> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connections In Use, MongoDB

> Connections In Use for MongoDB deployments. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it.

**Card class:** [Non-Hero](/nerve-centre/overview#card-classes-explained)  •  **Category:** [Capacity](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type)

## At a glance

> **Connections In Use** is the number of client connections currently open against your MongoDB deployment, read live from `serverStatus().connections.current`. It is the raw capacity heartbeat: how many sockets your application servers, workers, and tools are holding right now. Read it alongside the available headroom to know how close you are to the connection ceiling before refusals start.

## What it tracks

The card reports `connections.current` from `db.serverStatus()`, the count of incoming connections open at the moment of the poll. This includes connections from your application pools, background workers, replica-set heartbeat traffic, and any interactive `mongosh` or tooling sessions. The time window is `RT` (real-time), so the value refreshes on each poll and reflects the present state rather than an average.

Read it against its companion, `connections.available`, which is the remaining headroom before the server's `maxIncomingConnections` ceiling. When `current` climbs and `available` shrinks toward zero, you are approaching the point where new clients get refused. This card has no alert threshold of its own (it is a capacity gauge, not an alarm), but it is the denominator behind [Connection Pool Saturation %](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/mongodb/connection-pool-saturation), which does alert at 90%. Pair the two: this card tells you the absolute count, saturation tells you how full the tank is, and [Connection Errors (24h)](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/mongodb/connection-errors-24h) tells you when the tank overflowed.

## Reconciling against the source

Run `db.serverStatus().connections.current` in `mongosh` against the node, or read the `Connections` chart in the Atlas Metrics tab. Our value is a per-poll snapshot aligned to your reporting time zone, so a brief spike between polls may not appear; check `current` plus `available` together to confirm headroom.

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### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre

*Connections In Use* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across MongoDB and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English.

[Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.