firebase-tools

What is firebase-tools?

The firebase-tools npm package provides a command-line interface (CLI) for managing Firebase projects and their resources. It allows developers to deploy, configure, and manage Firebase services such as Firestore, Realtime Database, Authentication, Hosting, Cloud Functions, and more.

What are firebase-tools's main functionalities?

Deploying Firebase Hosting

This command deploys your web app to Firebase Hosting. It uploads your local files to Firebase and makes them available on your Firebase project's web URL.

firebase deploy --only hosting

Deploying Cloud Functions

This command deploys your Cloud Functions to Firebase. It uploads your function code to Firebase and makes it available to be triggered by events.

firebase deploy --only functions

Deploying Firestore Rules

This command deploys your Firestore security rules. It uploads your rules to Firebase, ensuring that your Firestore database is protected according to your specifications.

firebase deploy --only firestore:rules

Emulating Firebase Services

This command starts the Firebase emulators for local development. It allows you to test your Firebase app locally without interacting with the live Firebase services.

firebase emulators:start

Initializing a Firebase Project

This command initializes a new Firebase project in your local directory. It sets up the necessary configuration files and allows you to select which Firebase services you want to use.

firebase init

Other packages similar to firebase-tools

aws-cli

The AWS CLI is a unified tool to manage your AWS services. It provides similar functionalities to firebase-tools but for AWS services. It allows you to control multiple AWS services from the command line and automate them through scripts.

gcloud

The gcloud CLI is a command-line tool for interacting with Google Cloud Platform services. It offers functionalities similar to firebase-tools but for a broader range of Google Cloud services. It allows you to deploy, manage, and configure Google Cloud resources.

netlify-cli

The Netlify CLI provides a command-line interface for interacting with Netlify services. It offers functionalities similar to Firebase Hosting, allowing you to deploy and manage web projects on the Netlify platform.

README

firebase-tools

These are the Firebase Command Line Tools for administering your account and interacting with the Firebase Hosting beta.

Installation

To install, first you'll need to sign up for a Firebase account and have installed Node.js and npm. Then run

npm install -g firebase-tools

This will install the globally accessible command firebase

Commands

The command firebase --help lists the available commands and their optional parameters:

Firebase Command Line Tools
Version 0.0.1
https://www.firebase.com

Usage: firebase <command>

  Available commands are:

  login
    Authenticates with the Firebase servers and stores an access token locally.
    All commands that require authentication use this if no valid access token
    exists.
    --email     The email address of the account to attempt to log in with.
    --password  The password of the account to attempt to log in with.

  logout
    Invalidates and destroys any locally stored access tokens.
    -d  Optional flag to delete the settings file.

  list
    Lists the Firebases available to the currently logged in user.

  app init
    Initializes a Firebase app in the current directory.
    -f, --firebase  The name of the Firebase to initialize the app with.
    -p, --public    A directory containing all of the app's static files that
                    should deployed to Firebase Hosting. Defaults to the current
                    directory.
    -r, --rules     An optional file that contains security rules for the
                    Firebase.

  app bootstrap
    Creates a new Firebase app from a number of predetermined templates to
    quickly get a project up and running. Creates a new folder named after the
    Firebase it is initialized with.
    -f, --firebase  The name of the Firebase to initialize the app with.
    -t, --template  The name of the template to initialize the app with.

  app deploy
    Publishes the app in the current directory to Firebase Hosting. If a file
    containing the security rules has been provided, these are uploaded to the
    server.

Credit

Inspired by Luke Vivier's Firebase command line tools.