Firebolt Platform

Firebolt is a high-performance cloud analytics database with a vectorized query engine optimized for sub-second analytics. BenchBox supports both Firebolt Core (local) and Firebolt Cloud deployments.

Features

• Vectorized execution - SIMD-optimized query processing
• Two deployment modes - Local (Core) and Cloud
• PostgreSQL-compatible - Familiar SQL dialect
• Sparse indexes - Efficient data skipping
• Same engine everywhere - Core and Cloud use identical engine

Deployment Modes

Firebolt supports two deployment modes, selectable via the colon syntax. The first command uses Firebolt Core (local Docker, the default), and the second uses Firebolt Cloud (managed service):

benchbox run --platform firebolt:core --benchmark tpch --scale 0.1

benchbox run --platform firebolt:cloud --benchmark tpch --scale 1.0

Firebolt Core (Local)

Free, self-hosted version running in Docker with the same query engine as cloud:

docker run -i --rm \
  --ulimit memlock=8589934592:8589934592 \
  --security-opt seccomp=unconfined \
  -p 127.0.0.1:3473:3473 \
  -v ./firebolt-data:/firebolt-core/volume \
  ghcr.io/firebolt-db/firebolt-core:preview-rc

Characteristics:

• No authentication required
• Databases created implicitly on connection
• Same vectorized query engine as cloud
• Ideal for development and testing

Firebolt Cloud

Managed cloud service requiring OAuth authentication:

• Sign up at firebolt.io
• Create service account credentials in Settings > Service Accounts
• Configure engine and database

Installation

pip install firebolt-sdk

pip install "benchbox[firebolt]"

Configuration

Firebolt Core (Local)

benchbox run --platform firebolt --benchmark tpch --scale 0.1 \
  --platform-option url=http://localhost:3473 \
  --platform-option database=benchbox

Firebolt Cloud

Set credentials through environment variables (recommended). The SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID and SERVICE_ACCOUNT_SECRET names are also supported as alternatives. Then run with the deployment mode syntax, or pass the credentials inline as CLI options (the last command):

export FIREBOLT_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
export FIREBOLT_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret
export FIREBOLT_ACCOUNT_NAME=your_account_name
export FIREBOLT_ENGINE_NAME=your_engine_name

export SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID=your_client_id
export SERVICE_ACCOUNT_SECRET=your_client_secret

benchbox run --platform firebolt:cloud --benchmark tpch --scale 1.0

benchbox run --platform firebolt:cloud --benchmark tpch --scale 1.0 \
  --platform-option client_id=$FIREBOLT_CLIENT_ID \
  --platform-option client_secret=$FIREBOLT_CLIENT_SECRET \
  --platform-option account_name=your_account \
  --platform-option compute_resource=your_engine \
  --platform-option database=benchmarks

Platform Options

Option	Default	Description
url	(none)	Firebolt Core URL (triggers Core mode)
client_id	(none)	Cloud OAuth client ID
client_secret	(none)	Cloud OAuth client secret
account_name	(none)	Firebolt Cloud account
compute_resource	(none)	Cloud engine name (deprecated alias: engine_name, removed in 0.6.0)
database	(auto)	Database name
api_endpoint	api.firebolt.io	API endpoint for Cloud

Usage Examples

Firebolt Core

Start the Core container first, then run the benchmark:

docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:3473:3473 ghcr.io/firebolt-db/firebolt-core:preview-rc

benchbox run --platform firebolt --benchmark tpch --scale 0.1 \
  --platform-option url=http://localhost:3473

Python API (Core)

from benchbox import TPCH
from benchbox.platforms.firebolt import FireboltAdapter

adapter = FireboltAdapter(
    url="http://localhost:3473",
    database="benchbox",
)

benchmark = TPCH(scale_factor=0.1)
benchmark.generate_data()
adapter.load_benchmark(benchmark)
results = adapter.run_benchmark(benchmark)

Python API (Cloud)

from benchbox import TPCH
from benchbox.platforms.firebolt import FireboltAdapter

adapter = FireboltAdapter(
    client_id="your_client_id",
    client_secret="your_client_secret",
    account_name="your_account",
    compute_resource="benchmark_engine",
    database="benchmarks",
)

benchmark = TPCH(scale_factor=1.0)
adapter.load_benchmark(benchmark)
results = adapter.run_benchmark(benchmark)

Performance Features

Sparse Indexes

Firebolt automatically creates sparse indexes for efficient data skipping:

CREATE TABLE lineitem (
    l_orderkey BIGINT,
    l_partkey BIGINT,
    ...
) PRIMARY INDEX (l_orderkey, l_partkey);

Aggregating Indexes

For pre-aggregated analytics:

CREATE AGGREGATING INDEX agg_revenue ON lineitem (
    l_returnflag,
    SUM(l_extendedprice),
    COUNT(*)
);

Firebolt Core vs Cloud

Aspect	Core	Cloud
Cost	Free	Pay-per-use
Setup	Docker	Managed
Auth	None	OAuth
Scaling	Single node	Multi-node
Best for	Development	Production

Benchmark Recommendations

Development (Core)

benchbox run --platform firebolt --benchmark tpch --scale 0.1 \
  --platform-option url=http://localhost:3473

Production (Cloud)

benchbox run --platform firebolt --benchmark tpch --scale 10.0 \
  --platform-option compute_resource=large_engine \
  --tuning tuned

Troubleshooting

Core Connection Refused

docker ps | grep firebolt

docker logs <container_id>

curl http://localhost:3473/health

Cloud Authentication Failed

curl -X POST "https://api.firebolt.io/oauth/token" \
  -d "client_id=$FIREBOLT_CLIENT_ID" \
  -d "client_secret=$FIREBOLT_CLIENT_SECRET" \
  -d "grant_type=client_credentials"

Engine Not Running

Start the engine through the API or the Firebolt console. Engines auto-stop after inactivity.

Related Documentation

• ClickHouse Local Mode - Alternative local analytics
• DuckDB - Embedded analytics
• Platform Selection Guide