Quickstart

Create your first Aiven service in minutes with this step-by-step guide

This quickstart guide walks you through creating your first Aiven service. You’ll set up billing, create a project, and deploy a service using the Aiven Console.

Time to complete: 5-10 minutes

Prerequisites: An email address to create your Aiven account

Step 1: Sign up for Aiven

Create your free Aiven account to get started:

1. Create your account

   Go to console.aiven.io/signup and sign up with your email address.

   Alternatively, you can sign up through a cloud marketplace (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud).

2. Verify your email

   Check your inbox for a verification email and click the confirmation link.

3. Complete your profile

   Enter your name and organization details when prompted.

New accounts receive free trial credits to explore Aiven services at no cost.

Step 2: Set up billing

Before creating services, you need to configure a payment method:

1. Navigate to billing

   In the Aiven Console, go to Billing in the left navigation menu.

2. Add payment method

   Click Add payment method and enter your credit card details.

   You won’t be charged until you exceed your free trial credits. All services are billed per hour based on actual usage.

3. Configure billing group

   Your default billing group is automatically created. You can add additional details like:

   • Billing contact email
   • Company information
   • Billing address
   • Tax ID (if applicable)

For more details, see the billing and payment guide.

Step 3: Create a project

Projects organize your services and resources:

1. Access projects

   Click Projects in the left navigation, then click Create project.

2. Name your project

   Enter a descriptive name like my-first-project or development.

   Use projects to separate environments (dev, staging, production) or organize services by application.

3. Select billing group

   Choose your default billing group or create a new one.

4. Create the project

   Click Create project to finish.

Step 4: Create your first service

Let’s deploy a PostgreSQL database as an example:

1. Start service creation

   From your project dashboard, click Create service.

2. Choose a service type

   Select PostgreSQL from the list of available services.

   You can choose any service type. PostgreSQL is used here as an example, but the process is similar for Kafka, MySQL, OpenSearch, and other services.

3. Select cloud provider and region

   Choose where to deploy your service:

   • Cloud provider: AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud
   • Region: Pick a region close to your users for better performance

   Example: AWS - us-east-1 or Google Cloud - europe-west1

4. Choose a service plan

   Select a plan based on your needs:

   • Hobbyist: Single-node for development and testing
   • Startup: High availability with automatic failover
   • Business: Production-ready with enhanced resources
   • Premium: Maximum performance and features

   Start with the Hobbyist plan for testing. You can upgrade to a higher plan later without downtime.

5. Name your service

   Give your service a descriptive name like demo-postgres or app-database.

6. Review and create

   Review your configuration and click Create service.

   The service will start provisioning. This typically takes 2-5 minutes.

Step 5: Connect to your service

Once your service is running, you can connect to it:

1. View service details

   Click on your service name to open the service overview page.

2. Get connection information

   Find your connection details in the Connection information section:

   • Service URI
   • Host and port
   • Username and password

   Keep your credentials secure. Never commit them to version control.

3. Connect to your database

   Use the connection information with your preferred client.

Example: Connect to PostgreSQL

Using psql command-line

Copy the Service URI from the console and use it with psql:

psql "postgres://avnadmin:[e-mail]:12345/defaultdb?sslmode=require"

Replace the URI with your actual connection string from the console.

Using a connection string in your application

Most PostgreSQL libraries accept the Service URI directly:

import psycopg2

conn = psycopg2.connect(
    "postgres://avnadmin:[e-mail]:12345/defaultdb?sslmode=require"
)

const { Client } = require('pg');

const client = new Client({
  connectionString: 'postgres://avnadmin:[e-mail]:12345/defaultdb?sslmode=require'
});

await client.connect();

Create services with CLI or API

You can also create services programmatically:

Using Aiven CLI

Install the Aiven CLI:

pip install aiven-client

Log in to your account:

avn user login [e-mail] --token

Create a service:

avn service create demo-postgres \
  --service-type pg \
  --cloud aws-us-east-1 \
  --plan hobbyist \
  --project my-first-project

Check service status:

avn service list --project my-first-project

Get connection details:

avn service get demo-postgres --project my-first-project --format json

For more CLI commands, see the CLI documentation.

Using Aiven API

Create a service using the REST API:

curl -X POST https://api.aiven.io/v1/project/my-first-project/service \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "service_name": "demo-postgres",
    "service_type": "pg",
    "cloud": "aws-us-east-1",
    "plan": "hobbyist"
  }'

Get service information:

curl -X GET https://api.aiven.io/v1/project/my-first-project/service/demo-postgres \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN"

The API returns detailed service information including connection details, status, and configuration.

For complete API documentation, see the API reference.

Using Terraform

Create a service using the Aiven Terraform Provider:

terraform {
  required_providers {
    aiven = {
      source  = "aiven/aiven"
      version = "~> 4.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "aiven" {
  api_token = var.aiven_api_token
}

resource "aiven_pg" "demo_postgres" {
  project      = "my-first-project"
  service_name = "demo-postgres"
  cloud_name   = "aws-us-east-1"
  plan         = "hobbyist"
}

output "service_uri" {
  value     = aiven_pg.demo_postgres.service_uri
  sensitive = true
}

Apply the configuration:

terraform init
terraform apply

For more examples, see the Terraform documentation.

Next steps

Congratulations! You’ve created your first Aiven service. Here’s what to explore next:

Explore your service

Learn about service features, backups, and configuration options

Set up your organization

Invite team members and configure access controls

Configure integrations

Connect services together or integrate with external tools

Secure your services

Set up VPC peering, IP filtering, and authentication policies

Need help? Check out our documentation or contact [e-mail] for assistance.