Flutter Firebase Setup: A Step-by-Step Guide

Flutter Firebase Setup: A Step-by-Step Guide

In this post, we’ll walk through how to set up Firebase in a Flutter app from scratch. Whether you're building authentication, Firestore, or push notifications — this is your first step.

Prerequisites:

• Flutter SDK installed
• Android Studio or VS Code
• A Firebase (Google) account

Step 1: Create a Flutter Project

flutter create my_firebase_app
cd my_firebase_app

Step 2: Create a Firebase Project

1. Go to Firebase Console
2. Click Add project
3. Give it a name (e.g., my_firebase_app)
4. Complete the setup (disable Google Analytics if not needed)

Step 3: Add Your App to Firebase (Android)

1. In Firebase Console, click Android icon
2. Enter your Android package name (e.g., com.example.my_firebase_app)
3. Download google-services.json
4. Place it in:

android/app/

Step 4: Update Android Files

1. android/build.gradle

buildscript {
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.google.gms:google-services:4.3.15'
    }
}

2. android/app/build.gradle

apply plugin: 'com.google.gms.google-services'

Step 5: Add Firebase Packages to pubspec.yaml

dependencies:
  firebase_core: ^2.30.0

Run:

flutter pub get

🔧 Step 6: Initialize Firebase in Main File

1. Update main.dart

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:firebase_core/firebase_core.dart';

void main() async {
  WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();
  await Firebase.initializeApp();
  runApp(MyApp());
}

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      title: 'Firebase Setup',
      home: Scaffold(
        appBar: AppBar(title: Text('Firebase Connected')),
        body: Center(child: Text('Hello Firebase!')),
      ),
    );
  }
}

Step 7: Run the App

flutter run

If everything is configured correctly, your app is now connected to Firebase 🎉

Bonus: Common Firebase Packages

Depending on your needs, add more packages:

# Firebase Auth
firebase_auth: ^4.17.8

# Firestore
cloud_firestore: ^4.15.4

# Push Notifications
firebase_messaging: ^15.0.1