> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.firebolt.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is Firebolt?

> Firebolt is a high-performance, open source analytical database. It runs as a single binary on a laptop and scales to hundreds of nodes and petabytes of data on object storage in your own cloud.

**Open source · PostgreSQL · Real-time · Scale-out · Iceberg**

<Info>
  Firebolt OSS is currently in Preview. GA launches in early August. You can already [deploy](/overview#deployment-modes) on your own hardware. Email us at [support@firebolt.io](mailto:support@firebolt.io) if you want code access.
</Info>

Firebolt is built for engineers and AI agents: low-latency queries, efficient ELT, and one engine that behaves the same from a laptop to a production cluster.

## Why Firebolt

* **Open engine, open storage.** The engine is open source and reads open formats (Parquet, Iceberg), so there is no lock-in.
* **Deploy anywhere.** The same binary runs on a laptop, VM, bare metal, Kubernetes, or any cloud. Managed and bring-your-own-cloud (BYOC) commercial offerings are also available.
* **Price-performance.** Fast analytics on data-intensive workloads at low cost.
* **Real-time and batch.** Low-latency queries on the custom storage format and batch ELT over Parquet and Iceberg, from one engine.

## Deployment modes

**Single binary.** Zero dependencies for local development and embedded use. Install with:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
bash <(curl -s https://get.firebolt.io/)
```

**Helm chart.** Scale compute and storage independently to isolate workloads on Kubernetes. See the [Helm chart quickstart](/self-managed/helm-chart/quickstart).

**Kubernetes operator.** Run a full platform with workload isolation and dynamic scaling. See the [Firebolt Operator quickstart](/self-managed/firebolt-operator/quickstart).

**Managed service.** Start on the fully managed service with a \$200 credit and no card. See [Managed service](/managed-service/organizations-accounts).

For the architecture behind each mode, see [Architecture](/overview/architecture-overview).

## At a glance

| Attribute    | Detail                                                     |
| :----------- | :--------------------------------------------------------- |
| SQL dialect  | PostgreSQL-compatible                                      |
| Data volume  | Gigabytes to petabytes                                     |
| Architecture | Single binary, built for object storage                    |
| Compute      | x86 / ARM, 1 to 256 vCPU, 1 to 256 nodes                   |
| Connectivity | ADBC, JSON REST, PostgreSQL wire protocol                  |
| Storage      | Custom format (real time), Parquet and Iceberg (batch)     |
| Consistency  | ACID transactions, snapshot isolation                      |
| Deployment   | Binary, Docker, Helm, Kubernetes operator, managed service |
| Cloud        | AWS (GA), GCP (GA), Azure (Preview)                        |

## Next steps

* Connect an SDK and load data in the [Quickstart](/overview/quickstart).
* Run Firebolt in your own infrastructure with the [Self-Managed](/self-managed) docs.
* Understand the engine in [Architecture](/overview/architecture-overview) and [Performance and observability](/performance-and-observability).