How I Built a MongoDB Backup System That Can Undo an Accidental Drop

Short summary

The author built mongopit, an open-source tool for MongoDB point-in-time recovery (PITR) that lets you restore a database to the exact second before an accidental drop. The key insight is that MongoDB's oplog—available only on replica sets—records every write operation, enabling replay of history up to a chosen timestamp. The system combines scheduled full backups via mongodump with continuous oplog tailing, and uses mongorestore's --oplogLimit flag to stop replay just before a destructive operation.

• •mongopit enables MongoDB point-in-time recovery using the oplog from a single-node replica set
• •System pairs scheduled mongodump snapshots with continuous oplog tailing for full recovery
• •mongorestore --oplogLimit stops replay before the destructive operation's timestamp

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