Add Firebase to your Android project

Prerequisites

• Install or update Android Studio to its latest version.

• Make sure that your project meets these requirements:

  • Targets API level 16 (Jelly Bean) or later
  • Uses Gradle 4.1 or later
  • Uses Jetpack (AndroidX), which includes meeting these version requirements:
    • com.android.tools.build:gradle v3.2.1 or later
    • compileSdkVersion 28 or later

• Set up a physical device or use an emulator to run your app.
  Emulators must use an emulator image with Google Play.

• Sign into Firebase using your Google account.

If you don't already have an Android project and just want to try out a Firebase product, you can download one of our quickstart samples.

You can connect your Android app to Firebase using one of the following options:

• Option 1: (recommended) Use the Firebase console setup workflow.
• Option 2: Use the Android Studio Firebase Assistant (requires additional configuration).

Option 1: Add Firebase using the Firebase console

Adding Firebase to your app involves tasks both in the Firebase console and in your open Android project (for example, you download Firebase config files from the console, then move them into your Android project).

Step 1: Create a Firebase project

Before you can add Firebase to your Android app, you need to create a Firebase project to connect to your Android app. Visit Understand Firebase Projects to learn more about Firebase projects.

Create a Firebase project

1. In the Firebase console, click Add project, then select or enter a Project name.

   If you have an existing Google Cloud Platform (GCP) project, you can select the project from the dropdown menu to add Firebase resources to that project.

2. (Optional) If you are creating a new project, you can edit the Project ID.

   Firebase automatically assigns a unique ID to your Firebase project. Visit Understand Firebase Projects to learn about how Firebase uses the project ID.

3. Click Continue.

4. (Optional) Set up Google Analytics for your project, which enables you to have an optimal experience using any of the following Firebase products:

   Firebase Crashlytics Firebase Predictions

   Firebase Cloud Messaging Firebase In-App Messaging

   Firebase Remote Config Firebase A/B Testing

   When prompted, select to use an existing Google Analytics account or to create a new account.
   If you choose to create a new account, select your Analytics reporting location, then accept the data sharing settings and Google Analytics terms for your project.

5. Click Create project (or Add Firebase, if you're using an existing GCP project).

Firebase automatically provisions resources for your Firebase project. When the process completes, you'll be taken to the overview page for your Firebase project in the Firebase console.

Step 2: Register your app with Firebase

After you have a Firebase project, you can add your Android app to it.

Visit Understand Firebase Projects to learn more about best practices and considerations for adding apps to a Firebase project, including how to handle multiple build variants.

1. Go to the Firebase console.

2. In the center of the project overview page, click the Android icon (plat_android) to launch the setup workflow.

   If you've already added an app to your Firebase project, click Add app to display the platform options.

3. Enter your app's package name in the Android package name field.

   What's a package name, and where do you find it?

   • A package name uniquely identifies your app on the device and in the Google Play Store.

   • A package name is often referred to as an application ID.

   • Find your app's package name in your module (app-level) Gradle file, usually app/build.gradle (example package name: com.yourcompany.yourproject).

   • Be aware that the package name value is case-sensitive, and it cannot be changed for this Firebase Android app after it's registered with your Firebase project.

4. (Optional) Enter other app information: App nickname and Debug signing certificate SHA-1.

   How are the App nickname and the Debug signing certificate SHA-1 used within Firebase?

   • App nickname: An internal, convenience identifier that is only visible to you in the Firebase console

   • Debug signing certificate SHA-1: A SHA-1 hash is required by Firebase Authentication (when using Google Sign In or phone number sign in) and Firebase Dynamic Links.

5. Click Register app.

Step 3: Add a Firebase configuration file

1. Add the Firebase Android configuration file to your app:

   1. Click Download google-services.json to obtain your Firebase Android config file (google-services.json).

   2. Move your config file into the module (app-level) directory of your app.

   What do you need to know about this config file?

