> ## 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.

# Quickstart

> Start querying with Firebolt fast. Run an engine, connect with an SDK, and load external data with table-valued functions and COPY.

The fastest way to start is with your coding agent. Firebolt speaks PostgreSQL and these docs are written for agents as well as people, so a tool like [Claude Code](https://www.claude.com/product/claude-code) can scaffold a connection, write the SQL, and load your data from a single prompt. Point it at this page and describe what you want to query.

To do it by hand, the path is the same: run an engine, connect with an SDK, and load data.

## 1. Run an engine

* **Local.** Install the single binary for a working engine with zero dependencies:

  ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
  bash <(curl -s https://get.firebolt.io/)
  ```
* **Cluster.** Deploy with the [Helm chart](/self-managed/helm-chart/quickstart) or the [Firebolt Operator](/self-managed/firebolt-operator/quickstart).
* **Managed.** Start on the [managed service](/managed-service/organizations-accounts) with a \$200 credit.

Every engine accepts SQL over the PostgreSQL wire protocol and an [HTTP endpoint](/self-managed/connecting-over-http).

## 2. Connect with an SDK

Firebolt ships clients for the languages engineers already use:

* [Python](/guides/developing-with-firebolt/connecting-with-python)
* [Go](/guides/developing-with-firebolt/connecting-with-go)
* [Node.js](/guides/developing-with-firebolt/connecting-with-nodejs)
* [Java (JDBC)](/guides/developing-with-firebolt/connecting-with-jdbc)
* [.NET](/guides/developing-with-firebolt/connecting-with-net-sdk)
* [Rust](/guides/developing-with-firebolt/connecting-with-rust)
* [SQLAlchemy](/guides/developing-with-firebolt/connecting-with-sqlalchemy)

For raw HTTP and the REST API, see [Use the API](/guides/developing-with-firebolt/using-the-api).

## 3. Load external data

Query files in object storage directly with table-valued functions, with no ingestion step:

```sql theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
SELECT *
FROM READ_PARQUET(
  URL => 's3://my-bucket/events/*.parquet'
);
```

`READ_CSV`, `READ_JSON`, and `READ_AVRO` work the same way. See the [table-valued functions](/reference-sql/functions-reference/table-valued) reference.

To make the data resident in Firebolt for the fastest queries, load it with `COPY FROM`:

```sql theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
COPY INTO events
FROM 's3://my-bucket/events/'
WITH (TYPE = PARQUET);
```

See [COPY FROM](/reference-sql/commands/data-management/copy-from) and the [Load data](/guides/loading-data) guide for credentials, location objects, and incremental loads.

## Next steps

* Read [Core concepts](/overview/data-management) for a tour of the data model, table types, indexing, and ingest. Start here.
* Want to go deep right away? See [Performance and observability](/performance-and-observability) or the [SQL commands reference](/reference-sql/commands).