Before using MaxCompute, you need an Alibaba Cloud account with account verification completed and an AccessKey pair created. This guide walks you through all three steps.
If you already have a verified Alibaba Cloud account and an AccessKey pair, skip to What's next.
Step 1: Create an Alibaba Cloud account
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Go to the Alibaba Cloud International Website.
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In the upper-right corner, click Free Trial.
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On the Sign up to Alibaba Cloud page, follow the prompts to create your account.
The account you create has full permissions on all resources within the account. For day-to-day operations, use a RAM user with limited permissions instead of your main account — this limits the blast radius if credentials are ever compromised. See What's next for how to set up RAM users.
Keep your account password confidential and rotate it regularly. Never share your account credentials with others.
Step 2: Complete account verification
Account verification is required before you can purchase or use any Alibaba Cloud service.
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Go to the Account Center.
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In the left-side navigation pane, click Account Verification and follow the prompts.
Step 3: Create an AccessKey pair
An AccessKey pair authenticates your identity when calling Alibaba Cloud services programmatically. It consists of an AccessKey ID and an AccessKey secret, and is separate from your account password.
Main account AccessKeys carry the same permissions as your root account. For production workloads, create a RAM user and generate the AccessKey pair under that RAM user instead.
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Go to the AccessKey page.
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In the Main Account AccessKey is not recommended dialog box, select I am aware of the security risks of using a main account AccessKey, then click use Main Account AccessKey.
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On the AccessKey page, click Create AccessKey.
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In the Create Main Account AccessKey dialog box, select I am aware of the security risks of using a main account AccessKey, then click use Main Account AccessKey. The system creates the AccessKey pair.
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In the Create AccessKey dialog box, click Download CSV File or Copy to save your credentials. Select I have saved the AccessKey Secret, then click OK. On the AccessKey Pair page, you can view the status of your AccessKey pair and disable or delete it.
Secure your AccessKey pair:
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Store the AccessKey ID and AccessKey secret in a secure location — the secret is shown only once and cannot be retrieved later.
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Never share your credentials or commit them to source control.
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If you suspect your credentials have been exposed, disable the AccessKey pair immediately.
Disabling an AccessKey pair causes all services using it to fail. Check which services depend on an AccessKey pair before disabling it. Each account supports a maximum of 5 AccessKeys.
What's next
Choose the setup path that matches your situation:
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Multiple users: Create RAM users so that each person uses their own credentials. See Prepare a RAM user and Resource Access Management (RAM).
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Solo user: Activate MaxCompute directly. See Activate MaxCompute and DataWorks.
Even for solo use, creating a dedicated RAM user with only the permissions MaxCompute needs is the safer long-term approach as your workloads grow.