--- title: Get started writing data description: Get started writing data to InfluxDB by learning about line protocol and using tools like the InfluxDB UI, influx CLI, and InfluxDB API. url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb/cloud/get-started/write/ estimated_tokens: 11021 product: InfluxDB Cloud (TSM) version: cloud --- # Get started writing data - 2 / 5 InfluxDB provides many different options for ingesting or writing data, including the following: - Influx user interface (UI) - [InfluxDB HTTP API](/influxdb/cloud/reference/api/) - [`influx` CLI](/influxdb/cloud/tools/influx-cli/) - [Telegraf](/telegraf/v1/) - [InfluxDB client libraries](/influxdb/cloud/api-guide/client-libraries/) This tutorial walks you through the fundamental of using **line protocol** to write data to InfluxDB. If using tools like Telegraf or InfluxDB client libraries, they will build the line protocol for you, but it’s good to understand how line protocol works. ## Line protocol All data written to InfluxDB is written using **line protocol**, a text-based format that lets you provide the necessary information to write a data point to InfluxDB. *This tutorial covers the basics of line protocol, but for detailed information, see the [Line protocol reference](/influxdb/cloud/reference/syntax/line-protocol/).* ### Line protocol elements Each line of line protocol contains the following elements: \* Required - \* **measurement**: String that identifies the measurement to store the data in. - **tag set**: Comma-delimited list of key value pairs, each representing a tag. Tag keys and values are unquoted strings. *Spaces, commas, and equal characters must be escaped.* - \* **field set**: Comma-delimited list key value pairs, each representing a field. Field keys are unquoted strings. *Spaces and commas must be escaped.* Field values can be [strings](/influxdb/cloud/reference/syntax/line-protocol/#string) (quoted), [floats](/influxdb/cloud/reference/syntax/line-protocol/#float), [integers](/influxdb/cloud/reference/syntax/line-protocol/#integer), [unsigned integers](/influxdb/cloud/reference/syntax/line-protocol/#uinteger), or [booleans](/influxdb/cloud/reference/syntax/line-protocol/#boolean). - **timestamp**: [Unix timestamp](/influxdb/cloud/reference/syntax/line-protocol/#unix-timestamp) associated with the data. InfluxDB supports up to nanosecond precision. *If the precision of the timestamp is not in nanoseconds, you must specify the precision when writing the data to InfluxDB.* #### Line protocol element parsing - **measurement**: Everything before the *first unescaped comma before the first whitespace*. - **tag set**: Key-value pairs between the *first unescaped comma* and the *first unescaped whitespace*. - **field set**: Key-value pairs between the *first and second unescaped whitespaces*. - **timestamp**: Integer value after the *second unescaped whitespace*. - Lines are separated by the newline character (`\n`). Line protocol is whitespace sensitive. myMeasurement,tag1=val1,tag2=val2 field1="v1",field2=1i 0000000000000000000 *For schema design recommendations, see [InfluxDB schema design](/influxdb/cloud/write-data/best-practices/schema-design/).* ## Construct line protocol With a basic understanding of line protocol, you can now construct line protocol and write data to InfluxDB. Consider a use case where you collect data from sensors in your home. Each sensor collects temperature, humidity, and carbon monoxide readings. To collect this data, use the following schema: - **measurement**: `home` - **tags** - `room`: Living Room or Kitchen - **fields** - `temp`: temperature in °C (float) - `hum`: percent humidity (float) - `co`: carbon monoxide in parts per million (integer) - **timestamp**: Unix timestamp in *second* precision Data is collected hourly beginning at 2022-01-01T08:00:00Z (UTC) until 2022-01-01T20:00:00Z (UTC). The resulting line protocol would look something like the following: ##### Home sensor data line protocol ```sh home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.1,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Kitchen temp=21.0,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.4,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.0,hum=36.2,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.8,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.1,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.5,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641042000 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.8,hum=36.5,co=1i 1641042000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.3,hum=36.1,co=0i 1641045600 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.8,hum=36.3,co=1i 1641045600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.3,hum=36.1,co=1i 1641049200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.2,co=3i 1641049200 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=4i 1641052800 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=7i 1641052800 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.6,hum=35.9,co=5i 1641056400 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.0,co=9i 1641056400 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.8,hum=36.2,co=9i 1641060000 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.3,hum=36.9,co=18i 1641060000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.5,hum=36.3,co=14i 1641063600 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.1,hum=36.6,co=22i 1641063600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=36.4,co=17i 1641067200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.5,co=26i 1641067200 ``` ## Write line protocol to InfluxDB Use the **InfluxDB UI**, **`influx` CLI**, or **InfluxDB API** to write the line protocol above to InfluxDB. **InfluxDB UI:** 1. Visit [cloud2.influxdata.com](https://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 **Add Data** on the bucket you want to write the data to and select **Line Protocol**. 4. Select **Enter Manually**. 5. Important In the **Precision** drop-down menu above the line protocol text field, select **Seconds** (to match to precision of the timestamps in the line protocol). 