Meteor.startup(function () { if (Images.find().count() === 0) { for (let i = 1; i < 23; i++) { Images.insert({ "img_src": "img_" + i + ".jpg", "img_alt": "image number " + i }); } // end of for insert images // count the images! console.log("startup.js says: " + Images.find().count()); } // end of if have no images. });