Prerequisites

Complete these setup steps before proceeding:

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

• Run npx -y firebase-tools@latest --version to check if the Firebase CLI
  is installed.
• Verify if the Firebase MCP server is installed using your existing tools.
• CRITICAL: Before configuring any extensions or agent environments
  below, you MUST read
  references/local-env-setup.md.
• DO NOT SKIP this step: if 'firebase-basics' is the only Firebase skill
  available to you, you must follow the reference for your agent environment
  to set up the full suite of Firebase skills:
  • Gemini CLI: Review
    references/setup/gemini_cli.md
  • Antigravity: Review
    references/setup/antigravity.md
  • Android Studio: Review
    references/setup/android_studio.md
  • Claude Code: Review
    references/setup/claude_code.md
  • Cursor: Review
    references/setup/cursor.md
  • GitHub Copilot: Review
    references/setup/github_copilot.md
  • Other Agents: Review
    references/setup/other_agents.md

1. Authentication: Ensure you are logged in to Firebase so that commands
   have the correct permissions. 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.

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

[!IMPORTANT] For Agents: Before proceeding with project configuration,
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 by running npx -y firebase-tools@latest use.
  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:

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

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

  bash 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:
   - Antigravity: Follow
   references/refresh/antigravity.md
   - Gemini CLI: Follow
   references/refresh/gemini-cli.md
   - Claude Code: Follow
   references/refresh/claude.md
   - Cursor: Follow
   references/refresh/other-agents.md
   - Android Studio: Follow
   references/refresh/android_studio.md
   - Others: Follow
   references/refresh/other-agents.md
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

• Initialize Firebase: See
  references/firebase-service-init.md
  when you need to initialize new Firebase services using the CLI.
• Exploring Commands: See
  references/firebase-cli-guide.md to
  discover and understand CLI functionality.
• SDK Setup: For detailed guides on adding Firebase to your app:
• Web: See references/web_setup.md
• Android: See references/android_setup.md
• iOS: See references/ios_setup.md

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:

bash npx skills add genkit-ai/skills