Firebase

Introduction In this article, I guide you through setting up the Firebase Local Emulator Suite on Windows and show you how to connect it with a Flutter app using Firestore, Cloud Functions, and Cloud Storage. We’ll look at the installation process, local configuration, cross-platform emulator networking, and common Windows-specific pitfalls to avoid. The Firebase Local Emulator Suite allows you to develop and test your app’s backend completely offline without writing to production databases, incurring charges, or worrying about rate limits. In the following sections, we’ll cover: ...

Introduction I have read more and more articles in recent months saying that Firebase is too expensive. While that might be true for some cases, it is not for others. In this article, I want to present 4 Firebase services that are always free. No credit card information, no bank accounts required, no usage limits. All you need is a Firebase account and a Firebase project to get started. Firebase Remote Config 📺 YouTube Tutorial ...

Introduction In this article, we explore how to build a modern Flutter app with user authentication powered by Firebase Authentication. You’ll learn how to implement account management methods with Firebase Authentication in the most simple way. Check out the demo application and see how everything comes together. This article covers the following use cases with Flutter code examples for Firebase Authentication: Registration with email and password Users can create an account by providing an email address and a password. ...

Introduction The Firebase Analytics Debug View is a handy tool to check what events your app sends in real time. However, it requires a bit of setup to work from a Flutter web app. Here is how to debug Firebase Analytics events from a Flutter web app. Setup The initial step is to connect your Flutter app with your Firebase project. Follow my guide in case you haven’t done this yet. ...

Introduction To comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU, the double opt-in process is the best way. It means that users need to confirm a registration with a secondary step. Usually, this is done by clicking a link in an email. In this article, I’ll show you how you can use Firebase to set up such a process. Let’s get started on how to implement double opt-in with Firebase and Flutter. ...

Introduction Learn why your apps crash and why you get complaints from users. Here is how to monitor your mobile apps with Firebase Crashlytics. Firebase Crashlytics is a light-weight solution to get insight about why your users get app crashes and exception messages. It is part of the Firebase cloud services, but can be used for free and supports mobile apps. A dashboard shows you in detail your app metrics and allows inspecting reported crashes in detail. You get information about the exception, the exact line of code, and also the current stack trace at that time. ...

Introduction Backups are underrated … until you really need them. So here is how to backup your Cloud Firestore database. Forget about external tools or self-written Cloud Functions and use the provided tools instead! I store quite a lot of stuff in Firestore, mostly for personal use. In the last months, I often thought about backups. But I have to admit … I am lazy when it comes to boring stuff. However, some of the data is really valuable and will be lost in case of a disaster. So I finally stopped doing cooler things and investigate backup solutions. Here is my approach on how to backup your Cloud Firestore database. ...

Introduction In this article, I guide you through the setup steps for Cloud Firestore and show you how to use Firebase Cloud Firestore with a Flutter app. We take a look at CRUD operations, security rules, and some pitfalls to avoid. Firebase Cloud Firestore is a scalable NoSQL cloud database where you can store relevant data for your apps. It is very flexible and can be secured with access rules. You will learn ow to use Firebase Cloud Firestore with a Flutter app. In the following sections, we’ll talk about ...

Introduction Learn how I created an Instagram clone with Flutter and Firebase. Fun fact: Creating the UI took the most time! However, it was really easy overall. Here is a deep dive for you! Instagram is a well-known app with hundreds of millions of users. The newsfeed with posts, likes, comments, and images is the main feature that stands out. I wanted to know what it takes to build a small app with those features. So here is how I created an Instagram clone with Flutter and Firebase. ...

Introduction Learn how to choose the best data storage solution for your Flutter app between local storage, secure storage, or a cloud database. With this guide, they won’t be any open questions about what’s the correct approach for your app! Depending of what type of app you develop, you might need different data storage solutions. In this article, I’ll introduce various options for Flutter developers of how to manage data storage in your apps. Afterwards, you will be able to choose the best data storage solution for your Flutter app. The following topics will be covered: ...

Introduction Using Firebase Cloud Messaging and Firebase Cloud Functions we can achieve this. Learn how to send push notifications with Firebase. This vital feature needs to be part of every app in today’s world! Today we are going to focus on how to send push notifications from a Flutter app. Therefore Firebase will be used as it provides packages that can be used within a Flutter app. In this scenario, a push notification will be triggered and sent to your own device. Firebase offers some of its services only for paying users but they charge you for your usage. If you don’t use the services, you won’t be charged anything. So here is how to send push notifications from Flutter apps with Firebase to any device. ...

