| name | ionic-firebase |
| description | Wire Firebase Auth (email/password, Google, Apple) and Cloud Firestore into an Ionic Capacitor app. Trigger when adding Firebase Auth, Firestore, social sign-in via Firebase, or backend persistence using Google's Firebase platform. |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"author":"erkamyaman","version":"1.0"} |
Firebase (Auth + Firestore)
The default backend for most Ionic apps. Auth handles sign-up / sign-in (including social providers); Firestore handles persistent data with realtime sync and offline support.
When to consult
- Project setup + native config files (
google-services.json, GoogleService-Info.plist): setup.md
- Auth (email, Google, Apple, magic link): auth.md
- Firestore (read/write/realtime/offline): firestore.md
- Per-framework integration snippets: framework-snippets.md
Library choice
Two viable approaches:
| Approach | When to pick |
|---|
Firebase JS SDK (firebase npm package) | Web-first, simple cases, web/mobile parity. Works in browser, iOS WKWebView, Android WebView. Auth popups can be tricky on native. |
Capacitor Firebase plugins (@capacitor-firebase/*) | Native auth dialogs (Google sign-in via native sheets), offline Firestore via native SDKs, push via native FCM. More setup, much better UX. |
Recommendation: use the JS SDK for v1 (faster), migrate to @capacitor-firebase/* plugins when you hit native UX gaps (especially Google Sign-In, which is rough via web-only on Android).
This skill covers both — pick whichever fits.
Hard rules
- ✅ Never put Firebase Admin SDK code in the app. That's server-only — uses a service account with full permissions.
- ✅ Firebase web config (
apiKey, projectId, etc.) is safe to ship — Security Rules do the gating. See ../ionic-shared/references/environments-and-keys.md.
- ✅ Write Firestore Security Rules before going live. The default "test mode" rules expire after 30 days and become "deny all" if not replaced.
- ❌ Don't use Realtime Database for new projects unless you have a specific reason — Firestore is the modern choice.
- ❌ Don't query a collection with no index expecting it to scale — Firestore's query patterns require composite indexes for compound filters.
Library
npm install firebase
npm install @capacitor-firebase/app @capacitor-firebase/authentication @capacitor-firebase/firestore
npx cap sync
Pairs with
- Push notifications via FCM: Firebase's
google-services.json / GoogleService-Info.plist also covers FCM. Wire push handling itself via ../ionic-shared/references/push-notifications.md — the plugin (@capacitor/push-notifications) is independent of Firebase Auth/Firestore but uses the same native config files.
- Magic-link sign-in: requires Universal Link / App Link plumbing — see
../ionic-deep-links/. Firebase Dynamic Links is shut down — your own deep-link infra is the path.
- Sign in with Apple: integrates via
@capacitor-firebase/authentication (this skill, auth.md). Don't also install @capacitor-community/apple-sign-in — see ../ionic-apple-sign-in/SKILL.md for when to use the standalone plugin instead.
