# start-connection
<a name="oct-start-connection"></a>

The **start-connection** command initiates a connection with the Outpost service in the Region for the Outposts server. This command sources the Signature Version 4 (SigV4) credentials from the environment variables you loaded with **export**. The connection runs asynchronously and returns immediately. To check the status of the connection, use [get-connection](oct-get-connection.md).

**Syntax**  

```
Outpost>start-connection [index]
```

**Parameters**  
This command takes an optional index. The valid values are 0 and 1.

**Example output: Connection is started**  

```
is_started: True
asset_id: asset-id
connection_id: connection-id
timestamp: 2021-10-01T23:30:26Z
checksum: checksum
```