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Firebase & Astro

Firebase is an app development platform that provides a NoSQL database, authentication, realtime subscriptions, functions, and storage.

See our separate guide for deploying to Firebase hosting.

Initializing Firebase in Astro

Section titled Initializing Firebase in Astro
  • A Firebase project with a web app configured.
  • An Astro project with server-side rendering (SSR) enabled.
  • Firebase credentials: You will need two sets of credentials to connect Astro to Firebase:
    • Web app credentials: These credentials will be used by the client side of your app. You can find them in the Firebase console under Project settings > General. Scroll down to the Your apps section and click on the Web app icon.
    • Project credentials: These credentials will be used by the server side of your app. You can generate them in the Firebase console under Project settings > Service accounts > Firebase Admin SDK > Generate new private key.

To add your Firebase credentials to Astro, create an .env file in the root of your project with the following variables:

.env
FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY_ID=YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY_ID
FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY=YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY
FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID=YOUR_PROJECT_ID
FIREBASE_CLIENT_EMAIL=YOUR_CLIENT_EMAIL
FIREBASE_CLIENT_ID=YOUR_CLIENT_ID
FIREBASE_AUTH_URI=YOUR_AUTH_URI
FIREBASE_TOKEN_URI=YOUR_TOKEN_URI
FIREBASE_AUTH_CERT_URL=YOUR_AUTH_CERT_URL
FIREBASE_CLIENT_CERT_URL=YOUR_CLIENT_CERT_URL

Now, these environment variables are available for use in your project.

If you would like to have IntelliSense for your Firebase environment variables, edit or create the file env.d.ts in your src/ directory and configure your types:

src/env.d.ts
interface ImportMetaEnv {
readonly FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY_ID: string;
readonly FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY: string;
readonly FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID: string;
readonly FIREBASE_CLIENT_EMAIL: string;
readonly FIREBASE_CLIENT_ID: string;
readonly FIREBASE_AUTH_URI: string;
readonly FIREBASE_TOKEN_URI: string;
readonly FIREBASE_AUTH_CERT_URL: string
readonly FIREBASE_CLIENT_CERT_URL: string;
}
interface ImportMeta {
readonly env: ImportMetaEnv;
}

Your project should now include these new files:

  • Directorysrc/
    • env.d.ts
  • .env
  • astro.config.mjs
  • package.json

To connect Astro with Firebase, install the following packages using the single command below for your preferred package manager:

  • firebase - the Firebase SDK for the client side
  • firebase-admin - the Firebase Admin SDK for the server side
Terminal window
npm install firebase firebase-admin

Next, create a folder named firebase in the src/ directory and add two new files to this folder: client.ts and server.ts.

In client.ts, add the following code to initialize Firebase in the client using your web app credentials and the firebase package:

src/firebase/client.ts
import { initializeApp } from "firebase/app";
const firebaseConfig = {
apiKey: "my-public-api-key",
authDomain: "my-auth-domain",
projectId: "my-project-id",
storageBucket: "my-storage-bucket",
messagingSenderId: "my-sender-id",
appId: "my-app-id",
};
export const app = initializeApp(firebaseConfig);

In server.ts, add the following code to initialize Firebase in the server using your project credentials and the firebase-admin package:

src/firebase/server.ts
import type { ServiceAccount } from "firebase-admin";
import { initializeApp, cert, getApps } from "firebase-admin/app";
const activeApps = getApps();
const serviceAccount = {
type: "service_account",
project_id: import.meta.env.FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID,
private_key_id: import.meta.env.FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY_ID,
private_key: import.meta.env.FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY,
client_email: import.meta.env.FIREBASE_CLIENT_EMAIL,
client_id: import.meta.env.FIREBASE_CLIENT_ID,
auth_uri: import.meta.env.FIREBASE_AUTH_URI,
token_uri: import.meta.env.FIREBASE_TOKEN_URI,
auth_provider_x509_cert_url: import.meta.env.FIREBASE_AUTH_CERT_URL,
client_x509_cert_url: import.meta.env.FIREBASE_CLIENT_CERT_URL,
};
export const app = activeApps.length === 0 ? initializeApp({
credential: cert(serviceAccount as ServiceAccount),
}) : activeApps[0];

Finally, your project should now include these new files:

  • Directorysrc
    • env.d.ts
    • Directoryfirebase
      • client.ts
      • server.ts
  • .env
  • astro.config.mjs
  • package.json

Adding authentication with Firebase

Section titled Adding authentication with Firebase
  • An Astro project initialized with Firebase.
  • A Firebase project with email/password authentication enabled in the Firebase console under Authentication > Sign-in method.

