diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b2868e2..dcd4d8f 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -42,3 +42,4 @@ testem.log
 Thumbs.db
 environment.ts
 environment.ts
+backend/environment.js
diff --git a/.vscode/settings.json b/.vscode/settings.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ee509f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.vscode/settings.json
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  "cSpell.words": ["openai"]
+}
diff --git a/backend/app.js b/backend/app.js
index 5fbd92e..80c1634 100644
--- a/backend/app.js
+++ b/backend/app.js
@@ -1,7 +1,32 @@
 const express = require("express");
 const bodyParser = require("body-parser");
 
+const environment = require("./environment"); 
 const app = express();
+const { MongoClient, ServerApiVersion } = require('mongodb');
+const uri = environment.mongoDB.MONGODB_URI;
+// Create a MongoClient with a MongoClientOptions object to set the Stable API version
+const client = new MongoClient(uri, {
+  serverApi: {
+    version: ServerApiVersion.v1,
+    strict: true,
+    deprecationErrors: true,
+  }
+});
+
+async function run() {
+  try {
+    // Connect the client to the server	(optional starting in v4.7)
+    await client.connect();
+    // Send a ping to confirm a successful connection
+    await client.db("admin").command({ ping: 1 });
+    console.log("Pinged your deployment. You successfully connected to MongoDB!");
+  } finally {
+    // Ensures that the client will close when you finish/error
+    await client.close();
+  }
+}
+run().catch(console.dir);
 
 app.use(bodyParser.json());
 app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 4217f4a..e3c6d23 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
         "bootstrap": "^5.2.3",
         "bootstrap-icons": "^1.10.5",
         "express": "^4.18.2",
+        "mongodb": "^5.5.0",
         "mongoose": "^7.2.0",
         "openai": "^3.2.1",
         "rxjs": "~7.8.0",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index f49dbce..f374079 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
     "bootstrap": "^5.2.3",
     "bootstrap-icons": "^1.10.5",
     "express": "^4.18.2",
+    "mongodb": "^5.5.0",
     "mongoose": "^7.2.0",
     "openai": "^3.2.1",
     "rxjs": "~7.8.0",