FAQ and troubleshooting

What are the differences between using the Gemini Developer API and the Agent Platform Gemini API (formerly Vertex AI)?

The following table lists important differences between the two "Gemini API" providers in general regardless of how you access them:

¹ The two API providers have different pay-as-you-go pricing (learn more in their respective documentation).

² The Files API for the Gemini Developer API is not supported through the Firebase AI Logic SDKs.

The following table lists the availability of commonly asked about features for the two "Gemini API" providers. This table applies specifically when using the Firebase AI Logic client SDKs.

Can I use both the Gemini Developer API and the Agent Platform Gemini API (formerly Vertex AI)?

Yes, you can have both "Gemini API" providers enabled in your Firebase project, and you can use both APIs in your app itself.

To switch between API providers in your code, just make sure that you've set the backend service appropriately in your code.

What changes are required for the rebranding of "Vertex AI" to "Agent Platform"?

In mid-2026, Google Cloud rebranded "Vertex AI" to "Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform" (or "Agent Platform"). In the Firebase ecosystem, we refer to this service as the "Agent Platform Gemini API".

For Google Cloud, this rebranding included the following. Note that there were other changes, but they aren't applicable to Firebase AI Logic.

• Rebranding the product from "Vertex AI" to "Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform" (or "Agent Platform"), which includes new URLs for the Google Cloud console and documentation.

• Changing the display name of the API from "Vertex AI API" to "Agent Platform API". Note that the service name has stayed the same: aiplatform.googleapis.com.

• Rebranding "Vertex AI Studio" to "Agent Studio".

• No changes to the capabilities of the underlying APIs or supported models.

For the Firebase AI Logic SDKs, we accommodated this rebranding by updating the initialization syntax for the "Gemini API" backend service and updating the default location for accessing the model when using this new syntax.

• New initialization syntax for the "Gemini API" backend service:

  Swift

  Change vertexai to agentPlatform.
  Available starting with Firebase SDK for Apple platforms v12.17.0+.

  BEFORE

  // ...
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the legacy `vertexai` syntax, the default location is `us-central`, so
  // specifying a location is usually required since most models are *not* supported in `us-central`.
  let ai = FirebaseAI.firebaseAI(backend: .vertexai(location: "LOCATION"))
  
  // ...
  

  AFTER

  // ...
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the `agentPlatform` syntax, the default location is `global`, so
  // specifying a location is usually optional since most models are supported in `global`.
  let ai = FirebaseAI.firebaseAI(backend: .agentPlatform(location: "LOCATION"))
  
  // ...
  

  Kotlin

  Change vertexAI to agentPlatform.
  Available starting with Firebase AI Logic SDK for Android v17.15.0+ (Firebase Android BoM v34.17.0+).

  BEFORE

  // ...
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the legacy `vertexAI` syntax, the default location is `us-central`, so
  // specifying a location is usually required since most models are *not* supported in `us-central`.
  val ai = Firebase.ai(backend = GenerativeBackend.vertexAI(location = "LOCATION"))
  
  // ...
  

  AFTER

  // ...
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the `agentPlatform` syntax, the default location is `global`, so
  // specifying a location is usually optional since most models are supported in `global`.
  val ai = Firebase.ai(backend = GenerativeBackend.agentPlatform(location = "LOCATION"))
  
  // ...
  

  Java

  Change vertexAI to agentPlatform.
  Available starting with Firebase AI Logic SDK for Android v17.15.0+ (Firebase Android BoM v34.17.0+).

  BEFORE

  // ...
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the legacy `vertexAI` syntax, the default location is `us-central`, so
  // specifying a location is usually required since most models are *not* supported in `us-central`.
  GenerativeModel ai = FirebaseAI.getInstance(GenerativeBackend.vertexAI("LOCATION"));
  
  // ...
  

  AFTER

  // ...
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the `agentPlatform` syntax, the default location is `global`, so
  // specifying a location is usually optional since most models are supported in `global`.
  GenerativeModel ai = FirebaseAI.getInstance(GenerativeBackend.agentPlatform("LOCATION"));
  
  // ...
  

  Web

  Change VertexAIBackend to AgentPlatformBackend.
  Available starting with Firebase JS SDK v12.17.0+.

  BEFORE

  import { getAI, getGenerativeModel, VertexAIBackend } from "firebase/ai";
  
  // ...
  
