Firebase Setup

"A well-configured Firebase project is the foundation that prevents a hundred future headaches." — Unknown

TL;DR

Guides Firebase project initialization — from firebase init through emulator configuration, environment-specific settings, and project aliases for dev/staging/prod. Use when starting a new Firebase project or restructuring an existing one for multiple environments. [EXPLICIT]

Procedure

Step 1: Discover

• Check if Firebase CLI is installed and authenticated (firebase --version)
• Identify required Firebase services (Firestore, Auth, Functions, Hosting, Storage)
• Determine environment strategy (dev, staging, production projects)
• Review existing firebase.json and .firebaserc if migrating

Step 2: Analyze

• Plan project structure: monorepo vs separate repos for functions/hosting
• Determine emulator needs (Firestore, Auth, Functions, Storage, Hosting)
• Design environment variable strategy (.env.local, .env.production, runtime config)
• Evaluate billing plan requirements (Blaze for Functions, Extensions)

Step 3: Execute

• Run firebase init selecting required services
• Configure project aliases in .firebaserc (dev, staging, prod)
• Set up emulator suite in firebase.json with fixed ports
• Create .env files for each environment with Firebase config values
• Initialize Firestore with firestore.rules and firestore.indexes.json
• Set up Functions with TypeScript, ESLint, and proper package.json scripts
• Add emulator data export/import scripts for consistent dev data

Step 4: Validate

• Start emulators and verify all services run locally (firebase emulators:start)
• Confirm project switching works (firebase use dev, firebase use prod)
• Check that environment variables load correctly per environment
• Verify .gitignore excludes sensitive files (.env, service account keys)

Quality Criteria

• All required Firebase services initialized and configured
• Emulator suite runs locally with fixed ports and seed data
• Environment aliases configured for dev/staging/prod
• Sensitive credentials excluded from version control
• Evidence tags applied to all claims

Anti-Patterns

• Using the same Firebase project for development and production
• Hardcoding Firebase config values instead of using environment variables
• Skipping emulator setup and testing directly against production

Related Skills

• firestore-modeling — data modeling follows project setup
• cloud-functions — Functions initialization is part of Firebase setup

Usage

Example invocations:

• "/firebase-setup" — Run the full firebase setup workflow
• "firebase setup on this project" — Apply to current context

Assumptions & Limits

• Assumes access to project artifacts (code, docs, configs) [EXPLICIT]
• Requires English-language output unless otherwise specified [EXPLICIT]
• Does not replace domain expert judgment for final decisions [EXPLICIT]

Edge Cases

Scenario	Handling
Empty or minimal input	Request clarification before proceeding
Conflicting requirements	Flag conflicts explicitly, propose resolution
Out-of-scope request	Redirect to appropriate skill or escalate