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 (CLI) Tools. They can be used to:

• Administer your Firebase account
• Run a local web server for your Firebase Hosting site
• Interact with data in your Firebase database
• Deploy your site to Firebase Hosting
• Deploy Security Rules for your database

To get started with the Firebase CLI, read the full list of commands below or check out the hosting-specific CLI documentation.

Installation

To install the Firebase CLI, you first need to sign up for a Firebase account.

Then you need to install Node.js and npm. Note that installing Node.js should install npm as well.

Once npm is installed, get the Firebase CLI by running the following command:

npm install -g firebase-tools

This will provide you with the globally accessible firebase command.

Commands

The command firebase --help lists the available commands and firebase <command> --help shows more details for an individual command.

If a command is project-specific, you must either be inside a project directory with a firebase.json configuration file or specify the Firebase project name with the -f <project> flag.

Below is a brief list of the available commands and their function:

Administrative Commands

Command	Description
login	Authenticate to your Firebase account. Requires access to a web browser.
logout	Sign out of the Firebase CLI.
list	Print a list of all of your Firebase projects.
open	Open the deployed Firebase Hosting site or various dashboard panels for the current Firebase project.
init	Setup a new Firebase project in the current directory. This command will create a firebase.json configuration file in your current directory.
help	Display help information about the CLI or specific commands.
prefs:token	Print out your authenticated access token for use in CI/headless systems.

Deploy and Hosting Commands

These commands let you deploy and interact with your Firebase Hosting site.

Command	Description
deploy	Deploys all components (both hosting and security rules) of your Firebase project. Relies on firebase.json configuration.
deploy:hosting	Deploy only the Firebase Hosting site assets to your Firebase project. Relies on firebase.json configuration.
deploy:rules	Deploy only the Firebase Security Rules to your Firebase project. Relies on firebase.json configuration.
disable:hosting	Stop serving Firebase Hosting traffic for the current project. A "Site Not Found" message will be displayed at your URL after running this command.
serve	Start a local web server with your Firebase Hosting configuration. Relies on firebase.json.

Data Commands

Command	Description
data:get	Fetch data from the current project's database and display it as JSON. Supports querying on indexed data.
data:set	Replace all data at a specified location in the current project's database. Takes input from file, STDIN, or command-line argument.
data:update	Perform a partial update at a specified location in the current project's database. Takes input from file, STDIN, or command-line argument.
data:push	Push new data to a list at a specified location in the current project's database. Takes input from file, STDIN, or command-line argument.
data:remove	Delete all data at a specified location in the current project's database.

Using with CI Systems

The Firebase CLI requires a browser to complete authentication, but is fully compatible with CI and other headless environments.

1. On a machine with a browser, install the Firebase CLI.
2. Run firebase login:ci to log in and print out a new access token (the current CLI session will not be affected).
3. Store the output token in a secure but accessible way in your CI system.

There are two ways to use this token when running Firebase commands:

1. Store the token as the environment variable FIREBASE_TOKEN and it will automatically be utilized.
2. Run all commands with the --token <token> flag in your CI system. You may need to quote the token for it to be passed properly (e.g. firebase deploy --token '-JXXXX|YYYYY').

The order of precedence for token loading is flag, environment variable, config file.

On any machine with firebase-tools, running firebase logout --token <token> will immediately revoke access to the specified token.

Using as a Module

The Firebase CLI can also be used programmatically as a standard Node module. Each command is exposed as a function that takes an options object and returns a Promise. For example:

var client = require('firebase-tools');
client.list().then(function(data) {
  console.log(data);
}).catch(function(err) {
  // handle error
});

client.deploy.rules({
  firebase: 'myfirebase',
  token: process.env.FIREBASE_TOKEN,
  cwd: '/path/to/project/folder'
}).then(function() {
  console.log('Rules have been deployed!')
}).catch(function(err) {
  // handle error
});