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

# Quick start

> Get started with RisingWave Cloud in 5 steps.

## Step 1: Create an account

You can use your company email to create an account.

1. [Sign up](https://cloud.risingwave.com/auth/signup/) for RisingWave Cloud.
2. [Log in](https://cloud.risingwave.com/auth/signin/) to your account.

Alternatively, continue with your third-party account: **Google**, **Microsoft**, or **Github**.

## Step 2: Create a project

After you sign up, you are navigated to **Create project** on the [home page](https://cloud.risingwave.com/project/home/). A project in RisingWave Cloud provides the necessary resources for hosting independent data repositories and streaming pipelines. Within a project, you can create and manage database users and databases.

You can choose to create a free project or a customizable project if you have an invitation code. See [Choose a project plan](/cloud/choose-a-project-plan/) to decide on a project and configure the resources.

## Step 3: Connect to your project

After getting a project up and running, you need to connect to it so that you can interact with RisingWave.

Choose from the following ways to connect to your project.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Workspace">
    Workspace offers graphical tools for managing data and visualizing results. It is the most intuitive and easy way to connect to and interact with RisingWave.

    #### To connect via workspace, follow the steps below:

    1. In RisingWave Cloud, go to [**Projects**](https://cloud.risingwave.com/project/home/), and click **Workspace** for the project you want to connect to.
    2. For detailed instructions on using the workspace, see [Workspace](/cloud/console-overview/).
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Local client">
    If you need to connect to the RisingWave project via local clients, you can configure the connection in multiple ways.

    #### To connect with any local clients, follow the steps below:

    1. In RisingWave Cloud, go to [**Projects**](https://cloud.risingwave.com/project/home/), and click **Connect** for the project you want to connect to.
    2. Click **Switch** in the top right corner to switch users, and then choose a startup mode.
    3. You may need to set up a CA certificate to enable SSL connections. See the instructions displayed on the portal for more details.
    4. Copy the command and run it in a terminal window.
    5. Log in with the password of the database user.

    For detailed instructions, see [Local client](/cloud/connect-to-a-project/#local-client).
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Step 4: Explore RisingWave with examples

You can kickstart your journey with RisingWave by exploring the sample queries in the [**Query**](https://cloud.risingwave.com/console/) console.

These demos cover the most common steps in using RisingWave, such as establishing a connection with a data source, processing data by defining materialized views, and querying the results.

## Step 5: Ingest, process, and deliver data

Congrats, you are now ready to unleash the full potential of RisingWave on your own. Read [Develop with RisingWave Cloud](/cloud/develop-overview/) to start your journey.

<Card title="Develop with RisingWave Cloud" icon="cloud" iconType="solid" href="/cloud/develop-overview">
  RisingWave Cloud leverages the superpower of RisingWave, an open-source distributed SQL database specifically designed for stream processing. Start building your real-time applications with RisingWave, in the cloud.
</Card>