  // Initialize FirebaseApp
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the legacy `VertexAIBackend` syntax, the default location is `us-central`, so
  // specifying a location is usually required since most models are *not* supported in `us-central`.
  const ai = getAI(firebaseApp, { backend: new VertexAIBackend('LOCATION') });
  
  // ...
  

  AFTER

  import { getAI, getGenerativeModel, AgentPlatformBackend } from "firebase/ai";
  
  // ...
  
  // Initialize FirebaseApp
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the `AgentPlatformBackend` syntax, the default location is `global`, so
  // specifying a location is usually optional since most models are supported in `global`.
  const ai = getAI(firebaseApp, { backend: new AgentPlatformBackend('LOCATION') });
  
  // ...
  

  Dart

  Change vertexAI to agentPlatform.
  Available starting with Firebase AI Logic plugin for Flutter v3.15.0+ (Firebase Flutter BoM v4.18.0+).

  BEFORE

  // ...
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the legacy `vertexAI` syntax, the default location is `us-central`, so
  // specifying a location is usually required since most models are *not* supported in `us-central`.
  final ai = await FirebaseAI.vertexAI(location: 'LOCATION');
  
  // ...
  

  AFTER

  // ...
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the `agentPlatform` syntax, the default location is `global`, so
  // specifying a location is usually optional since most models are supported in `global`.
  final ai = await FirebaseAI.agentPlatform(location: 'LOCATION');
  
  // ...
  

  Unity

  Change VertexAI to AgentPlatform.
  Available starting with Firebase SDK for Unity v13.15.0+.

  BEFORE

  // ...
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the legacy `VertexAI` syntax, the default location is `us-central`, so
  // specifying a location is usually required since most models are *not* supported in `us-central`.
  var ai = FirebaseAI.GetInstance(FirebaseAI.Backend.VertexAI(location: "LOCATION"));
  
  // ...
  

  AFTER

  // ...
  
  // Initialize the Agent Platform Gemini API backend service (formerly branded Vertex AI).
  // For the `AgentPlatform` syntax, the default location is `global`, so
  // specifying a location is usually optional since most models are supported in `global`.
  var ai = FirebaseAI.GetInstance(FirebaseAI.Backend.AgentPlatform(location: "LOCATION"));
  
  // ...
  

• New default location for accessing the model when using the new initialization syntax:

  When using the new "Agent Platform" initialization syntax, the location defaults to global.

  This change was made because almost all Gemini models are supported in global, and Google Cloud is no longer supporting the us-central1 location for new releases of most Gemini models.

What are the required APIs? And how to enable them?

To use the Firebase AI Logic SDKs with the Agent Platform Gemini API (formerly Vertex AI), your project must have the following two APIs enabled:

• Agent Platform API (aiplatform.googleapis.com)
• Firebase AI Logic API (firebasevertexai.googleapis.com)

You can enable these APIs using either of the following options:

• Option 1 (recommended): Enable the APIs with a few clicks in the Firebase console:

  1. In the Firebase console, go to the AI Services > Firebase AI Logic page.

  2. Click Get started.

  3. Select to get started with the Agent Platform Gemini API (formerly Vertex AI).

     This launches a guided workflow that enables the two APIs for you. Firebase will also provision a Google-managed service account (P4SA) for authorizing use of the Gemini API, as well as add the Firebase AI Logic API to the allowlist for your Firebase API key.

• Option 2 (manual; not recommended): Enable the APIs in the Google Cloud console:

  1. Click each API link at the top of this FAQ entry, and then click Enable in each API's page.

  2. Add the Firebase AI Logic API to the allowlist of your Firebase API key.

How to disable APIs in a Firebase project?

For Firebase AI Logic, we try to make setup of your Firebase project to use your chosen Gemini API provider as easy as possible. This includes enabling the required APIs in your Firebase project during specific journeys, like the guided workflow in the Firebase console.

However, if you decide to not use Firebase AI Logic or one of the Gemini API providers, you can disable the associated APIs in your Firebase project.

Which permissions may be needed to use Firebase AI Logic?

What are the supported models when using Firebase AI Logic?

See the list of supported models. We frequently add new capabilities to the SDKs, so check back on this FAQ for updates (as well as in release notes, blogs, and social posts).

• Firebase AI Logic supports the following models:

  • Gemini Developer API

    • Most of the Gemini and Imagen foundation models

    Note that the Gemini Developer API (regardless of how it's accessed) only supports specific stable Imagen models.