Creating auth server endpoints

Section titled Creating auth server endpoints

Firebase authentication in Astro requires the following three Astro server endpoints:

  • GET /api/auth/signin - to sign in a user
  • GET /api/auth/signout - to sign out a user
  • POST /api/auth/register - to register a user

Create three endpoints related to authentication in a new directory src/pages/api/auth/: signin.ts, signout.ts and register.ts.

signin.ts contains the code to sign in a user using Firebase:

src/pages/api/auth/signin.ts
import type { APIRoute } from "astro";
import { app } from "../../../firebase/server";
import { getAuth } from "firebase-admin/auth";
export const GET: APIRoute = async ({ request, cookies, redirect }) => {
const auth = getAuth(app);
/* Get token from request headers */
const idToken = request.headers.get("Authorization")?.split("Bearer ")[1];
if (!idToken) {
return new Response(
"No token found",
{ status: 401 }
);
}
/* Verify id token */
try {
await auth.verifyIdToken(idToken);
} catch (error) {
return new Response(
"Invalid token",
{ status: 401 }
);
}
/* Create and set session cookie */
const fiveDays = 60 * 60 * 24 * 5 * 1000;
const sessionCookie = await auth.createSessionCookie(idToken, {
expiresIn: fiveDays,
});
cookies.set("session", sessionCookie, {
path: "/",
});
return redirect("/dashboard");
};

signout.ts contains the code to log out a user by deleting the session cookie:

src/pages/api/auth/signout.ts
import type { APIRoute } from "astro";
export const GET: APIRoute = async ({ redirect, cookies }) => {
cookies.delete("session", {
path: "/",
});
return redirect("/signin");
};

register.ts contains the code to register a user using Firebase:

src/pages/api/auth/register.ts
import type { APIRoute } from "astro";
import { getAuth } from "firebase-admin/auth";
import { app } from "../../../firebase/server";
export const POST: APIRoute = async ({ request, redirect }) => {
const auth = getAuth(app);
/* Get form data */
const formData = await request.formData();
const email = formData.get("email")?.toString();
const password = formData.get("password")?.toString();
const name = formData.get("name")?.toString();
if (!email || !password || !name) {
return new Response(
"Missing form data",
{ status: 400 }
);
}
/* Create user */
try {
await auth.createUser({
email,
password,
displayName: name,
});
} catch (error: any) {
return new Response(
"Something went wrong",
{ status: 400 }
);
}
return redirect("/signin");
};

After creating server endpoints for authentication, your project directory should now include these new files:

  • Directorysrc
    • env.d.ts
    • Directoryfirebase
      • client.ts
      • server.ts
    • Directorypages
      • Directoryapi
        • Directoryauth
          • signin.ts
          • signout.ts
          • register.ts
  • .env
  • astro.config.mjs
  • package.json

Create the pages that will use the Firebase endpoints:

  • src/pages/register - will contain a form to register a user
  • src/pages/signin - will contain a form to sign in a user
  • src/pages/dashboard - will contain a dashboard that can only be accessed by authenticated users

The example src/pages/register.astro below includes a form that will send a POST request to the /api/auth/register endpoint. This endpoint will create a new user using the data from the form and then will redirect the user to the /signin page.

src/pages/register.astro
---
import Layout from "../layouts/Layout.astro";
---
<Layout title="Register">
<h1>Register</h1>
<p>Already have an account? <a href="/signin">Sign in</a></p>
<form action="/api/auth/register" method="post">
<label for="name">Name</label>
<input type="text" name="name" id="name" />
<label for="email" for="email">Email</label>
<input type="email" name="email" id="email" />
<label for="password">Password</label>
<input type="password" name="password" id="password" />
<button type="submit">Login</button>
</form>
</Layout>

src/pages/signin.astro uses the Firebase server app to verify the user’s session cookie. If the user is authenticated, the page will redirect the user to the /dashboard page.

The example page below contains a form that will send a POST request to the /api/auth/signin endpoint with the ID token generated by the Firebase client app.

The endpoint will verify the ID token and create a new session cookie for the user. Then, the endpoint will redirect the user to the /dashboard page.

