# Create a data stream
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First, you must create the data stream that you will use in subsequent steps of this tutorial.

**To create a stream**

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Kinesis console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/kinesis](https://console.aws.amazon.com/kinesis).

1. Choose **Data Streams** in the navigation pane.

1. In the navigation bar, expand the Region selector and choose a Region.

1. Choose **Create Kinesis stream**.

1. Enter a name for your data stream (for example, **StockTradeStream**).

1. Enter **1** for the number of shards, but keep **Estimate the number of shards you'll need** collapsed.

1. Choose **Create Kinesis stream**.

On the **Kinesis streams** list page, the status of your stream appears as `CREATING` while the stream is being created. When the stream is ready to use, the status changes to `ACTIVE`. 

If you choose the name of your stream, in the page that appears, the **Details** tab displays a summary of your data stream configuration. The **Monitoring** section displays monitoring information for the stream.

## Next steps
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[Create an IAM policy and user](tutorial-stock-data-kplkcl2-iam.md)