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

# First Project

> Learn how to create your first Meilisearch Cloud project.

This tutorial walks you through setting up [Meilisearch Cloud](https://meilisearch.com/cloud), creating a project and an index, adding documents to it, and performing your first search with the default web interface.

You need a Meilisearch Cloud account to follow along. If you don't have one, register for a 14-day free trial account at [https://cloud.meilisearch.com/register](https://cloud.meilisearch.com/register?utm_campaign=oss\&utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=cloud-quick-start).

## Creating a project

To use Meilisearch Cloud, you must first create a project. Projects act as containers for indexes, tasks, billing, and other information related to Meilisearch Cloud.

Click the "New project" button on the top menu. If you have a free trial account and this is your first project, the button will read "Start free trial" instead:

![The Meilisearch Cloud menu, featuring the 'New Project' button](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/kYJO98Uevt3SrL1y/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/1-new-project.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=kYJO98Uevt3SrL1y\&q=85\&s=dca6d7e62d243815bf4f803d790e1958)

Name your project `meilisearch-quick-start` and select the region closest to you, then click on "Create project":

![A modal window with two mandatory fields: 'Project name' and 'Select a region'](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/2-create-project.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA\&q=85\&s=e4a0eaa9fa080cd8e7614a2ad01a2c4c)

If you are not using a free trial account, you must also choose a billing plan based on the size of your dataset and number of searches per month:

![A variation of the previous modal window with an extra mandatory field: 'Select a plan'. There are a few billing plan options](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/3-project-billing.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA\&q=85\&s=8d258fe7694e0480ff7d01869604642f)

Creating your project might take a few minutes. Check the project list to follow its status. Once the project is ready, click on its name to go to the project overview page:

![Meilisearch Cloud's main list of projects. It features only one project, 'meilisearch-quick-start', and shows information such as API keys, URL, and number of monthly searches](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/4-project-list.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA\&q=85\&s=1bebe5a9eb52ac7da36903d953fcdc26)

## Creating an index and adding documents

After creating your project, you must index the data you want to search. Meilisearch stores and processes data you add to it in indexes. A single project may contain multiple indexes.

First, click on the indexes tab in the project page menu:

![The project overview page, featuring a secondary menu with several links. A red arrow points at a menu item: 'Indexes'](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/5-project-page-menu-indexes.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA\&q=85\&s=12e73b016d800c0772fe6fe650d2e731)

This leads you to the index listing. Click on "New index":

![An empty list of indexes in this project with a button on the upper right corner](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/6-index-list-empty.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA\&q=85\&s=ffc0b9b52c78b2672242001abb636f39)

Write `movies` in the name field and click on "Create Index":

![A modal window with one mandatory field: 'Index name'](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/7-create-index.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA\&q=85\&s=5e6922a0f807d9afb2c508ab964632aa)

The final step in creating an index is to add data to it. Choose "File upload":

![Another modal window with three options. A red arrow points at the chosen option, 'File upload'](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/8-file-upload.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA\&q=85\&s=beff013ef09a96d7b7e0f5ef3f35ec5f)

Meilisearch Cloud will ask you for your dataset. To follow along, use this [list of movies](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/assets/datasets/movies.json). Download the file to your computer, drag and drop it into the indicated area, then click on "Import documents":

![Another modal window with a large drag-and-drop area. It indicates a file named 'movies.json' will be uploaded](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/9-data-import.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=AA65w-9bZrf-CgFA\&q=85\&s=c2281410bab3263b80a14b0afc0c1161)

Meilisearch Cloud will index your documents. This may take a moment. Click on "See index list" and wait. Once it is done, click on "Settings" to visit the index overview:

![A list of all indexes in this project. It shows a single index, \`movies\`, and indicates it contains over 30,000 documents](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/kYJO98Uevt3SrL1y/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/10-index-list-filled.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=kYJO98Uevt3SrL1y\&q=85\&s=55c84387fb8290f88be986b97838d0dc)

## Searching

With all data uploaded and processed, the last step is to run a few test searches to confirm Meilisearch is running as expected.

Click on the project name on the breadcrumb menu to return to the project overview:

![The index list page. A red arrow points at the breadcrumb menu](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/kYJO98Uevt3SrL1y/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/11-index-list-breadcrumb.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=kYJO98Uevt3SrL1y\&q=85\&s=b6e496f676b9209129c3c02395caf4e7)

Meilisearch Cloud comes with a search preview interface. Click on "Search preview" to access it:

![The project overview page. A red arrow points at a menu item named 'Search preview'](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/kYJO98Uevt3SrL1y/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/12-project-page-url.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=kYJO98Uevt3SrL1y\&q=85\&s=3d02b861aec9a91d0cfb73b170c1eeea)

Finally, try searching for a few movies, like "Solaris":

![The search preview interface, with 'solaris' written in the search bar](https://mintcdn.com/meilisearch-6b28dec2/kYJO98Uevt3SrL1y/assets/images/cloud-getting-started/13-search-preview.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=kYJO98Uevt3SrL1y\&q=85\&s=7f9882e15e98486cedeb0e9cf8c50468)

If you can see the results coming in as you type, congratulations: you now know all the basic steps to using Meilisearch Cloud.

## What's next

This tutorial taught you how to use Meilisearch Cloud's interface to create a project, add an index to it, and use the search preview interface.

In most real-life settings, you will be creating your own search interface and retrieving results through Meilisearch's API. To learn how to add documents and search using the command-line or an SDK in your preferred language, check out the [Meilisearch quick start](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/resources/self_hosting/getting_started/quick_start.md).


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.