Firebolt

Firebolt is designed for analytical query speed: its vectorized engine, sparse indexes, and aggregating indexes (pre-computed aggregations) deliver sub-second response on large datasets that would take seconds in BigQuery or Snowflake. Architecture: decoupled storage (AWS S3) and compute (Firebolt engines — start/stop as needed). For agents running analytical workloads (querying time-series data, aggregating usage metrics, running dashboards), Firebolt offers a strong performance/cost ratio. REST API for query execution and engine management. JDBC/ODBC for BI tool connectivity. Confidence is docs-derived.

REST API at api.app.firebolt.io. Resources: engines, databases, queries. POST /query executes SQL (ad-hoc or via saved queries). GET /engines lists engines with status (running/stopped). POST /engines/{id}/start starts a stopped engine. SQL dialect is ANSI-compliant with Firebolt extensions (window functions, UNNEST, SEMI_STRUCTURED support). Query results as JSON (column names + rows) or CSV. JDBC driver for BI tool connectivity. Query execution is synchronous for small results; async polling pattern for long queries via query ID.

Service account authentication (client credentials OAuth2 flow): POST /auth/v1/token with client_id and client_secret to obtain a Bearer token. Service accounts created in Firebolt organization settings. Token expiry: typically 1 hour (requires refresh). RBAC at database and engine level: viewer (query only), operator (engine management), admin (full access). HTTPS enforced. Token passed as Authorization: Bearer on all API calls.

Standard HTTP status codes with JSON error bodies (code, message, location in SQL for query errors). 401 for expired token (refresh required). 400 for SQL syntax errors with source location. Engine startup takes 30-60 seconds; agents must poll engine status before querying if engine was stopped. Rate limits documented per account tier. Firebolt Cloud SLA: 99.9%. Engine auto-stop configurable (saves cost when idle). Query timeout configurable via SQL SET statements.

docs.firebolt.io provides SQL reference, REST API guide, ingestion documentation (COPY FROM for bulk load, INSERT for incremental), index configuration guides, engine management, and authentication setup. Documentation quality is solid. Getting started requires a Firebolt account (free trial available). JDBC driver download available for BI tool integration. Community support via Firebolt Slack. API reference includes code examples for Python and Node.js.