The `indian-cities-database` package offers a structured dataset comprising Indian cities and their respective states, designed for integration into Node.js applications. It provides a static JavaScript array containing city-state objects, which can be directly consumed or used to populate a local MongoDB instance. The current and likely final stable version is 1.0.5, with its last known activity dating back to September 2016, indicating that the package is no longer actively maintained. A key feature is its ability to push this geographical data to MongoDB, complete with a predefined Mongoose schema for streamlined querying. This library simplifies the integration of Indian location data, providing a readily available dataset and tools for database persistence, bypassing the need for manual data sourcing and structuring.
npm install indian-cities-databaseVerified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.
Demonstrates how to import the package and access the static `cities` array. Also hints at schema usage.
Ensure critical data is backed up or use this method only on non-production or new collections. Manually inspect the `populate.js` script in the package source for its exact behavior if concerned.
It is strongly recommended to run `pushToDatabase` as a one-off script (e.g., `node populate.js` as suggested in the README) during development or deployment, rather than embedding it directly into runtime application logic.
Use `const packageName = require('indian-cities-database');` for all imports. In ESM projects, you might need a wrapper or dynamic import (`await import('indian-cities-database')`) if absolutely necessary, but it's not officially supported.Consider validating the data against current Indian city/state lists. For production applications requiring up-to-date geographical data or active maintenance, explore alternative actively maintained libraries or datasets.
Ensure you are using CommonJS `const { cities } = require('indian-cities-database');` as the library is CJS-only. If `cities` is undefined after `require`, verify the package installation and the correct property name.The `pushToDatabase` function has optional arguments: `databaseName`, `collectionName`, and `callback`. Ensure that if you are providing a database name, it's a valid string. If Mongoose is trying to connect without a URI, it likely defaults to `mongodb://localhost:27017/` which might require a running local MongoDB instance. Check the underlying `populate.js` file for default connection logic.