Quick Start Guide

    Get up and running with Nile in minutes

    Option 1: Try the Live Demo

    The fastest way to explore Nile is through our interactive live demo. No installation or AWS account required.

    Launch Live Demo

    The demo includes a sample sales database with tables like customer, order, product, and more. You can:

    • Browse the data catalog
    • Write and run SQL queries
    • Explore the query editor with syntax highlighting
    • See how the interface works

    Option 2: Download the Desktop App

    For the full Nile experience with your own AWS account, download the desktop application.

    1Download

    Download the desktop app for your operating system from our downloads page.

    2Prerequisites

    Before deploying, ensure you have:

    • AWS Account with admin permissions
    • AWS CLI configured with credentials
    • Node.js 18+ installed

    3Deploy to AWS

    The desktop app includes a deployment wizard that guides you through the AWS setup:

    1. Launch the desktop app
    2. Click "Deploy to AWS"
    3. Select your AWS region
    4. Follow the wizard to deploy the infrastructure
    What gets deployed?
    • Lambda functions for API and query execution
    • DynamoDB tables for metadata
    • S3 bucket for Iceberg table storage
    • EMR Serverless application for PySpark jobs
    • API Gateway for REST endpoints

    4Connect and Start

    Once deployment completes, the app automatically connects to your infrastructure. You can:

    • Create your first database
    • Import existing tables from S3/Glue
    • Write queries and save them as managed tables
    • Set up scheduled jobs

    Estimated AWS Costs

    Nile uses serverless AWS services, so you only pay for what you use:

    Cost Estimates (typical usage):
    • S3 Storage: ~$23/TB/month
    • EMR Serverless: ~$0.05/vCPU-hour (only when jobs run)
    • DynamoDB: ~$5-20/month for metadata
    • Lambda: Usually within free tier

    For small teams, expect $20-50/month. Costs scale with data volume and job frequency.

    Next Steps

    Once you're set up, explore these guides:

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