diff --git a/.chalice/config.json b/.chalice/config.json
index 45a85e5..62c8ff4 100644
--- a/.chalice/config.json
+++ b/.chalice/config.json
@@ -7,13 +7,15 @@
         "local": {
           "api_gateway_stage": "api",
             "environment_variables": {
-                "API_ENDPOINT": "localhost"
+                "API_ENDPOINT": "localhost",
+                "MONGODB_URI": "mongodb://localhost:27017"
             }
         },
       "dev": {
         "environment_variables": {
-                "API_ENDPOINT": "https://your_API_ENDPOINT"
+                "API_ENDPOINT": "https://your_API_ENDPOINT",
+                "MONGODB_URI": "mongodb://localhost:27017"
             }
         }
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..787c07d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# MongoDB Configuration
+# Local MongoDB URI for development
+MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017
+
+# API Endpoint (existing DynamoDB configuration)
+API_ENDPOINT=localhost
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index fecb744..b755505 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ chalice
 flake8
 moto
 pytest-chalice
-pytest-env
\ No newline at end of file
+pytest-env
+pymongo>=4.0.0
diff --git a/test_mongodb_connection.py b/test_mongodb_connection.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37c9944
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_mongodb_connection.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import pymongo
+import sys
+
+try:
+    client = pymongo.MongoClient('mongodb://localhost:27017', serverSelectionTimeoutMS=5000)
+    client.admin.command('ping')
+    print("✓ Successfully connected to MongoDB")
+    
+    db = client['chat']
+    collection = db['chat']
+    
+    result = collection.find_one()
+    print(f"✓ Successfully accessed chat database and collection")
+    print(f"✓ Found document: {result}")
+    
+    client.close()
+    print("\n✓ All MongoDB connectivity tests passed!")
+    sys.exit(0)
+    
+except Exception as e:
+    print(f"✗ MongoDB connection failed: {e}")
+    sys.exit(1)