firebase

What is firebase?

The firebase npm package is a comprehensive app development platform provided by Google that offers a variety of services such as real-time databases, authentication, cloud storage, hosting, and more. It is designed to help developers build and manage apps more efficiently.

What are firebase's main functionalities?

Realtime Database

Firebase Realtime Database allows you to store and sync data between your users in real-time. This is a NoSQL database that lets you build rich, collaborative applications by allowing secure access to the database directly from client-side code.

const { initializeApp } = require('firebase/app');
const { getDatabase, ref, set } = require('firebase/database');

// Initialize Firebase
const app = initializeApp({ /* your config */ });
const database = getDatabase(app);

// Write data to your database
set(ref(database, 'users/1'), {
  username: 'example',
  email: '[e-mail]'
});

Authentication

Firebase Authentication provides backend services to help authenticate users, including simple sign-in functionality as well as third-party providers like Google, Facebook, and Twitter.

const { initializeApp } = require('firebase/app');
const { getAuth, createUserWithEmailAndPassword } = require('firebase/auth');

// Initialize Firebase
const app = initializeApp({ /* your config */ });
const auth = getAuth(app);

// Create a new user
createUserWithEmailAndPassword(auth, '[e-mail]', 'password')
  .then((userCredential) => {
    // Signed in
    const user = userCredential.user;
    // ...
  })
  .catch((error) => {
    // Error handling
    const errorCode = error.code;
    const errorMessage = error.message;
    // ...
  });

Cloud Firestore

Cloud Firestore is a flexible, scalable database for mobile, web, and server development. It keeps your data in sync across client apps through real-time listeners and offers offline support.

const { initializeApp } = require('firebase/app');
const { getFirestore, collection, addDoc } = require('firebase/firestore');

// Initialize Firebase
const app = initializeApp({ /* your config */ });
const db = getFirestore(app);

// Add a new document with a generated id
addDoc(collection(db, 'users'), {
  first: 'Ada',
  last: 'Lovelace',
  born: 1815
});

Cloud Storage

Firebase Cloud Storage is built for app developers who need to store and serve user-generated content, such as photos or videos.

const { initializeApp } = require('firebase/app');
const { getStorage, ref, uploadBytes } = require('firebase/storage');

// Initialize Firebase
const app = initializeApp({ /* your config */ });
const storage = getStorage(app);

// Create a storage reference from our storage service
const storageRef = ref(storage, 'some-child');

// Upload file
uploadBytes(storageRef, file).then((snapshot) => {
  console.log('Uploaded a blob or file!');
});

Hosting

Firebase Hosting provides fast and secure hosting for your web app, static and dynamic content, and microservices.

const { initializeApp } = require('firebase/app');
const { getAuth } = require('firebase/auth');
const { getFirestore } = require('firebase/firestore');
const { getStorage } = require('firebase/storage');

// Initialize Firebase
// TODO: Replace the following with your app's Firebase project configuration
const firebaseConfig = {
  //...
};

const app = initializeApp(firebaseConfig);

// The rest of your web app's Firebase initialization and setup goes here...
// For example, you might set up Firebase Authentication, Firestore, and Storage as shown above.

Other packages similar to firebase

parse-server

Parse Server is an open-source version of the Parse backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. It offers many of the same features as Firebase, such as a real-time database, file storage, and user authentication. However, being open-source, it provides more flexibility and control over the backend infrastructure.

aws-amplify

AWS Amplify is a development platform for building secure, scalable mobile and web applications. It provides a similar range of services as Firebase, including authentication, data storage, and hosting. Amplify is tightly integrated with AWS services, which can be a benefit if you are already using AWS in your stack.

realm

Realm is a mobile database and synchronization platform that can be used for building offline-first, reactive mobile experiences. It offers real-time synchronization and data storage capabilities similar to Firebase's Realtime Database and Firestore. Realm is known for its smooth integration with mobile development and its fast performance on mobile devices.

README

Firebase

Overview

Firebase provides three key services that enable you to build rich, full-featured applications using just client-side code:

1. A realtime data API. Our API replaces the need for most backend databases and server code by handling the heavy lifting of data storage and synchronization.

2. User management and authentication. Our Simple Login service handles your user management and authentication needs out-of-the-box. Or, if you prefer to manage users yourself, you can maintain complete control using Custom Login.

3. Hosting. With hosting, you can deploy your static website to the internet with a single command.

All of these services are built for security, reliability, and scale, so you can deploy your applications with confidence.

Node.js & Firebase

While you can write entire Firebase applications without any backend code, many developers will still want to run their own servers. For these developers, we provide a full-featured Node.js module. This library has the same Javascript API and features as our web client.

To get started, install Firebase from npm:

npm install firebase

Now, just require the library in your application and start using your data:

var Firebase = require('firebase');
var myRootRef = new Firebase('https://myprojectname.firebaseIO-demo.com/');
myRootRef.set("hello world!");

Next Steps

If you haven't already done so, you should try our tutorial. Next, we recommend checking out our example apps or reading on in the docs.