Set up InfluxDB

As you get started with this tutorial, do the following to make sure everything you need is in place.

1. (Optional) Download, install, and configure the influx CLI.

   The influx CLI provides a simple way to interact with InfluxDB from a command line. For detailed installation and setup instructions, see Use the influx CLI.

2. Create an All Access API token.

   1. Go to cloud2.influxdata.com in a browser to log in and access the InfluxDB UI.

   2. Navigate to Load Data > API Tokens using the left navigation bar.

      Load Data

   3. Click + Generate API token and select All Access API Token.

   4. Enter a description for the API token and click Save.

   5. Copy the generated token and store it for safe keeping.

   We recommend using a password manager or a secret store to securely store sensitive tokens.

3. Configure authentication credentials.

   As you go through this tutorial, interactions with InfluxDB Cloud require your InfluxDB host, organization name or ID, and your API token. There are different methods for providing these credentials depending on which client you use to interact with InfluxDB.

   When configuring your token, if you created an all access token, use that token to interact with InfluxDB. Otherwise, use your operator token.

   InfluxDB UI influx CLI InfluxDB API

   When managing InfluxDB Cloud through the InfluxDB UI, authentication credentials are provided automatically using credentials associated with the user you log in with.

   There are three ways to provided authentication credentials to the influx CLI:

   CLI connection configurations (Recommended)

   The influx CLI lets you specify connection configuration presets that let you store and quickly switch between multiple sets of InfluxDB connection credentials. Use the influx config create command to create a new CLI connection configuration. Include the following flags:

   • -n, --config-name: Connection configuration name. This examples uses get-started.
   • -u, --host-url: InfluxDB Cloud Serverless region URL.
   • -o, --org: InfluxDB organization name.
   • -t, --token: InfluxDB API token.

   influx config create \
     --config-name get-started \
     --host-url https://cloud2.influxdata.com \
     --org <ORG_NAME> \
     --token <API_TOKEN>
   

   For more information about CLI connection configurations, see Install and use the influx CLI.

   Environment variables

   The influx CLI checks for specific environment variables and, if present, uses those environment variables to populate authentication credentials. Set the following environment variables in your command line session:

   • INFLUX_HOST: InfluxDB Cloud Serverless region URL.
   • INFLUX_ORG: InfluxDB organization name.
   • INFLUX_ORG_ID: InfluxDB organization ID.
   • INFLUX_TOKEN: InfluxDB API token.

   export INFLUX_HOST=https://cloud2.influxdata.com
   export INFLUX_ORG=<ORG_NAME>
   export INFLUX_ORG_ID=<ORG_ID>
   export INFLUX_TOKEN=<API_TOKEN>
   

   Command flags

   Use the following influx CLI flags to provide required credentials to commands:

   • --host: InfluxDB Cloud Serverless region URL.
   • -o, --org or --org-id: InfluxDB organization name or ID.
   • -t, --token: InfluxDB API token.

   All influx CLI examples in this getting started tutorial assume your InfluxDB host, organization, and token are provided by either the active influx CLI configuration or by environment variables.

   cURL and client library examples in this getting started tutorial assume you have environment variables assigned to your InfluxDB credentials.

   To assign environment variables to your credentials, enter the following commands into your profile settings or terminal:

   export INFLUX_URL=https://cloud2.influxdata.com
   export INFLUX_HOST=cloud2.influxdata.com
   export INFLUX_ORG=ORG_NAME
   export INFLUX_ORG_ID=ORG_ID
   export INFLUX_TOKEN=API_TOKEN
   

   Replace the following:

   • ORG_NAME: your InfluxDB organization name
   • ORG_ID: your InfluxDB organization ID
   • API_TOKEN: your InfluxDB API token with sufficient permissions to write or query data in your bucket

   Keep the following in mind when using API clients and client libraries:

   • InfluxDB ignores org and org_id parameters in API write and query requests, but some clients still require them.
   • In code samples, host usually refers to your InfluxDB Cloud Serverless region URL (without https://). .

   All API, cURL, and client library examples in this getting started tutorial assume your InfluxDB host, organization, url, and token are provided by environment variables.

4. (Optional) Create a bucket.

   You can use an existing bucket or create a new one specifically for this getting started tutorial. All examples in this tutorial assume a bucket named “get-started”.

   Use the InfluxDB UI, influx CLI, or InfluxDB API to create a bucket.

   InfluxDB UI influx CLI InfluxDB API

   1. Go to cloud2.influxdata.com in a browser to log in and access the InfluxDB UI.

   2. Navigate to Load Data > Buckets using the left navigation bar.

      Load Data

   3. Click + Create bucket.

   4. Provide a bucket name (get-started) and select a retention period. Supported retention periods depend on your InfluxDB Cloud Serverless plan.

   5. Click Create.

   1. If you haven’t already, download, install, and configure the influx CLI.

   2. Use the influx bucket create command to create a new bucket.

      Provide the following:

      • -n, --name flag with the bucket name.
      • -r, --retention flag with the bucket’s retention period duration. Supported retention periods depend on your InfluxDB Cloud Serverless plan.
      • Connection and authentication credentials

      influx bucket create \
        --name get-started \
        --retention 7d
      

   To create a bucket using the InfluxDB HTTP API, send a request to the InfluxDB API /api/v2/buckets endpoint using the POST request method.

   POST https://cloud2.influxdata.com/api/v2/buckets

   Include the following with your request:

   • Headers:
     • Authorization: Token INFLUX_TOKEN
     • Content-Type: application/json
   • Request body: JSON object with the following properties:
     • org: InfluxDB organization name
     • name: Bucket name
     • retentionRules: List of retention rule objects that define the bucket’s retention period. Each retention rule object has the following properties:
       • type: "expire"
       • everySeconds: Retention period duration in seconds. Supported retention periods depend on your InfluxDB Cloud Serverless plan.

   curl --request POST \
   "$INFLUX_URL/api/v2/buckets" \
     --header "Authorization: Token $INFLUX_TOKEN" \
     --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
     --data '{
       "orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'",
       "name": "get-started",
       "retentionRules": [
         {
           "type": "expire",
           "everySeconds": 604800
         }
       ]
     }'