Introduction Let’s have a look at how to use Flutter image picker and Firebase storage to save your images in the cloud. Create device-independent apps so that your users can always access their data! Saving images in the cloud is a convenient way to ensure that it is available on any device. In this article, I want to show you how to use Flutter image picker and Firebase storage to do exactly that. We will pick a file (or take a picture), upload it to Firebase Storage, and display it in our app. Let’s get started! ...

Introduction Reduce database load and add offline capabilities to your apps. Here is how to enable Firestore cache in Flutter web apps. If you target Android or iOS, caching is enabled by default! In case you didn’t know yet: Firebase Firestore can be used offline by enabling an internal cache. Your read and write operations work normally in offline mode and will synced with the database once the device is online again. This feature is enabled on Android and iOS by default. But for web apps you need to enable it yourself. Here is how to enable Firestore cache in Flutter web apps. ...

Introduction Firebase allows installing various extensions to further increase functionality. Here is how to add new Firebase features with extensions. Instead of writing everything from scratch, you can pay some cents and use a plug and play extension from Firebase! Firebase Extensions is an easy way to enhance Firebase and your app with additional capabilities without having to implement them yourself. They help with sending emails, translating text, resizing images, making payments, and other stuff. The possibilities are huge and it takes only minutes to set up these extensions. Instead of investing hours of development work to integrate 3rd parties into your app, look for an extension and save a lot of time! ...

Introduction Here is how to control apps with Firebase Remote Config without the need to release a new update for your apps. You can also do A/B testing and create feature flags with this service! Wouldn’t it be great if you had some control over your apps after they are distributed via a store? You could disable a feature that still has flaws. Or your users could be part of a limited group of A/B testers. Or you might want to show a different ad banner in your app without releasing a new version. All these scenarios (and many more) are possible with Firebase Remote Config. I’ll show you how to set it up in Firebase and your app code. There will be a complete code example available at the end. Here is how to control apps with Firebase Remote Config from the backend. ...

Introduction In this article, I’ll show you how to easily use Firebase Storage from your Flutter app to read and write data. Make your app cloud-ready with this guide! Firebase Storage is an object storage provider in the cloud to store and serve data. Possible scenarios include profile pictures for your users or documents like PDF files that are uploaded during a registration process. In this article, I’ll show you how to set it up, read and write data, and implement basic access control rules. Here is a list of the topics: ...

Introduction Here is how to host your Flutter web app with Firebase Hosting. This article guides you through all the steps needed. This service is free of charge! Flutter apps are available for various platforms like Android, iOS, desktop systems, and also the web. With Firebase Hosting, there is an easy tool to deploy your Flutter web app and access it in a browser. This is a simple way to distribute apps to testers or automate the release process of new versions. Here is how to host your Flutter web app with Firebase Hosting. ...

Introduction Here is how how to secure your Firebase backend with App Check. I’ll demonstrate the setup with a Flutter app. Don’t let intruders make your bill go crazy! Securing your backend saves you a lot of trouble. Think about data loss or a huge bill at the end of the moment. Firebase provides its service App Check to greatly reduce the possibility of an attacker being successful. Here is how how to secure your Firebase backend with App Check. ...

Introduction In this article, I will demonstrate how to work with Firebase Cloud Functions in Flutter apps in the most simple way. This is your entry into the world of cloud computing! Firebase Cloud Functions is a service from Google that enables you to execute code in the cloud. A major benefit is scalability. If your app has many users, you won’t have a bottleneck when using Firebase. I will show you how to work with Firebase Cloud Functions in Flutter apps in the most simple way. The following sub-topics will be covered in this article: ...

Introduction Here is how to use Firebase Authentication in your Flutter app to authenicate your users without any effort. Don’t bother building your own authentication service and use this proven service instead! What is Firebase Authentication? Firebase Authentication is a simple way to verify a user without having to worry about storing credentials. It supports a variety of login mechanisms and is easy to set up. You receive a complete registration flow for your users including mail confirmation and validation if desired. Before implementing an authentication process by yourself, consider using this option. ...