> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://firebolt-aggregate-helm-docs-pr-53.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> Install the firebolt-instance Helm chart on a local kind cluster with an in-cluster S3 emulator and run your first query through the gateway.

# Quickstart

This page walks through a complete local install of the [`firebolt-instance` Helm chart](https://github.com/firebolt-db/firebolt-instance-helm) on kind, from an empty machine to your first query.

The walkthrough uses kind for the cluster and an in-cluster S3 emulator for engine storage, so it needs no cloud resources. For the full cluster, tooling, and storage requirements, see [Prerequisites](./prerequisites).

## Before you get started

Install the following tools:

* [kind](https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/) to create a local Kubernetes cluster.
* [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) to run the containers that back kind.
* [kubectl](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/) to interact with the cluster.
* [Helm](https://helm.sh/docs/intro/install/) v3 to install the chart.

## Create a local cluster

Create a kind cluster on your machine:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
kind create cluster --name firebolt
```

Confirm the node is ready:

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

The node reports `Ready`:

```text theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
NAME                     STATUS   ROLES           AGE   VERSION
firebolt-control-plane   Ready    control-plane   30s   v1.35.0
```

## Create a namespace

Create the namespace that holds the storage emulator and the release:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
kubectl create namespace firebolt
```

## Deploy object storage

Engines store managed table data in object storage and refuse to start against a local filesystem. On a real cluster, point the engine at an S3 or S3-compatible bucket and grant access through your platform's workload identity, as described in [Amazon S3 object storage](./usage/object-storage/amazon-s3). For this local cluster, deploy the [floci](https://github.com/floci-io/floci) S3 emulator, which also creates the bucket the engine uses:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
kubectl apply -n firebolt -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/firebolt-db/firebolt-instance-helm/main/local-floci.yaml
```

Wait for floci and its bucket-creation job to finish:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
# Wait for the floci deployment to roll out.
kubectl -n firebolt rollout status deployment/floci --timeout=120s

# Wait for the one-shot job that creates the firebolt-managed bucket.
kubectl -n firebolt wait --for=condition=complete job/floci-mkbucket --timeout=120s
```

<Note>
  floci stores data in the pod's ephemeral filesystem and validates no credentials, so it is for local development only. Production deployments use a real object store. See [Object Storage](./usage/object-storage/amazon-s3).
</Note>

## Configure the engine

Create a values file that points the engine's storage at the floci endpoint. `managed_table_storage: s3` with `aws.endpoint` targets floci, and `managed_table_bucket_name` matches the bucket floci created.

```yaml theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
# my-values.yaml
customEngineConfig:
  storage:
    managed_table_storage: s3
    managed_table_bucket_name: firebolt-managed
    aws:
      endpoint: http://floci.firebolt.svc.cluster.local:4566
      path_style_addressing: true # non-AWS S3-compatible store; ignored for AWS S3
```

This is the only value the local install needs. The chart's defaults provide one engine named `default`, the Envoy gateway, the Metadata Service, and a bundled PostgreSQL.

## Install the chart

Install the chart into the `firebolt` namespace from its published location:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
helm install firebolt oci://oci.firebolt.io/firebolt-db/helm-charts/firebolt-instance \
  --namespace firebolt \
  -f my-values.yaml
```

The `oci.firebolt.io` host is Firebolt's [Scarf](https://scarf.sh) gateway. Chart downloads and default engine-image pulls record the requested version and platform and redirect to GHCR; the gateway does not receive chart values, application data, query data, schemas, secrets, or configuration. Deployed engines also send one anonymous, aggregate usage event per day (engine version, OS, and architecture). As with any network request, the source IP is visible to Scarf; Scarf may use it to infer the company and does not store it. To opt out, set `telemetry.enabled=false` in the chart values — this disables the engines' runtime events (via `DO_NOT_TRACK=1`) and switches default engine pulls to `ghcr.io/firebolt-db/engine` — and pull the chart from `oci://ghcr.io/firebolt-db/helm-charts/firebolt-instance` to bypass Scarf for the chart download as well.

## Verify the install

List the workloads the release created:

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

Wait until `firebolt-engine-default-node-0`, `firebolt-metadata-pg`, `firebolt-gateway`, and `firebolt-metadata-service` all report `READY`. The engine pod stays `NotReady` until it can reach the bucket, so if it does not become ready, confirm the object-storage step finished.

## Run a query

Run a query through the gateway from a temporary in-cluster pod. The `X-Firebolt-Engine` header selects the engine:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
kubectl run query --rm -i --image=curlimages/curl --restart=Never -n firebolt -- \
  curl --silent "http://firebolt-gateway/" \
    -H "X-Firebolt-Engine: default" \
    -H "Content-Type: text/plain" \
    --data-binary "SELECT 1"
```

You should see the query result in the output.

## Clean up

Delete the kind cluster to free all resources:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"css-variables","dark":"css-variables"}}
kind delete cluster --name firebolt
```

## Next steps

* [Single engine](./usage/single-engine) covers the default install in more detail.
* [Multi-engine](./usage/multi-engine) runs more than one engine in a release.
* [Object Storage](./usage/object-storage/amazon-s3) configures a real S3 or S3-compatible bucket.
* [Operator upgrade path](./operator-upgrade-path) explains when to move to the Firebolt Kubernetes Operator for day-2 automation.