firebase-cli — Firebase Command Line Interface

Keyword: firebase · firebase deploy · firebase init · firebase emulators

The Firebase CLI (firebase-tools ) manages your Firebase project from the terminal: deploy, emulate, import/export data, manage users, configure services, and automate CI/CD.

When to use this skill

• Deploy Firebase Hosting, Cloud Functions, Firestore rules/indexes, Realtime Database rules, Cloud Storage rules, Remote Config, or Extensions

• Set up a new Firebase project with firebase init

• Run the Firebase Emulator Suite locally for development and testing

• Manage preview/staging channels for Hosting

• Import or export Firebase Authentication users in bulk

• Distribute app builds to testers via App Distribution

• Manage Firebase Extensions (install, configure, update, uninstall)

• Deploy Next.js / Angular apps via Firebase App Hosting

• Use Firebase CLI in CI/CD pipelines with service account credentials

Instructions

• Install the Firebase CLI: npm install -g firebase-tools

• Authenticate: firebase login (browser OAuth) or GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS for CI

• Initialize project: firebase init (creates firebase.json and .firebaserc )

• Deploy: firebase deploy or firebase deploy --only hosting,functions

• Run emulators: firebase emulators:start

• For detailed command reference, see references/commands.md

• For installation and setup scripts, see scripts/install.sh

CI/CD: Use GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=/path/to/service-account.json firebase deploy

instead of the deprecated --token / FIREBASE_TOKEN method.

Examples

Deploy everything

firebase deploy

Deploy only Hosting and Functions

firebase deploy --only hosting,functions

Run all emulators with data persistence

firebase emulators:start --import ./emulator-data --export-on-exit

Create a preview channel and deploy

firebase hosting:channel:create staging --expires 7d firebase hosting:channel:deploy staging

Import users from JSON

firebase auth:import users.json --hash-algo=BCRYPT

Distribute Android build to testers

firebase appdistribution:distribute app-release.apk
--app "1:1234567890:android:abcd1234"
--release-notes "Sprint 42 build"
--groups "qa-team"

Quick Start

Install

npm install -g firebase-tools

Authenticate

firebase login

Initialize project (interactive)

firebase init

Deploy

firebase deploy

Run emulators

firebase emulators:start

Installation

npm (recommended — all platforms)

npm install -g firebase-tools firebase --version

Standalone binary (macOS/Linux — no Node.js required)

curl -sL firebase.tools | bash

CI/CD — service account authentication (recommended)

Set environment variable pointing to service account JSON key

export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/path/to/service-account-key.json" firebase deploy --non-interactive

Via skill script

bash scripts/install.sh

Core Usage

Authentication

firebase login # OAuth browser login firebase login --no-localhost # Copy-paste code flow firebase login:ci # Generate CI token (deprecated — use service account) firebase login:list # List all authorized accounts firebase login:use user@example.com # Set default account firebase logout # Sign out

Project Management

firebase init # Set up Firebase features in current directory firebase use <project_id> # Set active project firebase use --add # Add a project alias firebase projects:list # List all Firebase projects firebase open hosting:site # Open Firebase console in browser

Deployment

Deploy everything

firebase deploy

Deploy specific targets

firebase deploy --only hosting firebase deploy --only functions firebase deploy --only firestore firebase deploy --only hosting,functions

Deploy sub-targets

firebase deploy --only functions:myFunction firebase deploy --only hosting:my-site firebase deploy --only firestore:rules firebase deploy --only firestore:indexes

Exclude targets

firebase deploy --except functions

With message

firebase deploy --message "v2.3.1 release"

Firebase Emulator Suite

Start all configured emulators

firebase emulators:start

Start specific emulators

firebase emulators:start --only auth,firestore,functions

With data import/export

firebase emulators:start --import ./emulator-data --export-on-exit

Run tests against emulators then shut down

firebase emulators:exec "npm test" --only firestore,auth

Enable Functions debugger (Node.js inspector on port 9229)

firebase emulators:start --inspect-functions

Local Development Server

firebase serve # Hosting + HTTPS Functions firebase serve --only hosting firebase serve --port 5000

Hosting Commands

Preview channels

firebase hosting:channel:create staging --expires 7d firebase hosting:channel:deploy staging firebase hosting:channel:list firebase hosting:channel:open staging firebase hosting:channel:delete staging --force firebase hosting:clone my-app:live my-app-staging:staging

Multi-site management

firebase hosting:sites:list firebase hosting:sites:create new-site-id firebase hosting:disable --site my-old-site

