# Quick start: HotKV Cloud

> Sign up, create an instance, and connect with redis-cli and an SDK.

URL: https://docs.hotkv.com/quickstart-cloud/

This walks through creating a HotKV Cloud instance and connecting to it with
`redis-cli` and with an SDK. HotKV Cloud is a fully managed HotKV instance
that HotKV Ltd hosts and operates on Google Cloud; see
[Introduction](https://docs.hotkv.com/introduction/index.md) for how it compares to On-Premise.

## 1. Sign up

Create an account at [portal.hotkv.com/register](https://portal.hotkv.com/register).
If you already have one, [log in](https://portal.hotkv.com/login) instead.

## 2. Create an instance

From the portal, start a new instance and choose:

- **Edition and plan**: HotKV Starter is a single dedicated instance for
  development and small projects. HotKV Enterprise comes in two plans:
  Performance adds the AI and LLM features, daily backups with self-serve
  restore, and a 99.9% SLA; Scale adds replication, encryption at rest,
  the audit log, and multi-tenancy on top, with a 99.95% SLA. See the
  [command reference](https://docs.hotkv.com/commands/index.md) for which command families each plan
  unlocks.
- **Region**: pick the Google Cloud region closest to your application.
  The list shows only the regions where your chosen plan is available.

Pricing is calculated live for your chosen plan and region at checkout, and
billed monthly or yearly in USD. Once checkout completes, the instance is
provisioned automatically; this typically takes a few minutes.

## 3. Get your connection details

Open your instance in the portal and go to its **Connection** tab. It shows
three values you will need:

- **Host**: your instance's own name, such as `k7f3q9x2ab.hotkv.io`.
- **Port**: your instance's port.
- **Password**: generated for your instance; click to reveal or copy it.

Every new HotKV Cloud instance accepts TLS connections only. Its certificate is
issued by Let's Encrypt for the instance's name, so clients trust it out of
the box: turn on TLS in your client (`--tls`, a `hotkvs://` or `rediss://`
URL, or the client's TLS option) and connect to the host exactly as shown,
without extra CA files. The Connection tab also gives you a ready-made
connection string. A new instance shows a short "securing" notice while
its certificate is issued, usually a minute or two after it starts.

## 4. Connect with redis-cli or hotkv-cli

The Connection tab gives you a ready-to-run command. Using the values from
step 3:

```bash
# HotKV's own CLI
hotkv-cli --tls -h <host> -p <port> -a <password>

# Or any Redis-compatible CLI with TLS support (redis-cli 6+, valkey-cli)
redis-cli --tls -h <host> -p <port> -a <password>
```

Set `HOTKVCLI_AUTH` (or `REDISCLI_AUTH` for `redis-cli`) instead of `-a` to
keep the password out of your shell history and process list.

Once connected, try a command:

```
<host>:<port>> SET greeting "hello from HotKV Cloud"
OK
<host>:<port>> GET greeting
"hello from HotKV Cloud"
```

## 5. Connect with an SDK

Install the official SDK for your language (see
[Connecting and SDKs](https://docs.hotkv.com/sdks/index.md) for all 12), then connect with the
connection string from the Connection tab. The `hotkvs://` scheme turns on
TLS.

**Python:**

```python
# pip install hotkv-client
import hotkv

client = hotkv.from_url("hotkvs://:<password>@<host>:<port>")
client.set("hello", "world")
print(client.get("hello"))
```

**Node.js:**

```ts
// npm install @hotkv/client
import { HotKV } from "@hotkv/client";

const client = new HotKV({ url: "hotkvs://:<password>@<host>:<port>" });
await client.set("hello", "world");
console.log(await client.get("hello"));
await client.close();
```

Prefer a Redis client instead of the HotKV SDK? HotKV speaks RESP2/RESP3,
so any Redis-compatible client library works unchanged with TLS turned on,
for example
`redis.Redis(host="<host>", port=<port>, password="<password>", ssl=True)` in
Python or a `rediss://` URL in Node.js.

## Next steps

- [AI features guide](https://docs.hotkv.com/ai-features/index.md): put the prompt cache, semantic
  cache, and agent memory to work.
- [Command reference](https://docs.hotkv.com/commands/index.md): the full command list.
- [Security](https://docs.hotkv.com/security/index.md): TLS, ACL, and authentication in more detail.
- [Persistence and backups](https://docs.hotkv.com/persistence/index.md): how HotKV Cloud backs up
  your data.