Frequently asked questions

How can I retrieve Fire Opal job results?

You can view and retrieve the results from previously run jobs by using the activity_monitor and the get_result functions. This is the recommended method, since retrieving results directly from the hardware provider will not include Fire Opal's post-processing, thus the performance improvement will be limited compared to results obtained from the direct execution response.

Can I execute Fire Opal calls asynchronously so that I can use my kernel to run other functions?

You can free up your kernel by restarting it via your code editor—the Fire Opal function will still finish execute and the results will be saved for retrieval. However, avoid cancelling the operation from your notebook cell, as that will abort the Fire Opal call.

What devices do you support?

Fire Opal currently offers free support for devices up to 27-qubits on the IBM Quantum Open, Premium, and Pay-As-You-Go plans. Support 127-qubit Pay-As-You-Go systems will follow around the beginning of December 2023. Any devices offered through IBM Quantum Premium Plans up to 127-qubits are supported via Fire Opal's Enterprise Plan. Please contact Q-CTRL for more information.

Support for other backend providers and cloud platforms is on the way! Get in touch via the email above to learn about our device roadmap or to request support for a specific provider.

Can I use simulators with Fire Opal?

Simulators are not supported by Fire Opal. The benefits of Fire Opal's advanced error suppression and mitigation techniques are tailored for real quantum computers. Our goal is to enable users to perform research and development on real devices as this is the only way to get a true indication of algorithmic performance. Even noisy simulators have biases that can skew results to make them less informative.

Why am I getting a localhost refused to connect. error when Fire Opal tries to authenticate?

This error may occur if you are using a web-based development environment, such as Google Colab or JupyterLab, which are incompatible with Fire Opal's browser-based authentication.

We are working on alternative non-browser methods of authentication via tokens/API keys to better serve the use cases of running on web-IDEs and remote servers. This capability should be available very soon!

The current recommended approach is to use Fire Opal via a local development environment or to use the following workaround:

• Authenticate with Fire Opal using your local machine. This will generate the required token in your local path: ~/.config/qctrl/.
• Copy the file to the same location via the web IDE terminal. You should now be able to successfully execute Fire Opal functions via the web IDE.
• Note: This token will expire after 30 days, and you will have to repeat this process.

Why am I getting an error message that I have reached the maximum number of API limits per day?

The Free Plan has a limit of 20 calls per user per day. To increase your limit, please contact Q-CTRL.

Where should I reach out if I have additional questions?

Join the Q-CTRL Discord server to get in contact directly with the team regarding questions or product feedback!