Cloud Functions Commands

firebase functions:list # List deployed functions firebase functions:log # View logs firebase functions:log --only myFunction # Filter by function name firebase functions:delete myFunction # Delete a function firebase functions:shell # Local interactive shell

Secrets (2nd gen — replaces functions:config)

firebase functions:secrets:set MY_SECRET firebase functions:secrets:get MY_SECRET firebase functions:secrets:prune

Config (1st gen only)

firebase functions:config:set api.key="VALUE" firebase functions:config:get

Firestore Commands

firebase firestore:delete /collection/doc --recursive firebase firestore:indexes firebase firestore:rules:get

Realtime Database Commands

firebase database:get /path --pretty firebase database:set /path data.json firebase database:push /messages --data '{"text":"Hello"}' firebase database:update /users/uid --data '{"name":"New Name"}' firebase database:remove /path --confirm firebase database:profile --duration 30

Auth Import / Export

Export all users

firebase auth:export users.json

Import users (BCRYPT hashes)

firebase auth:import users.json --hash-algo=BCRYPT

Import users (SCRYPT hashes — Firebase default)

firebase auth:import users.json
--hash-algo=SCRYPT
--hash-key=<base64-key>
--salt-separator=<base64-separator>
--rounds=8
--mem-cost=8

Remote Config

firebase remoteconfig:get firebase remoteconfig:get --output config.json firebase remoteconfig:versions:list --limit 20 firebase remoteconfig:rollback --version-number 5

App Distribution

Distribute Android APK

firebase appdistribution:distribute app.apk
--app APP_ID
--release-notes "Bug fixes and improvements"
--testers "qa@example.com"
--groups "qa-team,beta-users"

Manage testers

firebase appdistribution:testers:add alice@example.com --group-alias qa-team firebase appdistribution:testers:remove alice@example.com firebase appdistribution:groups:list

Extensions

firebase ext:list firebase ext:info firebase/delete-user-data firebase ext:install firebase/delete-user-data firebase ext:configure delete-user-data firebase ext:update delete-user-data firebase ext:uninstall delete-user-data firebase ext:export

App Hosting (Next.js / Angular)

firebase init apphosting firebase apphosting:backends:create --location us-central1 firebase apphosting:backends:list firebase deploy --only apphosting firebase apphosting:rollouts:create BACKEND_ID --git-branch main

Deploy Targets (multi-site / multi-instance)

Apply target name to a resource

firebase target:apply hosting prod-site my-app-prod firebase target:apply storage prod-bucket my-app-bucket firebase target:apply database default my-app-db

Use target in deploy

firebase deploy --only hosting:prod-site

Clear targets

firebase target:clear hosting prod-site

Best practices

• Use service accounts for CI/CD: Set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS instead of --token (deprecated).

• Use --only in deploy: Never deploy everything blindly in production — always scope with --only .

• Emulators for development: Always run emulators:start locally before deploying; use --import /--export-on-exit for persistence.

• Preview channels before production: Use hosting:channel:deploy for staging reviews before firebase deploy --only hosting .

• Secrets over functions:config: For Cloud Functions 2nd gen, use functions:secrets:set (Secret Manager) instead of deprecated functions:config:set .

• --non-interactive in scripts: Always add --non-interactive in automated scripts to avoid hanging on prompts.

• .firebaserc in VCS: Commit .firebaserc (project aliases) but add secrets and service account keys to .gitignore .

• --debug for troubleshooting: Run any failing command with --debug for verbose output.

Troubleshooting

Issue Solution

command not found: firebase

Run npm install -g firebase-tools ; check npm bin -g is in PATH

Authentication error in CI Set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS to service account JSON path

FIREBASE_TOKEN warning Migrate from token-based auth to service accounts

Deploy fails with permission error Verify service account has required IAM roles (Firebase Admin, Cloud Functions Admin, etc.)

Emulators not starting Check ports 4000/5000/5001/8080/9000/9099/9199 are available; run lsof -i :<port>

Functions deploy timeout Use --only functions:specificFunction to deploy one at a time

Hosting deploy not reflecting changes Check firebase.json public directory and ignore patterns

ext:install fails Check extension ID format: publisher/extension-id ; try --debug

Database permission denied Verify database rules and that CLI auth account has access

References

• Firebase CLI Reference — official full command reference

• Full Command Reference — complete options and flags for all commands

• Install Scripts — install.sh (setup) · deploy.sh (deployment helper) · emulators.sh (emulator management)

• firebase-tools GitHub — source code and changelog

• Firebase CLI Release Notes — version history

• Auth Import/Export Reference — hash algorithm details

• Hosting Preview Channels — staging workflow

• Emulator Suite Configuration — emulator setup