6. Copy the [line protocol above](#home-sensor-data-line-protocol) and paste it into the line protocol text field. 7. Click **Write Data**. The UI will confirm that the data has been written successfully. **influx CLI:** 1. If you haven’t already, [download, install, and configure the `influx` CLI](/influxdb/cloud/tools/influx-cli/). 2. Use the [`influx write` command](/influxdb/cloud/reference/cli/influx/write/) to write the [line protocol above](#home-sensor-data-line-protocol) to InfluxDB. **Provide the following**: - `-b, --bucket` or `--bucket-id` flag with the bucket name or ID to write do. - `-p, --precision` flag with the timestamp precision (`s`). - String-encoded line protocol. - [Connection and authentication credentials](/influxdb/cloud/get-started/setup/?t=influx+CLI#configure-authentication-credentials) ```sh influx write \ --bucket get-started \ --precision s " home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.1,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Kitchen temp=21.0,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.4,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.0,hum=36.2,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.8,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.1,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.5,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641042000 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.8,hum=36.5,co=1i 1641042000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.3,hum=36.1,co=0i 1641045600 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.8,hum=36.3,co=1i 1641045600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.3,hum=36.1,co=1i 1641049200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.2,co=3i 1641049200 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=4i 1641052800 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=7i 1641052800 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.6,hum=35.9,co=5i 1641056400 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.0,co=9i 1641056400 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.8,hum=36.2,co=9i 1641060000 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.3,hum=36.9,co=18i 1641060000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.5,hum=36.3,co=14i 1641063600 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.1,hum=36.6,co=22i 1641063600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=36.4,co=17i 1641067200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.5,co=26i 1641067200 " ``` **InfluxDB API:** To write data to InfluxDB using the InfluxDB HTTP API, send a request to the InfluxDB API `/api/v2/write` endpoint using the `POST` request method. [POST http://localhost:8086/api/v2/write](/influxdb/cloud/api/write-data/#operation/PostWrite) Include the following with your request: - **Headers**: - **Authorization**: Token - **Content-Type**: text/plain; charset=utf-8 - **Accept**: application/json - **Query parameters**: - **org**: InfluxDB organization name - **bucket**: InfluxDB bucket name - **precision**: timestamp precision (default is `ns`) - **Request body**: Line protocol as plain text The following example uses cURL and the InfluxDB API to write line protocol to InfluxDB: ```sh export INFLUX_HOST=http://localhost:8086 export INFLUX_ORG= export INFLUX_TOKEN= curl --request POST \ "$INFLUX_HOST/api/v2/write?org=$INFLUX_ORG&bucket=get-started&precision=s" \ --header "Authorization: Token $INFLUX_TOKEN" \ --header "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8" \ --header "Accept: application/json" \ --data-binary " home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.1,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Kitchen temp=21.0,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.4,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.0,hum=36.2,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.8,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.1,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.5,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641042000 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.8,hum=36.5,co=1i 1641042000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.3,hum=36.1,co=0i 1641045600 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.8,hum=36.3,co=1i 1641045600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.3,hum=36.1,co=1i 1641049200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.2,co=3i 1641049200 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=4i 1641052800 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=7i 1641052800 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.6,hum=35.9,co=5i 1641056400 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.0,co=9i 1641056400 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.8,hum=36.2,co=9i 1641060000 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.3,hum=36.9,co=18i 1641060000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.5,hum=36.3,co=14i 1641063600 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.1,hum=36.6,co=22i 1641063600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=36.4,co=17i 1641067200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.5,co=26i 1641067200 " ``` [](#view-the-written-data) View the written data | _time | _measurement | room | _field | _value | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2022-01-01T08:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T09:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T10:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T11:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T12:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T13:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 1 | | 2022-01-01T14:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 1 | | 2022-01-01T15:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 3 | | 2022-01-01T16:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 7 | | 2022-01-01T17:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 9 | | 2022-01-01T18:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 18 | | 2022-01-01T19:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 22 | | 2022-01-01T20:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | co | 26 | | _time | _measurement | room | _field | _value | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2022-01-01T08:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 35.9 | | 2022-01-01T09:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36.2 | | 2022-01-01T10:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36.1 | | 2022-01-01T11:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36 | | 2022-01-01T12:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36 | | 2022-01-01T13:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36.5 | | 2022-01-01T14:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36.3 | | 2022-01-01T15:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36.2 | | 2022-01-01T16:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36 | | 2022-01-01T17:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36 | | 2022-01-01T18:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36.9 | | 2022-01-01T19:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36.6 | | 2022-01-01T20:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | hum | 36.5 | | _time | _measurement | room | _field | _value | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2022-01-01T08:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 21 | | 2022-01-01T09:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 23 | | 2022-01-01T10:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 22.7 | | 2022-01-01T11:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 22.4 | | 2022-01-01T12:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 22.5 | | 2022-01-01T13:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 22.8 | | 2022-01-01T14:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 22.8 | | 2022-01-01T15:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 22.7 | | 2022-01-01T16:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 22.4 | | 2022-01-01T17:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 22.7 | | 2022-01-01T18:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 23.3 | | 2022-01-01T19:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 23.1 | | 2022-01-01T20:00:00Z | home | Kitchen | temp | 22.7 | | _time | _measurement | room | _field | _value | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2022-01-01T08:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T09:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T10:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T11:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T12:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T13:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T14:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 0 | | 2022-01-01T15:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 1 | | 2022-01-01T16:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 4 | | 2022-01-01T17:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 5 | | 2022-01-01T18:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 9 | | 2022-01-01T19:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 14 | | 2022-01-01T20:00:00Z | home | Living Room | co | 17 | | _time | _measurement | room | _field | _value | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2022-01-01T08:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 35.9 | | 2022-01-01T09:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 35.9 | | 2022-01-01T10:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 36 | | 2022-01-01T11:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 36 | | 2022-01-01T12:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 35.9 | | 2022-01-01T13:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 36 | | 2022-01-01T14:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 36.1 | | 2022-01-01T15:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 36.1 | | 2022-01-01T16:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 36 | | 2022-01-01T17:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 35.9 | | 2022-01-01T18:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 36.2 | | 2022-01-01T19:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 36.3 | | 2022-01-01T20:00:00Z | home | Living Room | hum | 36.4 | | _time | _measurement | room | _field | _value | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2022-01-01T08:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 21.1 | | 2022-01-01T09:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 21.4 | | 2022-01-01T10:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 21.8 | | 2022-01-01T11:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 22.2 | | 2022-01-01T12:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 22.2 | | 2022-01-01T13:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 22.4 | | 2022-01-01T14:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 22.3 | | 2022-01-01T15:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 22.3 | | 2022-01-01T16:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 22.4 | | 2022-01-01T17:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 22.6 | | 2022-01-01T18:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 22.8 | | 2022-01-01T19:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 22.5 | | 2022-01-01T20:00:00Z | home | Living Room | temp | 22.2 | **Congratulations!** You have written data to InfluxDB. The method described above is the manual way of writing data, but there are other options available: - [Write data to InfluxDB using no-code solutions](/influxdb/cloud/write-data/no-code/) - [Write data to InfluxDB using developer tools](/influxdb/cloud/write-data/developer-tools/) With data now stored in InfluxDB, let’s query it. [Set up InfluxDB](/influxdb/cloud/get-started/setup/) [Query data](/influxdb/cloud/get-started/query/) #### Related - [Write data to InfluxDB](/influxdb/cloud/write-data/) - [Best practices for writing data](/influxdb/cloud/write-data/best-practices/) - [Line protocol](/influxdb/cloud/reference/syntax/line-protocol/) - [Telegraf documentation](/telegraf/v1/)