  • Agent Platform Gemini API (formerly Vertex AI)

    • Most of the Gemini and Imagen foundation models

• Firebase AI Logic does not support the following models (regardless of your chosen Gemini API provider):

  • Fine-tuned models

  • Embedding models, Veo models, Lyria models, robotics models, computer use models, Gemini Omni models, or Gemini Flash Cyber models

  • Older Imagen models or imagen-3.0-capability-001

What to do when models are shut down (retired)?

When we release a stable model version, we strive to ensure that it's available for at minimum one year before retiring the model.

Where to find the shutdown date of a model?

Here are some ways you can find the shutdown date of a model:

• At the time of release: We list each model's expected shutdown date several places in the Gemini API provider documentation as well as in the Firebase documentation (see the supported models page).

• As the shutdown date approaches: Google sends emails to appropriate project members, and we post reminders in the release notes and other channels about any upcoming shutdowns (for example, reminder of shutdown dates for the Gemini 1.5 and 1.0 stable models).

What to do if the model you're using is about to be shut down?

1. Find a suitable currently supported model and its model name.

2. Update the model name used by your app before the shutdown date; otherwise, any requests to that model will fail with a 404 error.

   • You set the model name during initialization when you create a GenerativeModel, LiveModel, or ImagenModel instance. Make sure to review the critical recommendation below about using Firebase Remote Config.

   • When using Firebase AI Logic, you usually don't need to modify any of the code which actually calls the model.

     Note that for Gemini 3.x models, sampling parameters (temperature, top-K, top-P) are deprecated.

3. Test your app to ensure that responses are still as expected.

Gemini 2.5 stable models - shutdown dates & replacements

• Gemini 2.5 Pro, Gemini 2.5 Flash, and Gemini 2.5 Flash‑Lite

  gemini-2.5-pro
gemini-2.5-flash
gemini-2.5-flash-lite
gemini-2.5-flash-image (aka "Nano Banana")

  • For the general-use models, the date for shutdown depends on your chosen Gemini API provider:

    • Gemini Developer API (Google AI): October 16, 2026
    • Agent Platform Gemini API (formerly Vertex AI): October 20, 2026

  • For the image-generating model (Nano Banana), the date for shutdown is the same regardless of your chosen Gemini API provider: October 02, 2026

  Note that other "Nano Banana" models and any stable Gemini Live API 2.5 models are not impacted.

Replacement: Migrate to use one of the new Gemini 3.x models (like gemini-3.6-flash or gemini-3.1-flash-image).

Imagen stable models - shutdown dates & replacements

• All Imagen models will shut down as early as June 30, 2026.

Replacement: Migrate your apps to use Gemini Image models (the "Nano Banana" models).

Gemini 2.0 stable models - shutdown dates & replacements

• Gemini 2.0 Flash and Gemini 2.0 Flash‑Lite:

  gemini-2.0-flash-001 (and its auto-updated alias gemini-2.0-flash)
  gemini-2.0-flash-lite-001 (and its auto-updated aliasgemini-2.0-flash-lite)

  • February 6, 2026: These models will no longer be available for use in projects that had no prior usage of the model.

  • March 31, 2026: These models will shut down.

  Note that stable Gemini Live API 2.0 models are not impacted.

Replacement: Migrate to use one of the new Gemini 3.x models (like gemini-3.1-flash-lite).

Gemini 1.5 and 1.0 stable models - shutdown dates & replacements

• Gemini 1.5 Pro models:

  • gemini-1.5-pro-002 (and gemini-1.5-pro): September 24, 2025
  • gemini-1.5-pro-001: May 24, 2025

• Gemini 1.5 Flash models:

  • gemini-1.5-flash-002 (and gemini-1.5-flash): September 24, 2025
  • gemini-1.5-flash-001: May 24, 2025

• Gemini 1.0 Pro Vision models: April 21, 2025 (previously scheduled for April 09, 2025)

• Gemini 1.0 Pro models: April 21, 2025 (previously scheduled for April 09, 2025)

Replacement: Migrate to use one of the new Gemini 3.x models (like gemini-3.1-flash-lite).

Does Firebase AI Logic use my data to train models?

See Data governance & Responsible AI.

How to set a per-user rate limit?

By default, Firebase AI Logic sets the request limit per user at 100 requests per minute (RPM).

If you want to adjust your per-user rate limit, you need to adjust the quota settings for the Firebase AI Logic API.

