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Tacnode Quick Start

Get started with Tacnode quickly! This step-by-step guide will have you creating databases and running queries in just 10 minutes.

Welcome to Tacnode! This quick-start guide will walk you through setting up your first context lake and running queries in just 10 minutes.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to:

  • Create and configure your Tacnode Context Lake
  • Connect to your database using psql
  • Create databases and tables
  • Insert, query, and update data

Step 1: Prerequisites

Before we begin, you’ll need to complete these quick setup steps:

Create Your Tacnode Account

  1. Visit the signup page: Go to Tacnode Signup
  2. Register with your email: New users can quickly register using any email address

Install psql Client

You’ll need the PostgreSQL command-line client to connect to Tacnode:

Tip: psql is the standard way to interact with PostgreSQL-compatible databases like Tacnode

Step 2: Set Up Your Environment

Create Your Context Lake

The Context Lake is your dedicated workspace where all data operations happen.

  1. Log in to Tacnode
  2. Navigate to the Context Lake management page
  3. Click “Create Context Lake” to set up your workspace

Learn more: Context Lake Documentation

Create Your Nodegroup

A Nodegroup is Tacnode’s compute engine that processes all your database operations (DDL, DML, queries).

  1. Access Nodegroup management in one of two ways:
    • From Context Lake Center → Nodegroup
    • Direct URL: https://<cloud_regionid>-app.tacnode.io
  2. Click “+Nodegroup” to create your compute instance

Learn more: Nodegroup Documentation Regions: Check supported regions

Step 3: Connect to Your Database

Enable Public Access

By default, Nodegroups use VPC networking. For this tutorial, we’ll enable public access:

  1. Go to your Nodegroup details page
  2. Click the network settings
  3. Enable public network access
  4. Copy the connection details provided

Connect Using psql

Use the following command template to connect:

psql -U <Account> -d postgres -h <Host> -p 5432

Where:

  • <Account>: Your Tacnode account username
  • <Host>: The public domain name from the connection details

Security Note: You’ll be prompted for your password when connecting

Step 4: Create Your First Database

Now that you’re connected, let’s create your first database and table!

Create a Database

Create a new database called tac_test:

CREATE DATABASE tac_test;

Switch to your new database:

postgres=# \c tac_test
You are now connected to database "tac_test" as user "judy".
tac_test=#

Success! You’re now working in your new database

Create a Table

Let’s create a simple cars table to store vehicle information:

CREATE TABLE cars (
  brand VARCHAR(255),
  model VARCHAR(255),
  year INT
);

Verify your table was created:

tac_test=# CREATE TABLE cars (
  brand VARCHAR(255),
  model VARCHAR(255),
  year INT
);
CREATE TABLE

tac_test=# \d cars
                       Table "public.cars"
 Column |          Type          | Collation | Nullable | Default
--------+------------------------+-----------+----------+---------
 brand  | character varying(255) |           |          |
 model  | character varying(255) |           |          |
 year   | integer                |           |          |

Great! Your table is ready for data

Step 5: Work with Your Data

Now let’s add some data and run queries to see Tacnode in action!

Insert Data

Add your first record to the cars table:

INSERT INTO cars (brand, model, year)
VALUES ('Ford', 'Mustang', 1964);

Result:

tac_test=# INSERT INTO cars (brand, model, year)
VALUES ('Ford', 'Mustang', 1964);
INSERT 0 1

Success! One row inserted

Query Your Data

Let’s see what we’ve stored:

SELECT * FROM cars;

Result:

tac_test=# SELECT * FROM cars;
 brand |  model  | year
-------+---------+------
 Ford  | Mustang | 1964
(1 row)

Perfect! Your data is there and ready to query

Update Data

Let’s modify the existing record:

UPDATE cars
SET model = 'NEWMustang'
WHERE brand = 'Ford';

Result:

tac_test=# UPDATE cars
SET model = 'NEWMustang'
WHERE brand = 'Ford';
UPDATE 1

tac_test=# SELECT * FROM cars;
 brand |   model    | year
-------+------------+------
 Ford  | NEWMustang | 1964
(1 row)

Excellent! Your data has been successfully updated

Congratulations!

You’ve successfully completed the Tacnode 10-minute quickstart! Here’s what you accomplished:

  • Set up your Tacnode Context Lake
  • Connected to your database
  • Created a database and table
  • Inserted, queried, and updated data

Next Steps

Ready to explore more? Here are your next steps:

Need Help?

Happy querying with Tacnode!