src/pages/signin.astro
---
import { app } from "../firebase/server";
import { getAuth } from "firebase-admin/auth";
import Layout from "../layouts/Layout.astro";
/* Check if the user is authenticated */
const auth = getAuth(app);
if (Astro.cookies.has("session")) {
const sessionCookie = Astro.cookies.get("session").value;
const decodedCookie = await auth.verifySessionCookie(sessionCookie);
if (decodedCookie) {
return Astro.redirect("/dashboard");
}
}
---
<Layout title="Sign in">
<h1>Sign in</h1>
<p>New here? <a href="/register">Create an account</a></p>
<form action="/api/auth/signin" method="post">
<label for="email" for="email">Email</label>
<input type="email" name="email" id="email" />
<label for="password">Password</label>
<input type="password" name="password" id="password" />
<button type="submit">Login</button>
</form>
</Layout>
<script>
import {
getAuth,
inMemoryPersistence,
signInWithEmailAndPassword,
} from "firebase/auth";
import { app } from "../firebase/client";
const auth = getAuth(app);
// This will prevent the browser from storing session data
auth.setPersistence(inMemoryPersistence);
const form = document.querySelector("form") as HTMLFormElement;
form.addEventListener("submit", async (e) => {
e.preventDefault();
const formData = new FormData(form);
const email = formData.get("email")?.toString();
const password = formData.get("password")?.toString();
if (!email || !password) {
return;
}
const userCredential = await signInWithEmailAndPassword(
auth,
email,
password
);
const idToken = await userCredential.user.getIdToken();
const response = await fetch("/api/auth/signin", {
method: "GET",
headers: {
Authorization: `Bearer ${idToken}`,
},
});
if (response.redirected) {
window.location.assign(response.url);
}
});
</script>

src/pages/dashboard.astro will verify the user’s session cookie using the Firebase server app. If the user is not authenticated, the page will redirect the user to the /signin page.

The example page below display the user’s name and a button to sign out. Clicking the button will send a GET request to the /api/auth/signout endpoint.

The endpoint will delete the user’s session cookie and redirect the user to the /signin page.

src/pages/dashboard.astro
---
import { app } from "../firebase/server";
import { getAuth } from "firebase-admin/auth";
import Layout from "../layouts/Layout.astro";
const auth = getAuth(app);
/* Check current session */
if (!Astro.cookies.has("session")) {
return Astro.redirect("/signin");
}
const sessionCookie = Astro.cookies.get("session").value;
const decodedCookie = await auth.verifySessionCookie(sessionCookie);
const user = await auth.getUser(decodedCookie.uid);
if (!user) {
return Astro.redirect("/signin");
}
---
<Layout title="dashboard">
<h1>Welcome {user.displayName}</h1>
<p>We are happy to see you here</p>
<form action="/api/auth/signout">
<button type="submit">Sign out</button>
</form>
</Layout>

To add OAuth providers to your app, you need to enable them in the Firebase console.

In the Firebase console, go to the Authentication section and click on the Sign-in method tab. Then, click on the Add a new provider button and enable the providers you want to use.

The example below uses the Google provider.

Edit the signin.astro page to add:

  • a button to sign in with Google underneath the existing form
  • an event listener on the button to handle the sign in process in the existing <script>.
src/pages/signin.astro
---
import { app } from "../firebase/server";
import { getAuth } from "firebase-admin/auth";
import Layout from "../layouts/Layout.astro";
/* Check if the user is authenticated */
const auth = getAuth(app);
if (Astro.cookies.has("session")) {
const sessionCookie = Astro.cookies.get("session").value;
const decodedCookie = await auth.verifySessionCookie(sessionCookie);
if (decodedCookie) {
return Astro.redirect("/dashboard");
}
}
---
<Layout title="Sign in">
<h1>Sign in</h1>
<p>New here? <a href="/register">Create an account</a></p>
<form action="/api/auth/signin" method="post">
<label for="email" for="email">Email</label>
<input type="email" name="email" id="email" />
<label for="password">Password</label>
<input type="password" name="password" id="password" />
<button type="submit">Login</button>
</form>
<button id="google">Sign in with Google</button>
</Layout>
<script>
import {
getAuth,
inMemoryPersistence,
signInWithEmailAndPassword,
GoogleAuthProvider,
signInWithPopup,
} from "firebase/auth";
import { app } from "../firebase/client";
const auth = getAuth(app);
auth.setPersistence(inMemoryPersistence);
const form = document.querySelector("form") as HTMLFormElement;
form.addEventListener("submit", async (e) => {
e.preventDefault();
const formData = new FormData(form);
const email = formData.get("email")?.toString();
const password = formData.get("password")?.toString();
if (!email || !password) {
return;
}
const userCredential = await signInWithEmailAndPassword(
auth,
email,
password
);
const idToken = await userCredential.user.getIdToken();
const response = await fetch("/api/auth/signin", {
headers: {
Authorization: `Bearer ${idToken}`,
},
});
if (response.redirected) {
window.location.assign(response.url);
}
});
const googleSignin = document.querySelector("#google") as HTMLButtonElement;
googleSignin.addEventListener("click", async () => {
const provider = new GoogleAuthProvider();
const userCredential = await signInWithPopup(auth, provider);
const idToken = await userCredential.user.getIdToken();
const res = await fetch("/api/auth/signin", {
headers: {
Authorization: `Bearer ${idToken}`,
},
});
if (res.redirected) {
window.location.assign(res.url);
}
});
</script>

When clicked, the Google sign in button will open a popup window to sign in with Google. Once the user signs in, it will send a POST request to the /api/auth/signin endpoint with the ID token generated by OAuth provider.

