📘 InfluxDB Bucket Creation – Detailed Documentation

🧠 What is a Bucket?

In InfluxDB, a bucket is a logical container where time series data is stored. Think of it as a combination of a database and a retention policy:

• It defines where data is stored
• It determines how long the data is retained

Buckets are tied to an organization (org) and can be used to:

• Collect sensor data
• Store application metrics
• Analyze log files
• Visualize historical trends

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🛠️ Prerequisites

Before creating a bucket, ensure you have the following:

Requirement	Description
✅ InfluxDB account	Cloud or local OSS instance
✅ Organization (org) ID	Identifies your workspace in InfluxDB
✅ Authentication token	Admin or write access token
✅ CLI or API tool access	Optional, for non-UI methods

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📂 Bucket Attributes

Attribute	Description
name	Unique name of the bucket
org	Organization under which the bucket is created
retentionRules	Duration to keep data (default = infinite)
description	(Optional) Notes about the bucket’s purpose

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1️⃣ Method 1: Creating a Bucket via InfluxDB UI

🔑 Step-by-step Guide:

1. Log In
   • Navigate to your InfluxDB dashboard (e.g., https://cloud2.influxdata.com).
   • Sign in with your credentials.
2. Access the Buckets Page
   • On the left panel, go to “Data” → “Buckets”.
3. Create a New Bucket
   • Click “+ Create Bucket”.
   • Fill in the form:
     • Bucket Name: iot_sensor_data
     • Retention Period:
       • Default: Infinite
       • Custom: e.g., 30 days, 1 year, etc.
     • Optional: Add a description for better organization.
   • Click “Create” to finish.

📝 Note:

You can edit the bucket name later, but retention rules cannot be changed post-creation via the UI.

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2️⃣ Method 2: Creating a Bucket via InfluxDB CLI

🔧 Requirements:

Ensure the influx CLI is installed and configured:

influx config list

✅ Example Command

influx bucket create \
  --name iot_sensor_data \
  --org my_org \
  --retention 30d \
  --description "Storing sensor data from IoT devices"

🧾 Flags Description:

Flag	Description
--name	Bucket name
--org	Your organization name or ID
--retention	Retention duration (e.g., 720h, 0s for infinite)
--description	Optional description of the bucket

🔍 Verify Creation

influx bucket list

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3️⃣ Method 3: Creating a Bucket via InfluxDB API

📡 Endpoint:

POST /api/v2/buckets

🔐 Headers:

Authorization: Token YOUR_API_TOKEN
Content-Type: application/json

📄 Sample Request Body:

{
  "name": "iot_sensor_data",
  "orgID": "your_org_id_here",
  "description": "Stores IoT device data",
  "retentionRules": [
    {
      "type": "expire",
      "everySeconds": 2592000
    }
  ]
}

• 2592000 seconds = 30 days

💬 Sample cURL:

curl --request POST \
  https://us-west-2-1.aws.cloud2.influxdata.com/api/v2/buckets \
  --header "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
    "name": "iot_sensor_data",
    "orgID": "your_org_id_here",
    "description": "Stores IoT device data",
    "retentionRules": [
      {
        "type": "expire",
        "everySeconds": 2592000
      }
    ]
  }'

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✅ Best Practices

Tip	Description
✅ Use meaningful names	e.g., prod_telemetry, dev_logs, metrics_internal
⏳ Apply appropriate retention	Prevent bloated storage and unnecessary costs
📦 Separate buckets for environments	e.g., dev_, test_, prod_ buckets
🔒 Apply access controls	Use authorization tokens with specific permissions

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🔄 Post-Creation Operations

⏺️ Write Data to Bucket

Using the CLI:

influx write \
  --bucket iot_sensor_data \
  --org my_org \
  --precision s \
  --format lp \
  --file ./data.lp

Using Python client:

python
CopyEdit
from influxdb_client import InfluxDBClient, Point

client = InfluxDBClient(
    url="https://your-instance-url",
    token="YOUR_TOKEN",
    org="your_org"
)

write_api = client.write_api()
write_api.write(bucket="iot_sensor_data", record=Point("temperature").tag("device", "sensor1").field("value", 25.3))

📊 Query Data

Flux query via CLI:

influx query 'from(bucket:"iot_sensor_data") |> range(start: -1h)'

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🧹 Clean-Up (Optional)

Delete a Bucket

CLI:

influx bucket delete --name iot_sensor_data --org my_org

API:

DELETE /api/v2/buckets/{bucketID}