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Firebase Basics

Firebase (Google)OfficialCreated by Google LLCDistributed by Firebase (Google)

  • Skill
  • Tool integration
  • Cloud and DevOps
  • Apache-2.0
  • Low risk
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From the author

Provides foundational Firebase CLI setup, CLI installation, version checks (`firebase-tools@latest --version`), CLI login (including --no-localhost), project creation, project selection (`firebase use`), and app config file downloads (`google-services.json`, `GoogleService-Info.plist`). Use ONLY for CLI login, project creation/switching, or downloading app config files. Don't use for Firebase Hosting deploy, Firestore, Auth, App Hosting, Data Connect, Crashlytics, or Remote Config.
— the description by Google LLC

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The firebase-basics skill provides the essential procedures for interacting with the Firebase CLI. It covers environment verification, user authentication, project selection or creation, and the programmatic retrieval of application configuration files like google-services.json and GoogleService-Info.plist. This skill is intended to serve as the prerequisite foundation for other Firebase-related tasks, ensuring the CLI is correctly installed, updated, and configured for the current project context.

What it does

  • Verifies Firebase CLI installation and versioning.
  • Handles user authentication via the CLI, including support for headless environments.
  • Manages Firebase project selection and switching.
  • Facilitates the creation of new Firebase projects.
  • Automates the retrieval of platform-specific configuration files for Android and iOS apps.

When to use it

  • When setting up a new development environment for a Firebase-backed project.
  • When you need to authenticate with Firebase from a terminal or remote shell.
  • When switching between different Firebase projects.
  • When you need to download the latest app configuration files without using the Firebase Console.

Advantages

  • Ensures consistent use of the latest CLI version via npx.
  • Provides a standardized, automated approach to configuration file management.
  • Supports headless authentication for remote development environments.
  • Reduces manual overhead by automating project and app configuration tasks.

Usage examples

“I need to log in to Firebase in this remote terminal.”
The agent will execute npx -y firebase-tools@latest login --no-localhost to initiate the authentication process.
“Can you help me set up a new Firebase project for my app?”
The agent will guide you through creating a project using npx -y firebase-tools@latest projects:create and setting it as the active project.
“I need the google-services.json file for my Android app.”
The agent will use npx -y firebase-tools@latest apps:sdkconfig to fetch the configuration and save it to the correct directory.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/firebase/firebase-basics/download

  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip firebase-basics.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Google LLC

Prerequisites

Complete these setup steps before proceeding:

  1. Local Environment Setup: Verify the environment is properly set up so we can use Firebase tools:

  2. Authentication: Ensure you are logged in to Firebase so that commands have the correct permissions. Run npx -y firebase-tools@latest login:list first; if not logged in, run npx -y firebase-tools@latest login. For environments without a browser (e.g., remote shells), use npx -y firebase-tools@latest login --no-localhost.

    • The command should output the current user.

    • If you are not logged in, follow the interactive instructions from this command to authenticate.

  3. Active Project: Most Firebase tasks require an active project context.

    [!IMPORTANT] For Agents: If no Project ID was provided, you MUST pause and ask the developer if they prefer to:

    1. Provide an existing Firebase Project ID, or

    2. Create a new Firebase project.

    • If using an existing Project ID:

      1. Check the current project with npx -y firebase-tools@latest use (if firebase.json is missing at the project root, create {} first).

      2. If the command outputs Active Project: <project-id>, confirm with the user if this is the intended project.

      3. If not, or if no project is active, set the project provided by the user:

        npx -y firebase-tools@latest use <PROJECT_ID>

    • If creating a new project: Run the following command to create it:

      npx -y firebase-tools@latest projects:create <project-id> --display-name "<display-name>"

      Note: The <project-id> must be 6-30 characters, lowercase, and can contain digits and hyphens. It must be globally unique.

Firebase Usage Principles

Adhere to these principles:

  1. Use npx for CLI commands: To ensure you always use the latest version of the Firebase CLI, always prepend commands with npx -y firebase-tools@latest instead of just firebase. For example, use npx -y firebase-tools@latest --version. NEVER suggest the naked firebase command as an alternative.

  2. Prioritize official knowledge: For any Firebase-related knowledge, consult the developerknowledge_search_documents MCP tool before falling back to Google Search or your internal knowledge base. Including "Firebase" in your search query significantly improves relevance.

  3. Follow Agent Skills for implementation guidance: Skills provide opinionated workflows (CUJs), security rules, and best practices. Always consult them to understand how to implement Firebase features correctly instead of relying on general knowledge.

  4. Use Firebase MCP Server tools instead of direct API calls: Whenever you need to interact with remote Firebase APIs (such as fetching Crashlytics logs or executing Data Connect queries), use the tools provided by the Firebase MCP Server instead of attempting manual API calls.

