---
name: Cloudant-getting-started
title: Getting started with IBM Cloudant
description: The IBM® Cloudant® for IBM Cloud® *Getting started* tutorial demonstrates how to use the IBM Cloud® dashboard to create an IBM Cloudant service instance and obtain service credentials to connect to it. Finally, it guides you through the creation of a simple, locally hosted web application that uses your IBM Cloudant database.
last-updated: 2023-04-03
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/Cloudant?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Getting started with IBM Cloudant
{: #getting-started-with-cloudant}
{: toc-content-type="tutorial"}
{: toc-services="Cloudant"}
{: toc-completion-time="20m"}

The IBM® Cloudant® for IBM Cloud® *Getting started* tutorial demonstrates how to use the IBM Cloud® dashboard to create an IBM Cloudant service instance and obtain service credentials to connect to it. Finally, it guides you through the creation of a simple, locally hosted web application that uses your IBM Cloudant database.
{: shortdesc} 

## Objectives
{: #objectives-get-started}

- Create a service instance. 
- Create an IBM Cloudant service credential.

## Creating a service instance
{: #creating-an-ibm-cloudant-instance-on-ibm-cloud}
{: step}

1.  Log in to your IBM Cloud account, and click `Create resource`.  

    ![IBM Cloud Dashboard, which includes Build tile, Monitor your resources tile, Create and deploy an application tile, API Connect tile, Integrate Watson with anything tile, and Watson starter kits tile. ](/tutorials/images/img0001.png){: caption="IBM Cloud Dashboard" caption-side="bottom"}

    The IBM Cloud Dashboard can be found at:
    [https://cloud.ibm.com/](https://cloud.ibm.com/){: external}.
    After you authenticate with your username and password,
    you're presented with the IBM Cloud Dashboard. 
    {: note}
    
2.  Type `Cloudant` in the Search bar and click to open it.

3.  Select an offering and an environment.  

4.  Type an instance name.


    ![Create the IBM Cloudant service name and credentials.](tutorials/images/img0005b.png){: caption="IBM Cloudant service name and credentials" caption-side="bottom"}

    (In this example, the instance name is `Cloudant-o7`.) Verify that the resource group and authentication methods are correct. Add a tag if you like. The authentication methods that are available include `IAM` or `IAM and legacy credentials`. For more information, see [authentication methods](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/Cloudant?topic=Cloudant-managing-access-for-cloudant&format=markdown).

    The IBM Cloudant team encourages you to use IAM access controls over IBM Cloudant legacy authentication whenever possible.
    {: important}
 
5.  Select your plan.

6.  To create the service, click `Create`:

    After you click `Create`, the system displays a message to say that the instance is being provisioned, which returns you to the Resource list. From the Resource list, you see that the status for your instance is, `Provision in progress`. 

7.  After you create an instance, the status changes to `Active`. 

8. Click the instance, and proceed to the next section, [Creating service credentials](#creating-service-credentials).   

## Creating service credentials
{: #creating-service-credentials}
{: step}

1.  For more information about where to find your credentials, see [Locating your credentials](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/Cloudant?topic=Cloudant-locating-your-service-credentials&format=markdown#locating-your-service-credentials).

2.  See more information on [Understanding your service credentials](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/Cloudant?topic=Cloudant-locating-your-service-credentials&format=markdown#the-service-credentials).

3. Now, you're ready to use your IBM Cloudant database and get familiar with the basic features of IBM Cloud by following this tutorial: [Creating a web-based To-Do list](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/Cloudant?topic=Cloudant-web-based-todo-list&format=markdown).