# Overview

Ways to run SurrealDB - from a browser sandbox to a managed cloud instance to installing on your own hardware.

You can start with SurrealDB in more than one way. This section orders them from **the least to the most** involved, so you can pick how much you want to set up.

## Try it without installing

1. **[SurrealDB Studio Sandbox](/docs/running/sandbox.md)** - Open SurrealDB Studio in the browser and use the built-in Sandbox. Nothing to install; data is not persistent, which is perfect for quick experiments and learning SurrealQL.

2. **[SurrealDB Cloud](/docs/running/cloud.md)** - Create a free [SurrealDB Cloud](/docs/manage/instances.md) instance (you will need an email to sign in). You keep persistence and a managed database without running a server on your own machine.

3. **[Installation](/docs/running/installation.md)** - Install the `surreal` binary and run SurrealDB locally or on your own infrastructure. This is the path when you want full control, offline work, or production self-hosting.

## How you run the database on your own infrastructure

After you are running SurrealDB (locally or on servers you manage), you can choose storage and topology:

- [Run a single-node, in-memory server](/docs/running/in-memory.md) with optional persistence and versioning (SurrealMX)
- [Run a single-node, on-disk server](/docs/running/file-backed.md) (RocksDB or SurrealKV)
- [Run a multi-node cluster](/docs/running/multi-node.md)
- [Run with Docker](/docs/running/docker.md)