Learn more about the Firebase AI Logic API quota. On that page, you can also learn how to view and edit your quota.

How to reduce latency and high token usage?

If you're experiencing high latency or high token usage, it's likely due to the thinking level configuration for the model you're using.

Gemini 3 and later models always use an internal "thinking process" that significantly improves their reasoning and multi-step planning abilities, making them highly effective for complex tasks such as coding, advanced mathematics, and data analysis.

However, depending on the task, higher levels of thinking aren't always needed, and you can configure the model to use a lower thinking level. A lower thinking level will help reduce latency and token usage. To help you decide how much a model might need its thinking capability, review the comparison of task difficulties.

Note that for most Gemini 3 and later models, the default thinking level is set to HIGH.

Is MIME type required in my multimodal requests? (like for images, PDFs, video, and audio input)

Yes, in each multimodal request, you must always provide the following:

• The file's mimeType. See an exception below.

• The file. You can either provide the file as inline data or provide the file using its URL.

Learn about supported input file types, how to specify MIME type, and the two options for providing the file in Supported input files and requirements.

Exception to including MIME type in your request

An exception to providing the MIME type is inline image inputs for requests from native Android and Apple platform apps.

The Firebase AI Logic SDKs for Android and Apple platforms provide a simplified and platform-friendly way to handle images in requests — all images (no matter their format) are converted client-side to JPEG at 80% quality before being sent to the server. This means that when you provide images as inline data using the Android and Apple platforms SDKs, you don't need to specify the MIME type in the request.

This simplified handling is shown in the Firebase AI Logic documentation in the examples for sending base64-encoded images in requests.

Here's some additional platform-specific information about this feature:

• For Android:

  • You can take advantage of the simplified way to handle platform-native image types (Bitmap) in multimodal prompts that contain images as inline data (see example).

  • For more control over image formats and conversions, you may provide the images as an InlineDataPart and supply the specific MIME type. For example:

    content { inlineData(/* PNG as byte array */, "image/png") }

• For Apple platforms:

  • You can take advantage of the simplified way to handle platform-native image types (UIImage, NSImage, CIImage, and CGImage) in multimodal prompts that contain images as inline data (see example).

  • For more control over image formats and conversions, you may provide the images as an InlineDataPart and supply the specific MIME type. For example:

    InlineDataPart(data: Data(/* PNG Data */), mimeType: "image/png")

Are these features available when using Firebase AI Logic: Grounding with Google Image Search, fine tuning a model, embeddings generation, and semantic retrieval?

The following features are supported by various models and the API providers, but they are not available when using Firebase AI Logic:

• Grounding with Google Image Search
• Fine tuning a model
• Embeddings generation
• Semantic retrieval

If you would like to add these as feature requests or vote on an existing feature request, visit Firebase UserVoice.

Why did the name change from "Vertex AI in Firebase" to "Firebase AI Logic"?

Back in 2024, we launched a set of Firebase client SDKs that could use the Agent Platform Gemini API (formerly Vertex AI) as well as a Firebase proxy gateway to protect that API from abuse and to enable integrations with other Firebase products. We called our product "Vertex AI in Firebase", and this product name accurately described our product's available use cases at that time.

Since then, though, we've expanded the capabilities of our product. For example, as of May 2025, we now offer support for the Gemini Developer API, including the ability to protect the Gemini Developer API from abuse using our integration with Firebase App Check.

As a result, the name "Vertex AI in Firebase" no longer accurately represents the expanded scope of our product. Thus, a new name — Firebase AI Logic — better reflects our evolving feature set and allows us to continue to expand our offerings in the future!

Check out the migration guide to make sure you get all the latest features from Firebase AI Logic (and optionally start using the Gemini Developer API).

For Swift apps on Apple platforms - What to do about the module name change from FirebaseAI to FirebaseAILogic?

For Apple platform apps, starting with Firebase SDK v12.5.0, Firebase AI Logic is now distributed under the FirebaseAILogic module. We've made this change non-breaking and backwards-compatible.

Why did we make this change?

We formerly distributed this service under the FirebaseAI module. However, we needed to rename it to FirebaseAILogic for the following reasons:

• Avoid a name collision between module and class that causes issues in binary distributions.

• Enable us to use Swift macros for future feature development.

What to do if you're upgrading to v12.5.0+?

The module name change to FirebaseAILogic is non-breaking and backwards-compatible. However, eventually, we may remove the old module alongside a future major Firebase SDK breaking change release (time frame currently undetermined).

