> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://infino.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# FAQ

> Frequently asked questions about Infino Cloud — how it differs from the open-source engine, where data lives, durability, data isolation, Parquet access, and API keys.

## How is this different from the open-source engine?

It is the same engine, served as a fully-managed hosted service. The API is identical: a
program written against a local `connect("./data")` or `connect("s3://…")` moves to Infino
Cloud by changing only the `connect` target. The difference is operational, not in
the code you write: you do not run or size storage or compute, and table maintenance
(`optimize` and `gc`) runs for you. See the [Overview](/docs/cloud) and
[Quickstart](/docs/cloud/quickstart).

## Where does my data live?

Your data is stored as standard Apache Parquet on object storage, the same open format the
open-source engine uses locally. See [Architecture](/docs/cloud/architecture).

## Is my data durable?

Yes. The durable copy of record lives in object storage. Hot byte ranges are cached close
to compute for fast warm queries, but the source of truth is the Parquet in object
storage.

## How is my data isolated?

Each database is isolated to your account, and an API key grants access only to the
databases it is scoped to. A query is authenticated and routed to run against only your
own data.

## Can I read my data as Parquet?

Your data is stored as standard Parquet, so it is not held in a proprietary format.

## How do I get an API key?

API keys are created in the Infino Cloud console at
[platform.infino.ws](https://platform.infino.ws) — the only place to mint one. A key is a
string beginning `inf_…` and is passed to `connect` explicitly or read from the
`INFINO_API_KEY` environment variable. See [Authentication](/docs/cloud/authentication).

## How am I billed?

Infino Cloud is usage-based: you pay for the storage your data occupies and the query
usage you drive, rather than for always-on provisioned capacity. See
[Architecture](/docs/cloud/architecture#scale-to-zero-economics).

## See also

* [Overview](/docs/cloud) — what Infino Cloud is.
* [Quickstart](/docs/cloud/quickstart) — connect and run your first search.