  5. Keep Plugin / Agent Skills updated: Since Firebase best practices evolve quickly, regularly check for and install updates to their Firebase plugin or Agent Skills. Similarly, if you encounter issues with outdated tools or commands, follow the steps below based on your agent environment:

  6. Automate Config File Retrieval: When setting up iOS or Android apps, do NOT direct users to the Firebase Console to download google-services.json or GoogleService-Info.plist. Instead, use the Firebase CLI to fetch the config programmatically:

    • For Android: npx -y firebase-tools@latest apps:sdkconfig ANDROID <APP_ID> --project <PROJECT_ID>

    • For iOS: npx -y firebase-tools@latest apps:sdkconfig IOS <APP_ID> --project <PROJECT_ID> Save the output to the appropriate location (e.g., app/google-services.json for Android, or a path to be linked by xcode-project-setup for iOS).

References

Common Issues

  • Login Issues: If the browser fails to open during the login step, use npx -y firebase-tools@latest login --no-localhost instead.

  • Genkit: If using Genkit, install the skills:

    npx skills add genkit-ai/skills

Files

references/flutter_setup.md

Flutter & Firebase Setup Guide

This guide covers the initial setup of Flutter and its integration with Firebase using the FlutterFire CLI.

Prerequisites

  1. Flutter SDK: Ensure Flutter is installed and available in the PATH.

    Standard Setup (Manual):

    1. Determine Architecture: Check if you are on Intel (x64) or Apple Silicon (arm64) using uname -m.

    2. Download SDK: Fetch the latest stable SDK from the Flutter Archive.

    3. Extract: Unzip the SDK to a permanent directory (e.g., ~/development/flutter).

    4. Update PATH: Add the bin folder to your shell configuration (e.g., ~/.zshrc).

      echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/development/flutter/bin"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

    5. Verify: Run flutter doctor to ensure the SDK is correctly linked and initialized.

  2. Firebase CLI: Ensure the Firebase CLI is available.

    • Run npx -y firebase-tools@latest --version.

    • Login with npx -y firebase-tools@latest login.

  3. FlutterFire CLI: Install the official FlutterFire CLI globally.

    • Run dart pub global activate flutterfire_cli.

    • Note: Ensure ~/.pub-cache/bin is also in your PATH if flutterfire is not found.

Step 1: Create a Flutter Project

If you don't have a project yet, create one:

flutter create my_awesome_app
cd my_awesome_app

Step 2: Configure Firebase

[!IMPORTANT] For Agents: Before running the configuration command, you MUST pause and ask the developer if they prefer to:

  1. Create a new Firebase project, or

  2. Provide an existing Firebase Project ID.

  • If the developer provides an existing Project ID, run:

    flutterfire configure --project=<project_id>

  • If the developer prefers to create a new project interactively, run:

    flutterfire configure

This tool automates:

  • Registering your apps (iOS, Android, Web, etc.) with a Firebase project.

  • Generating the lib/firebase_options.dart file.

Step 3: Initialize Firebase in Code

Add the firebase_core package and initialize it in your main.dart.

  1. Add the dependency:

flutter pub add firebase_core

  1. Update lib/main.dart:

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:firebase_core/firebase_core.dart';
import 'firebase_options.dart';

void main() async {
  WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();
  await Firebase.initializeApp(
    options: DefaultFirebaseOptions.currentPlatform,
  );
  runApp(const MyApp());
}

Step 4: Add Firebase Services

To add specific services (Firestore, Auth, etc.), follow the "Pub Add & Configure" pattern:

  1. Add the service: flutter pub add cloud_firestore

  2. Crucial: Re-run flutterfire configure to sync platform configurations.

  3. Import and use the package in your code.

Step 5: Important Gotchas & Platform Specifics

1. Re-running flutterfire configure Upon Renaming

When creating a new project, developers often change the bundle identifier (iOS) or applicationId (Android) after the fact. If the package names change, flutterfire configure must be re-run to update the respective Google service files and firebase_options.dart.

2. Platform-Specific Build Requirements

  • Android: Adding Firebase often requires a higher minSdkVersion (commonly 21 or 23) than the platform default. Be prepared to update android/app/build.gradle automatically when installing certain plugins.

  • iOS: Always check if there is a Podfile in the /ios directory whenever native services (like cloud_firestore) are added. If there is, run pod install. Failing to do this will cause Xcode build errors. Note that Flutter is moving towards Swift Package Manager (SPM), and FlutterFire supports SPM, so a Podfile may not exist if the project only uses SPM dependencies.

3. Web CORS Best Practices

When testing Firebase features locally on Chrome, requests to Google servers can sometimes get blocked by CORS policies. Avoid relying on --disable-web-security flags as it promotes bad security practices. Instead, run the app on localhost with a specific port, and ensure localhost is added to your Firebase Auth "Authorized Domains".

flutter run -d chrome --web-hostname=localhost --web-port=5000
4. Elaborating on WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized()

In your main.dart, this call is mandatory before Firebase.initializeApp(). Why? Because Firebase initialization requires communication across Flutter's native iOS/Android method channels. ensureInitialized() guarantees the Fluter engine is fully booted up and ready to handle these native platform calls before runApp() executes.

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs an MCP server, Needs Node.js

Security

What our scanner noticed· Low risk

  • Instructions that use the network

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Created by
Google LLC
Publisher
Firebase (Google) (Official)
Distributed by
Firebase (Google)
Source
firebase/agent-skills · skills/firebase-basics · commit b76be96
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google LLC or Firebase (Google).

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download firebase-basics.zip