There are no required changes for this module name change, but we recommend that you do the following:

1. When choosing Swift PM dependencies, choose FirebaseAILogic (instead of FirebaseAI).

2. Change import statements to FirebaseAILogic (instead of FirebaseAI).

What were the security upgrades (mid-2026) for the Gemini Developer API and Firebase AI Logic?

Historically, the Gemini Developer API relied on standard Gemini API keys for authorizing use of the Gemini Developer API (generativelanguage.googleapis.com). If you enabled Firebase AI Logic and chose to use the Gemini Developer API, then Firebase created a Gemini API key for you that was restricted to the Gemini Developer API. This key was named Gemini Developer API key (auto created by Firebase).

Starting in mid-2026, the Gemini Developer API is upgrading to a more secure alternative called "Authorization (auth) keys" (which are essentially service accounts). Firebase AI Logic has upgraded in tandem. Instead of using a standard Gemini API key, Firebase AI Logic now handles authorization for the Gemini Developer API using a Google-managed service account (P4SA) that we automatically provision for you:
Firebase AI Logic Service Agent (service-PROJECT_ID@gcp-sa-firebasevertexai.iam.gserviceaccount.com)

For both existing and new projects, if you access the Gemini Developer API via Firebase AI Logic, no action is needed on your part to take advantage of these security upgrades from mid-2026.

Do I need to migrate my Gemini API key to an "Authorization (auth) key"?

For both existing and new projects, if you access the Gemini Developer API via Firebase AI Logic, no action is needed on your part to take advantage of security upgrades from mid-2026 (including migrating to an "Authorization (auth) key").

On behalf of our developers, Firebase AI Logic is automatically handling all the required security changes to accommodate the transition of the Gemini Developer API to require "Authorization (auth) keys".

Starting in mid-2026, Firebase AI Logic no longer provisions or uses standard Gemini API keys. Instead, Firebase AI Logic now handles authorization for the Gemini Developer API using a Google-managed service account (P4SA) that we automatically provision for you in your Firebase project:
Firebase AI Logic Service Agent (service-PROJECT_ID@gcp-sa-firebasevertexai.iam.gserviceaccount.com)

Given this change, you can review and delete any API key named Gemini Developer API key (auto created by Firebase). You can delete this key in the Google Cloud console. Review the following before deleting the key:

• This Gemini API key was created by Firebase for the sole purpose of using with Firebase AI Logic, so it should be safe to delete. However, before you delete this key, you should still check to make sure that you haven't erroneously used the key with other tools that can give access to the Gemini Developer API, like the GenAI server SDKs or Genkit. Here's how to check the usage:
  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the page for the Gemini Developer API, then click Manage.
  2. In the Metrics tab, in the Credentials dropdown, select the key named Gemini Developer API key (auto created by Firebase).
  3. If the displayed graphs show no usage since early July 2026 (which was when Firebase AI Logic stopped using these API keys), then the key is safe to delete.
     However, if the graphs show usage, then you're using the key with another tool and you should rename the key so that it's clear that it's being used with that tool (and not with Firebase AI Logic).
• Make sure that you do not delete any other API key with a name that contains the segment (auto created by Firebase).

Should I add a Gemini API key into my mobile or web app's codebase?

When using the Firebase AI Logic SDKs, you do not need a Gemini API key for authorizing use of the Gemini Developer API, and you should not add a Gemini API key into your app's codebase.

Can I use my "Firebase API key" as a Gemini API key?

No — you should not use your "Firebase API key" as a Gemini API key. We strongly recommend that you do not add the Gemini Developer API to the allowlist for your Firebase API key.

Your Firebase API key is the API key that's listed in your Firebase configuration file or object that you add into your app's codebase to connect your app to Firebase. It's OK to include your Firebase API key in your code when you use the key only with Firebase-related APIs (like Firebase AI Logic). Learn important information about Firebase API keys.

In the APIs & Services > Credentials panel of the Google Cloud console, this is what Firebase API keys look like:

Because you need to add your Firebase API key into your app's codebase for Firebase-related APIs to work, and because the Gemini Developer API can be authorized via API key, we strongly recommend that you do NOT add the Gemini Developer API (called the "Generative Language API" in the Google Cloud console) to the API allowlist for your Firebase API key. If you do, then you're exposing the Gemini Developer API to potential abuse.

How do I keep my Gemini API key secure?