TiDB Cloud CLI Quick Start

April 21, 2026 · View on GitHub

TiDB Cloud provides a command-line interface (CLI) ticloud for you to interact with TiDB Cloud from your terminal with a few lines of commands. For example, you can easily perform the following operations using ticloud:

Create, delete, and list your {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instances.
Import data to your {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instances.
Export data from your {{{ .starter }}} or Essential instances.

Note:

TiDB Cloud CLI is in beta.

Before you begin

Have a TiDB Cloud account. If you do not have one, sign up for a free trial.

Installation

For macOS or Linux, you can install ticloud using any of the following methods:

Install via script (recommended)

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tidbcloud/tidbcloud-cli/main/install.sh | sh

Install via TiUP
```
tiup install cloud
```
Install manually

Download the pre-compiled binaries from the releases page and copy them to your desired location for installation.
Install in GitHub Actions

To set up ticloud in GitHub Action, use setup-tidbcloud-cli.

Install the MySQL command-line client if you do not have it. You can install it via your package manager:

Debian-based distributions:
```
sudo apt-get install mysql-client
```
RPM-based distributions:
```
sudo yum install mysql
```
macOS:
```
brew install mysql-client
```

For Windows, you can install ticloud using either of the following methods:

Install manually

Download the pre-compiled binaries from the releases page and copy them to the desired location for installation.
Install in GitHub Actions

To set up ticloud in GitHub Actions, use setup-tidbcloud-cli.

Install the MySQL command-line client if you do not have it. You can refer to the instructions in MySQL Installer for Windows for the installation. To launch ticloud connect on Windows, you need to have the directory containing mysql.exe in the PATH environment variable.

Quick start

Note:

If you use TiUP, you can use tiup cloud instead of ticloud.

{{{ .starter }}} is the best way to get started with TiDB Cloud. In this section, you will learn how to create a {{{ .starter }}} instance with TiDB Cloud CLI.

Create a user profile or log into TiDB Cloud

Before creating a {{{ .starter }}} instance with TiDB Cloud CLI, you need to either create a user profile or log into TiDB Cloud.

Create a user profile with your TiDB Cloud API key:
```
ticloud config create
```
Warning:

The profile name MUST NOT contain ..
Log into TiDB Cloud with authentication:
```
ticloud auth login
```
After successful login, an OAuth token will be assigned to the current profile. If no profiles exist, the token will be assigned to a profile named default.

Note:

In the preceding two methods, the TiDB Cloud API key takes precedence over the OAuth token. If both are available, the API key will be used.