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Get started with the REST API

Manage the resources in your Tiger Cloud project programmatically with the Tiger Cloud REST API

Use Tiger REST API to build your own integrations or when you need language-native access from an application. The Tiger CLI is a convenience wrapper over a subset of this API; the REST API is the complete surface. For how the REST API, Tiger CLI, and Tiger MCP compare, see Tiger CLI and Tiger MCP.

Tiger REST API is a comprehensive RESTful API you use to manage Tiger Cloud resources including VPCs, services, and read replicas.

This page shows you how to set up secure authentication for the Tiger REST API and create your first service.

Prerequisites for this tutorial

To follow these steps, you'll need:

Configure secure authentication

Tiger REST API uses HTTP Basic Authentication with access keys and secret keys. All API requests must include proper authentication headers.

  1. Set up API credentials

    1. In Tiger Console copy your project ID and store it securely using an environment variable:

      Terminal window
      export TIGERDATA_PROJECT_ID="your-project-id"

    2. In Tiger Console create your client credentials and store them securely using environment variables:

      Terminal window
      export TIGERDATA_ACCESS_KEY="Public key"
      export TIGERDATA_SECRET_KEY="Secret key"
  2. Configure the API endpoint

    Set the base URL in your environment:

    Terminal window
    export API_BASE_URL="https://console.cloud.tigerdata.com/public/api/v1"
  3. Test your authenticated connection to Tiger REST API by listing the services in the current Tiger Cloud project
    Terminal window
     curl -X GET "${API_BASE_URL}/projects/${TIGERDATA_PROJECT_ID}/services" \
       -u "${TIGERDATA_ACCESS_KEY}:${TIGERDATA_SECRET_KEY}" \
       -H "Content-Type: application/json"

    This call returns something like:

    • No services:

      []

    • One or more services:

      [{"service_id":"tgrservice","project_id":"tgrproject","name":"tiger-eon",
      "region_code":"us-east-1","service_type":"TIMESCALEDB",
      "created":"2025-10-20T12:21:28.216172Z","status":"READY",
      "resources":[{"id":"104977","spec":{"cpu_millis":500,"memory_gbs":2}}],
      "metrics":{"memory_mb":166,"storage_mb":892,"milli_cpu":6},
      "metadata":{"environment":"DEV"},
      "endpoint":{"host":"tgrservice.tgrproject.tsdb.cloud.timescale.com","port":11111}}]

Create your first Tiger Cloud service

Create a new service using the Tiger REST API:

  1. Create a service using the POST endpoint
    Terminal window
    curl -X POST "${API_BASE_URL}/projects/${TIGERDATA_PROJECT_ID}/services" \
      -u "${TIGERDATA_ACCESS_KEY}:${TIGERDATA_SECRET_KEY}" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{
         "name": "my-first-service",
         "addons": ["time-series"],
         "region_code": "us-east-1",
         "replica_count": 1,
         "cpu_millis": "1000",
         "memory_gbs": "4"
         }'

    Tiger Cloud creates a Development environment for you. That is, no delete protection, high-availability, spooling or read replication. You see something like:

     {"service_id":"tgrservice","project_id":"tgrproject","name":"my-first-service",
     "region_code":"us-east-1","service_type":"TIMESCALEDB",
     "created":"2025-10-20T22:29:33.052075713Z","status":"QUEUED",
     "resources":[{"id":"105120","spec":{"cpu_millis":1000,"memory_gbs":4}}],
     "metadata":{"environment":"DEV"},
     "endpoint":{"host":"tgrservice.tgrproject.tsdb.cloud.timescale.com","port":11111},
     "initial_password":"notTellingYou",
     "ha_replicas":{"sync_replica_count":0,"replica_count":1}}
  2. Save service_id from the response to a variable:
    Terminal window
    # Extract service_id from the JSON response
    export SERVICE_ID="service_id-from-response"
  3. Check the configuration for the service
    Terminal window
     curl -X GET "${API_BASE_URL}/projects/${TIGERDATA_PROJECT_ID}/services/${SERVICE_ID}" \
       -u "${TIGERDATA_ACCESS_KEY}:${TIGERDATA_SECRET_KEY}" \
       -H "Content-Type: application/json"

    You see something like:

     {"service_id":"tgrservice","project_id":"tgrproject","name":"my-first-service",
     "region_code":"us-east-1","service_type":"TIMESCALEDB",
     "created":"2025-10-20T22:29:33.052075Z","status":"READY",
     "resources":[{"id":"105120","spec":{"cpu_millis":1000,"memory_gbs":4}}],
     "metrics":{"memory_mb":166,"storage_mb":892,"milli_cpu":6},
     "metadata":{"environment":"DEV"},
     "endpoint":{"host":"tgrservice.tgrproject.tsdb.cloud.timescale.com","port":11111},
     "ha_replicas":{"sync_replica_count":0,"replica_count":1}}

And that is it, you are ready to use the Tiger REST API to manage your services in Tiger Cloud.

Security best practices

Follow these security guidelines when working with the Tiger REST API:

  • Credential management

    • Store API credentials as environment variables, not in code
    • Use credential rotation policies for production environments
    • Never commit credentials to version control systems

  • Network security

    • Use HTTPS endpoints exclusively for API communication
    • Implement proper certificate validation in your HTTP clients

  • Data protection

    • Use secure storage for service connection strings and passwords
    • Implement proper backup and recovery procedures for created services
    • Follow data residency requirements for your region

For every endpoint, parameter, and response, see the Tiger Cloud REST API reference.