   • The Firebase config file contains unique, but non-secret identifiers for your project. To learn more about this config file, visit Understand Firebase Projects.

   • You can download your Firebase config file again at any time.

   • Make sure the config file name is not appended with additional characters, like (2).

2. To enable Firebase products in your app, add the google-services plugin to your Gradle files.

   1. In your root-level (project-level) Gradle file (build.gradle), add rules to include the Google Services Gradle plugin. Check that you have Google's Maven repository, as well.

      buildscript {
      
        repositories {
          // Check that you have the following line (if not, add it):
          google()  // Google's Maven repository
        }
      
        dependencies {
          // ...
      
          // Add the following line:
          classpath 'com.google.gms:google-services:4.3.3'  // Google Services plugin
        }
      }
      
      allprojects {
        // ...
      
        repositories {
          // Check that you have the following line (if not, add it):
          google()  // Google's Maven repository
          // ...
        }
      }
      

   2. In your module (app-level) Gradle file (usually app/build.gradle), apply the Google Services Gradle plugin:

      apply plugin: 'com.android.application'
      // Add the following line:
      apply plugin: 'com.google.gms.google-services'  // Google Services plugin
      
      android {
        // ...
      }
      

Step 4: Add Firebase SDKs to your app

1. To your module (app-level) Gradle file (usually app/build.gradle), add the dependencies for the Firebase products that you want to use in your app.

   Analytics enabled

   dependencies {
     // ...
   
     // Add the Firebase SDK for Google Analytics
     implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-analytics:17.4.3'
   
     // Add the dependencies for any other Firebase products you want to use in your app
     // For example, to also use Firebase Authentication
     implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-auth:19.3.1'
   
     // Getting a "Could not find" error? Make sure that you've added
     // Google's Maven repository to your root-level build.gradle file
   }
   

   Analytics not enabled

   dependencies {
     // ...
   
     // Add the dependencies for the Firebase products you want to use in your app
     // For example, to use Firebase Authentication
     implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-auth:19.3.1'
   
     // Getting a "Could not find" error? Make sure that you've added
     // Google's Maven repository to your root-level build.gradle file
   }
   

2. Sync your app to ensure that all dependencies have the necessary versions.

3. If you added Analytics, run your app to send verification to Firebase that you've successfully integrated Firebase. Otherwise, you can skip the verification step.

   Your device logs will display the Firebase verification that initialization is complete. If you ran your app on an emulator that has network access, the Firebase console notifies you that your app connection is complete.

That's it! You can skip ahead to the next steps.

Option 2: Add Firebase using the Firebase Assistant

The Firebase Assistant registers your app with a Firebase project and adds the necessary Firebase files and code to your Android project — all from within Android Studio.

Note that the recommended option to connect your app to Firebase is to use the Firebase console setup workflow.

1. Open your Android project in Android Studio.

2. Select Tools > Firebase to open the Assistant pane.

3. Choose a Firebase product to add to your app. Expand its section, then click the tutorial link (for example, Analytics > Log an Analytics event).

4. Click Connect to Firebase to connect your Android project with Firebase.

   What does this workflow do?

   • This workflow automatically creates a new Firebase Android app with your app's package name.

     You can create this new Firebase Android app in either an existing Firebase project or a new project.

     • Visit Understand Firebase Projects to learn more about best practices and considerations for adding apps to a Firebase project, including how to handle multiple build variants.

     • If you create a new project, we strongly recommend that you set up Google Analytics for your project, which enables you to have an optimal experience using many Firebase products.

   • This workflow also adds your Firebase project's Android configuration file (google-services.json) to the module (app-level) directory of your app.

5. In the Firebase Assistant pane, click the button to add the library dependency for your selected Firebase product (for example, Add Analytics to your app).

6. Sync your app to ensure that all dependencies have the necessary versions.

7. If you added Analytics, run your app to send verification to Firebase that you've successfully integrated Firebase. Otherwise, you can skip this verification step.

