# Ingest your first data

Create a small table and read the record back. You need a writable catalog.

> **Before using the Altertable CLI:**
>
> Install the CLI if you haven’t already:
>
> ```bash
> curl -fsSL https://install.altertable.ai | sh
> altertable login
> ```
>
> If `altertable` isn’t found after installation, open a new terminal. Run `altertable login` to log in to your organization and environment. Follow the [CLI setup guide](/docs/lakehouse/clients/cli.md#2-log-in) to configure credentials and verify access.

## 1. Choose a destination

Run `altertable catalog` to find a writable catalog. If none exists, create an [Altertable catalog](/docs/lakehouse/catalogs.md) in the app.

Use a new table name for this example. Replace `my_catalog` with your catalog name.

## 2. Append a record

```altertable
altertable append '{"event":"onboarding_test","source":"quickstart"}' --to my_catalog.main.onboarding_events
```

Append creates a missing table and infers its columns. Processing is asynchronous, so allow a few seconds before querying.

## 3. Read it back

```altertable
altertable query "SELECT event, source FROM my_catalog.main.onboarding_events WHERE event = 'onboarding_test' LIMIT 10"
```

Confirm that the result contains `onboarding_test` and `quickstart`. If the record is missing, inspect the append result and [ingestion troubleshooting](/docs/lakehouse/ingest/http-api.md#troubleshooting).

## Do this with your agent

```text
Read https://altertable.ai/docs/getting-started/ingest-data.md. Help me load a small first dataset into Altertable. Inspect available catalogs and ask only which source data or target environment you cannot determine. Show the exact destination and write operation for review before writing; do not overwrite existing data. Verify a known record with a bounded query, compare its fields with the source, and report the rows loaded and any rejected records. Diagnose an empty result rather than treating it as success.
```

Next, [load your own records or files](/docs/lakehouse/ingest/http-api.md).