python

Python examples

Runnable scripts for the tasks in the main README. Each one is standalone — copy a single file out of here and it still works.

Prerequisites

pip install adbc-driver-manager pyarrow
pip install pandas polars     # optional, for query_to_pandas.py
dbc install firebolt --pre

You also need an engine to talk to:

docker run -d --name firebolt -p 3473:3473 ghcr.io/firebolt-db/engine:5.0.0-pre.0.20260927210425.e91cd5bd17f8

A freshly started engine has authentication disabled and a database named firebolt, so no credentials are needed.

Configuration

All examples read the same environment variables:

Variable	Default	Meaning
FIREBOLT_URI	http://localhost:3473	Engine HTTP or HTTPS endpoint.
FIREBOLT_DATABASE	(server default)	Database name, if you need a specific one.
FIREBOLT_TOKEN	(unset)	Bearer token, only for an engine that requires one.

With the defaults, the examples run as-is:

python examples/python/quickstart.py

The examples

File	Shows
quickstart.py	Connect and query, through both the DBAPI wrapper and the low-level ADBC objects. Start here.
query_to_pandas.py	Results as pyarrow.Table, pandas.DataFrame, and polars.DataFrame; plus streaming a 100k-row result in batches instead of materialising it.
bulk_ingest.py	Uploading Arrow data: all four ingest modes, nested ARRAY/STRUCT columns with driver-generated DDL, and the low-level bind_stream path.
query_params.py	Binding values into a query: positional $1, $2, …, named param('name'), executemany, and the parameter schema from adbc_prepare.

bulk_ingest.py and query_params.py create and drop tables named adbc_example_*.

Things worth knowing

• Placeholders are $1, $2, …, not ? or %s — see query_params.py. Values are substituted by the server into the parsed statement, so never format them into the SQL yourself.
• cursor.rowcount is always -1. The server does not report affected rows over this interface. Use SELECT count(*) when you need a number.
• Pass autocommit=True when a write has to be visible to a later read on a different connection, as bulk_ingest.py does.
• Reserved words are worth quoting in aliases; rows, for instance, is reserved and AS rows is a syntax error.