> ## 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.

# Instance overview

> Shared infrastructure the Firebolt Operator provisions per FireboltInstance.

## Overview

`FireboltInstance` is the parent resource for shared namespace infrastructure: PostgreSQL for metadata storage, the metadata service, and the Envoy gateway. Engines in the namespace stay blocked until the instance is ready and publishes the endpoints they need.

* [Instance reconciliation](./instance-reconciliation) walks through the reconciler steps, lifecycle phases, and component pod-template merge rules.

Client query traffic enters through the per-instance Envoy gateway. See the [Gateway overview](./gateway/overview), plus [Gateway query routing](./gateway/gateway-query-routing) and [Gateway sizing](./gateway/gateway-sizing) for routing and capacity detail.

For the `FireboltInstance` API surface, see the [FireboltInstance CRD reference](../crd-reference/instance-crd-reference).

## Inspecting status

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
kubectl get fire -n firebolt
```

```
NAME         PHASE   GATEWAY   METADATA   AGE
production   Ready   true      true       24h
```

For full detail:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
kubectl get fire production -n firebolt -o yaml
```

Worked examples live in the [`examples/`](https://github.com/firebolt-db/firebolt-kubernetes-operator/tree/main/examples) directory.