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React Native with Firebase
Introduction
Due to its efficiency and flexibility, React Native has become one of the most popular frameworks for building
mobile applications. Allowing developers to write applications using JavaScript and React provides a seamless
experience across iOS and Android platforms. When combined with Firebase, a powerful mobile and web
application development platform, React Native applications can leverage many features, including real-time
databases, authentication, and cloud functions.
In this reading, you will learn how to set up Firebase with React Native, initialize its services, and utilize key
Firebase features like authentication, Firestore database, and cloud storage.
Setting up React Native with Firebase
Integrating Firebase with a React Native application requires setting up both the development environment and
Firebase configuration to ensure seamless functionality. To get started with integrating Firebase into a React
Native application, begin with the following steps:
1. Install React Native Command Line Interface CLI
To start, make sure you have the React Native CLI installed. This command-line tool is essential for
managing React Native projects and helps automate various tasks, from starting a new project to testing on
simulators. Run the following command in your terminal to install the CLI globally on your system:
npm install -g react-native-cli
2. Create a new project
Once the CLI is installed, you can create a project. This project will be the foundation for adding Firebase
functionalities and other app features. To create a new project, run the following command:
npx react-native init MyFirebaseApp
3. Install Firebase Software Development Kit (SDK)
To use Firebase in your React Native app, install the Firebase SDK and other related packages by
navigating into your project directory and installing the Firebase SDK. You can do this using npm or yarn.
Install Firebase SDK using the following set of commands.
cd MyFirebaseApp
npm install @react-native-firebase/app
For specific features like authentication or Firestore, install the corresponding packages:
npm install @react-native-firebase/auth @react-native-firebase/firestore
4. Configure Firebase
Follow these steps to configure Firebase.
1. Go to the Firebase Console.
2. Create a new project and add an application for each platform you plan to support (iOS and
Android).
3. Follow the instructions to download the configuration files:
For Android: download google-services.json
For iOS: download GoogleService-Info.plist
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4. Place these files in the appropriate locations within your React Native project.
5. Initialize Firebase
Initialize Firebase in your main application file with the following code:
import { firebase } from '@react-native-firebase/app';
const firebaseConfig = {
apiKey: "YOUR_API_KEY",
authDomain: "YOUR_AUTH_DOMAIN",
databaseURL: "YOUR_DATABASE_URL",
projectId: "YOUR_PROJECT_ID",
storageBucket: "YOUR_STORAGE_BUCKET",
messagingSenderId: "YOUR_MESSAGING_SENDER_ID",
appId: "YOUR_APP_ID",
};
if (!firebase.apps.length) {
firebase.initializeApp(firebaseConfig);
}
Using Firebase features
Once the development environment and Firebase configuration are set up, Firebase's features can be used. Here
are some common features of Firebase and information on how to use them.
Authentication
Firebase authentication provides a simple way to implement user authentication. Follow these steps to create a
user with an email and password.
1. Import Firebase Authentication
import auth from '@react-native-firebase/auth';
2. Create a user account
async function signUp(email, password) {
try {
await auth().createUserWithEmailAndPassword(email, password);
console.log('User account created & signed in!');
} catch (error) {
console.error(error);
}
}
Firestore Database
Firestore is a NoSQL database that allows real-time data storage and retrieval. Use the code shown below add
and retrieve data.
1. Import Firestore
import firestore from '@react-native-firebase/firestore';
2. Add data
await firestore().collection('Users').add({
name: 'John Doe',
age: 30,
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});
3. Retrieve data
// Retrieving data
const snapshot = await firestore().collection('Users').get();
snapshot.forEach(doc => {
console.log(doc.id, '=>', doc.data());
});
Cloud Storage
Firebase Cloud Storage is a secure, scalable solution for storing user-generated files directly from mobile and
web applications, such as images, videos, and documents.
1. Install the storage module
npm install @react-native-firebase/storage
2. Upload files
import storage from '@react-native-firebase/storage';
// Uploading data
const uploadFile = async (filePath) => {
const reference = storage().ref('images/myImage.jpg');
await reference.putFile(filePath);
};
Summary
In this reading, you learned:
React Native is a popular framework for building mobile applications that offers a seamless experience
across iOS and Android platforms.
Integrating Firebase with React Native allows developers to leverage powerful features like real-time
databases, authentication, and cloud storage.
Setting up Firebase involves installing necessary modules, configuring Firebase in the Firebase Console,
and placing configuration files in the project.
Firebase Authentication simplifies user management by easily implementing various authentication
methods.
Firestore is a flexible, scalable NoSQL cloud database that allows real-time data storage and retrieval.
Firebase Cloud Storage enables the secure storage of user-generated files, enhancing the capabilities of
mobile apps
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