  We present the first 2.5 years of data from the MeerKAT Pulsar Timing Array
(MPTA), part of MeerTime, a MeerKAT Large Survey Project. The MPTA aims to
precisely measure pulse arrival times from an ensemble of 88 pulsars visible
from the Southern Hemisphere, with the goal of contributing to the search,
detection and study of nanohertz-frequency gravitational waves as part of the
International Pulsar Timing Array. This project makes use of the MeerKAT
telescope, and operates with a typical observing cadence of two weeks using the
L-band receiver that records data from 856-1712 MHz. We provide a comprehensive
description of the observing system, software, and pipelines used and developed
for the MeerTime project. The data products made available as part of this data
release are from the 78 pulsars that had at least $30$ observations between the
start of the MeerTime programme in February 2019 and October 2021. These
include both sub-banded and band-averaged arrival times, as well as the initial
timing ephemerides, noise models, and the frequency-dependent standard
templates (portraits) used to derive pulse arrival times. After accounting for
detected noise processes in the data, the frequency-averaged residuals of $67$
of the pulsars achieved a root-mean-square residual precision of $< 1 \mu
\rm{s}$. We also present a novel recovery of the clock correction waveform
solely from pulsar timing residuals, and an exploration into preliminary
findings of interest to the international pulsar timing community. The arrival
times, standards and full Stokes parameter calibrated pulsar timing archives
are publicly available.
