than traditional MongoDB GUI tools — here’s how it compares.

MongoDB Compass

Compass is a full-featured desktop application that requires installation on every machine that needs access. It’s excellent for deep query profiling and index management, but it’s overkill when all you need is to browse and edit documents. MAPLE requires no installation — it’s a single PHP file that lives alongside your project and is accessible from any browser on your team.

Mongo Express

Mongo Express is the closest category match: a web-based admin UI, often run via Docker. It brings its own Node.js runtime, package.json, and container orchestration requirements. MAPLE has none of that — if your server already runs PHP with ext-mongodb, MAPLE is one file drop away from working. There’s no separate process to manage and no container to keep running.

Studio 3T

Studio 3T is a commercial-grade IDE for MongoDB with advanced query building, data migration tools, and SQL translation. If your team needs those capabilities, MAPLE isn’t a substitute. But for the common case — browsing collections, editing documents, debugging data — MAPLE delivers the essentials without a license fee, a desktop install, or a monthly subscription.

Frequently asked questions

On most Linux systems, pecl install mongodb followed by adding extension=mongodb.so to your php.ini is sufficient. On macOS with Homebrew PHP, pecl install mongodb works the same way. Windows users can download the prebuilt DLL from PECL and add it manually. Once the extension is active, php -m | grep mongodb should confirm it. MAPLE will display a clear error on load if the extension is missing rather than failing silently.
MAPLE works with any MongoDB version that the official ext-mongodb PHP extension supports — currently MongoDB 3.6 through 8.x. The extension handles wire protocol compatibility, so MAPLE inherits that support automatically. If your ext-mongodb version can connect to your server, MAPLE can connect to it.
Yes. MAPLE accepts any valid MongoDB connection string, including Atlas URIs with +srv syntax, TLS parameters, and credential embeds. Set your connection string in the configuration and MAPLE will connect the same way your application does. The only requirement is that the PHP server running MAPLE can reach the MongoDB host on the appropriate port — firewall rules and IP allowlists in Atlas still apply.
Connection details are stored in config.php, which lives outside the document root and is never served directly. MAPLE itself does not implement a login screen — access control is expected to be handled by your web server or application layer (HTTP Basic Auth, a session guard, IP restriction). This keeps MAPLE simple and composable with whatever auth system you already have in place.
MAPLE is released under the Elastic License 2.0 (ELv2). You can use it freely in internal tools, development environments, and self-hosted deployments. The restriction is that you may not offer MAPLE itself as a managed service to third parties. If you’re using it within your own infrastructure — which covers the overwhelming majority of use cases — ELv2 places no meaningful constraints on you.
MAPLE paginates collection listings and renders documents on demand, so large collections don’t cause timeouts on the listing view. For individual documents, the built-in JSON editor renders the full structure regardless of depth or field count, with nested objects and arrays collapsed by default for readability. Extremely large binary fields (BinData) are truncated in the display view with a note indicating the actual byte length — the raw value is preserved in storage and is not modified by the editor.

MongoDB admin in a single PHP file