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

# Quickstart

> Create your first FalkorDB Cloud instance with the API

This guide takes you from credentials to a running FalkorDB instance using the API.

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, you need:

* A [FalkorDB Cloud](https://app.falkordb.cloud) account.
* `curl` and `jq` installed locally.

## Get started

<Steps>
  <Step title="Sign in">
    Sign in with HTTP Basic authentication. The response sets the `omnistrate_token` session cookie that authorizes every other request, so store it in a cookie jar.

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl -s -c cookies.txt -X POST \
      https://api.omnistrate.cloud/2022-09-01-00/resource-instance/user/signin \
      -u "$FALKORDB_EMAIL:$FALKORDB_PASSWORD"
    ```

    See [Sign in](/api-reference/authentication/signin) for the full reference. The session lasts 1 hour.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create an instance">
    Send a create request to the endpoint for your service tier and deployment component, replaying the cookie jar with `-b`. This example creates a Free instance.

    ```bash theme={null}
    INSTANCE_ID=$(curl -s -b cookies.txt -X POST \
      "https://api.omnistrate.cloud/2022-09-01-00/resource-instance/sp-JvkxkPhinN/falkordb/v1/prod/falkordb-free-customer-hosted/falkordb-free-falkordb-customer-hosted-model-omnistrate-multi-tenancy/free" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{
        "cloud_provider": "aws",
        "region": "us-east-1",
        "requestParams": {
          "name": "my-first-graph",
          "falkordbUser": "falkordb",
          "falkordbPassword": "'"$FALKORDB_DB_PASSWORD"'"
        }
      }' | jq -r .id)
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait until it is running">
    Instances are provisioned asynchronously. Poll the describe endpoint until `status` is `RUNNING`.

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl -s -b cookies.txt \
      "https://api.omnistrate.cloud/2022-09-01-00/resource-instance/sp-JvkxkPhinN/falkordb/v1/prod/falkordb-free-customer-hosted/falkordb-free-falkordb-customer-hosted-model-omnistrate-multi-tenancy/free/$INSTANCE_ID" \
      | jq '{status, result_params}'
    ```

    The `result_params` object contains the hostname and port you connect to.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect">
    Use the returned endpoint with any FalkorDB client.

    ```bash theme={null}
    redis-cli -h <hostname> -p <port> --user falkordb --pass "$FALKORDB_DB_PASSWORD" \
      GRAPH.QUERY social "CREATE (:Person {name: 'Alice'})"
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Never hardcode credentials in scripts or commit them to source control. Read them from environment variables or a secret manager, and keep `cookies.txt` out of version control.
</Warning>

## Next steps

* Browse the [API reference](/api-reference/introduction) for every tier and component.
* Review the [shared schemas](/api-reference/schemas) for request and response shapes.

<Tip>
  Need help? Reach out at [contact@falkordb.com](mailto:contact@falkordb.com).
</Tip>