---
title: Create an MST service | Tiger Data Docs
description: Create and connect to a service in Managed Service for TimescaleDB
---

[Managed Service for TimescaleDB (MST)](https://www.tigerdata.com/mst-signup) is hosted [TimescaleDB](https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb) offered in partnership with Aiven.

## Create your first service

A service in Managed Service for TimescaleDB is a cloud instance on your chosen cloud provider, which you can install your database on.

1. **Sign in to your MST Console**

   [Sign in](https://portal.managed.timescale.com/login) to your Managed Service for TimescaleDB Console.

2. **Click `Create service` and choose `TimescaleDB`**

   Update your preferences:

   ![Creating a new MST service](/docs/_astro/new-service.Bvjfe18u_Z1D5562.webp)

   - In the `Select Your Cloud Service Provider` field, click your preferred provider.
   - In the `Select Your Cloud Service Region` field, click your preferred server location. This is often the server that’s physically closest to you.
   - In the `Select Your Service Plan` field, click your preferred plan, based on the hardware configuration you require. If you are in your trial period, and just want to try the MST service out, or develop a proof of concept, we recommend the `Dev` plan, because it is the most cost-effective during your trial period.

3. **Review your settings and click `Create Service`**

   In the information bar on the right of the screen, review the settings you have selected for your MST service. The MST service takes a few minutes to provision.

## Connect to your MST service from the command prompt

When you have an MST service up and running, you can connect to it from your local system using the `psql` command-line utility. This is the same tool you might have used to connect to PostgreSQL before, but if you haven’t installed it yet, check out the [installing psql](/docs/integrate/query-administration/psql/index.md) section.

1. **Sign in to your MST Console**

   [Sign in](https://portal.managed.timescale.com/login) to your MST Console.

2. **Find your service**

   In the `Services` tab, find the MST service you want to connect to, and check it is marked as `Running`.

3. **Get the connection details**

   Click the name of the MST service you want to connect to see the connection information. Take a note of the `host`, `port`, and `password`.

4. **Connect with psql**

   On your local system, at the command prompt, connect to the MST service, using your own MST service details:

   Terminal window

   ```
   psql -x "postgres://tsdbadmin:<PASSWORD>@<HOSTNAME>:<PORT>/defaultdb?sslmode=require"
   ```

   If your connection is successful, you’ll see a message like this, followed by the `psql` prompt:

   Terminal window

   ```
   psql (13.3, server 13.4)
   SSL connection (protocol: TLSv1.3, cipher: TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384, bits: 256, compression: off)
   Type "help" for help.
   defaultdb=>
   ```

## Check that you have the TimescaleDB extension

TimescaleDB is provided as an extension to your PostgreSQL database, and it is enabled by default when you create a new MST service on Managed Service for TimescaleDB. You can check that the TimescaleDB extension is installed by using the `\dx` command at the `psql` prompt. It looks like this:

```
defaultdb=> \dx


List of installed extensions
-[ RECORD 1 ]------------------------------------------------------------------
Name        | plpgsql
Version     | 1.0
Schema      | pg_catalog
Description | PL/pgSQL procedural language
-[ RECORD 2 ]------------------------------------------------------------------
Name        | timescaledb
Version     | 2.5.1
Schema      | public
Description | Enables scalable inserts and complex queries for time-series data


defaultdb=>
```

## Install and update TimescaleDB Toolkit

Run this command on each database you want to use Toolkit with:

```
CREATE EXTENSION timescaledb_toolkit;
```

Update an installed version of Toolkit using this command:

```
ALTER EXTENSION timescaledb_toolkit UPDATE;
```

## Where to next

Now that you have your first MST service up and running, check out the rest of the docs in this section, to find out what you can do with it.

If you want to work through some tutorials to help you get up and running with TimescaleDB and time-series data, check out [Learn](/docs/learn/index.md).

You can always [contact us](https://www.tigerdata.com/contact) for any questions you might have.