   Your device logs will display the Firebase verification that initialization is complete. If you ran your app on an emulator that has network access, the Firebase console notifies you that your app connection is complete.

8. In the Firebase Assistant pane, follow the remaining setup instructions for your selected Firebase product.

9. Add as many other Firebase products as you'd like via the Firebase Assistant!

That's it! Make sure to check out the recommended next steps.

Control library versioning with a Firebase Bill of Materials (BoM)

For easier library version management, consider importing a Firebase Bill of Materials (BoM).

Add Firebase SDKs to your app using a Firebase BoM

Using the Bill of Materials (BoM) Gradle feature with Firebase, you can set the version of the Firebase platform as a whole. Each Firebase BoM version contains compatible versions of the Firebase libraries; review the release notes for the library versions mapped to specific BoM versions.

Updating to the latest BoM version updates all of the Firebase Android libraries to the latest versions available at the BoM's release.

To add Firebase SDKs to your app using a Firebase BoM:

• For Gradle 5.0 and later, BoM support is automatically enabled. Set up your dependencies in your module Gradle file (usually app/build.gradle):

  dependencies {
    // Import the platform
    implementation platform('com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:25.5.0')
  
    // When using a BoM, dependencies don't require a specified version
    // If you do specify a version, it overrides the library version specified in the BoM
    implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-auth'
    implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-firestore'
  }
  

• For earlier versions of Gradle, you must enable the BoM feature:
  1. Add enableFeaturePreview('IMPROVED_POM_SUPPORT') to your settings.gradle file.
  2. Import the BoM like a normal library (without the platform modifier).

After you add firebase-bom to your dependencies, you can declare Firebase libraries without specifying their versions. When you want to update Firebase library versions, you only need to update the Firebase BoM version.

Be aware of the following options for setting up your dependencies:

• Use a different version: If you want to use a different version of a library than what's included in the BoM, specify the desired version in your library dependency line. The specified library version overrides the version value contained in the BoM. For example, if you want to use v18.0.0 of App Indexing rather than the BoM's v19.1.0, set up your dependencies like so:

  implementation platform('com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:25.5.0')
  implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-appindexing:18.0.0'
  

• Use a specific product library: If a product offers alternative libraries (for example, an alternative KTX library or legacy library), declare only one of the library dependencies. For example, if you want to use Crashlytics in your app, declare either the Firebase Crashlytics dependency or the legacy Fabric dependency:

  implementation platform('com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:25.5.0')
  implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics'
  

  OR

  implementation platform('com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:25.5.0')
  implementation 'com.crashlytics.sdk.android:crashlytics'
  

To report an issue or offer feedback on Firebase BoMs, visit the Firebase Android SDK repo on GitHub.

Available libraries

This section lists the Firebase products supported for Android and their Gradle dependencies. Learn more about these Firebase Android libraries:

• Reference documentation (Java | Kotlin+KTX)

• Firebase Android SDK GitHub repo

Next steps

Learn about Firebase:

• Visit Understand Firebase Projects to learn more about Firebase projects and best practices for projects.

• Explore sample Firebase apps.

• Get hands-on experience with the Firebase Android Codelab.

• Learn more with the Firebase in a Weekend course.

• Prepare to launch your app:

  • Set up budget alerts for your project in the GCP console.
  • Monitor your Usage and billing dashboard in the Firebase console.
  • Review the Firebase launch checklist.

Add Firebase services to your app:

• Gain insights on user behavior with Analytics.

• Set up a user authentication flow with Authentication.

• Store data, like user information, with Cloud Firestore or Realtime Database.

• Store files, like photos and videos, with Cloud Storage.

• Trigger backend code that runs in a secure environment with Cloud Functions.

• Send notifications with Cloud Messaging.

• Find out when and why your app is crashing with Crashlytics.