The endpoint will verify the ID token and create a new session cookie for the user. Then, the endpoint will redirect the user to the /dashboard page.

Connecting to Firestore database

Section titled Connecting to Firestore database

In this recipe, the Firestore collection will be called friends and will contain documents with the following fields:

  • id: autogenerated by Firestore
  • name: a string field
  • age: a number field
  • isBestFriend: a boolean field

Create two new files in a new directory src/pages/api/friends/: index.ts and [id].ts. These will create two server endpoints to interact with the Firestore database in the following ways:

  • POST /api/friends: to create a new document in the friends collection.
  • POST /api/friends/:id: to update a document in the friends collection.
  • DELETE /api/friends/:id: to delete a document in the friends collection.

index.ts will contain the code to create a new document in the friends collection:

src/pages/api/friends/index.ts
import type { APIRoute } from "astro";
import { app } from "../../../firebase/server";
import { getFirestore } from "firebase-admin/firestore";
export const POST: APIRoute = async ({ request, redirect }) => {
const formData = await request.formData();
const name = formData.get("name")?.toString();
const age = formData.get("age")?.toString();
const isBestFriend = formData.get("isBestFriend") === "on";
if (!name || !age) {
return new Response("Missing required fields", {
status: 400,
});
}
try {
const db = getFirestore(app);
const friendsRef = db.collection("friends");
await friendsRef.add({
name,
age: parseInt(age),
isBestFriend,
});
} catch (error) {
return new Response("Something went wrong", {
status: 500,
});
}
return redirect("/dashboard");
};

[id].ts will contain the code to update and delete a document in the friends collection:

src/pages/api/friends/[id].ts
import type { APIRoute } from "astro";
import { app } from "../../../firebase/server";
import { getFirestore } from "firebase-admin/firestore";
const db = getFirestore(app);
const friendsRef = db.collection("friends");
export const POST: APIRoute = async ({ params, redirect, request }) => {
const formData = await request.formData();
const name = formData.get("name")?.toString();
const age = formData.get("age")?.toString();
const isBestFriend = formData.get("isBestFriend") === "on";
if (!name || !age) {
return new Response("Missing required fields", {
status: 400,
});
}
if (!params.id) {
return new Response("Cannot find friend", {
status: 404,
});
}
try {
await friendsRef.doc(params.id).update({
name,
age: parseInt(age),
isBestFriend,
});
} catch (error) {
return new Response("Something went wrong", {
status: 500,
});
}
return redirect("/dashboard");
};
export const DELETE: APIRoute = async ({ params, redirect }) => {
if (!params.id) {
return new Response("Cannot find friend", {
status: 404,
});
}
try {
await friendsRef.doc(params.id).delete();
} catch (error) {
return new Response("Something went wrong", {
status: 500,
});
}
return redirect("/dashboard");
};

After creating server endpoints for Firestore, your project directory should now include these new files:

  • Directorysrc
    • env.d.ts
    • Directoryfirebase
      • client.ts
      • server.ts
    • Directorypages
      • Directoryapi
        • Directoryfriends
          • index.ts
          • [id].ts
  • .env
  • astro.config.mjs
  • package.json

Create the pages that will use the Firestore endpoints:

  • src/pages/add.astro - will contain a form to add a new friend.
  • src/pages/edit/[id].astro - will contain a form to edit a friend and a button to delete a friend.
  • src/pages/friend/[id].astro - will contain the details of a friend.
  • src/pages/dashboard.astro - will display a list of friends.

The example src/pages/add.astro below includes a form that will send a POST request to the /api/friends endpoint. This endpoint will create a new friend using the data from the form and then will redirect the user to the /dashboard page.

src/pages/add.astro
---
import Layout from "../layouts/Layout.astro";
---
<Layout title="Add a new friend">
<h1>Add a new friend</h1>
<form method="post" action="/api/friends">
<label for="name">Name</label>
<input type="text" id="name" name="name" />
<label for="age">Age</label>
<input type="number" id="age" name="age" />
<label for="isBestFriend">Is best friend?</label>
<input type="checkbox" id="isBestFriend" name="isBestFriend" />
<button type="submit">Add friend</button>
</form>
</Layout>

src/pages/edit/[id].astro will contain a form to edit a friend data and a button to delete a friend. On submit, this page will send a POST request to the /api/friends/:id endpoint to update a friend data.

If the user clicks the delete button, this page will send a DELETE request to the /api/friends/:id endpoint to delete a friend.

src/pages/edit/[id].astro
---
import Layout from "../../layouts/Layout.astro";
import { app } from "../../firebase/server";
import { getFirestore } from "firebase-admin/firestore";
interface Friend {
name: string;
age: number;
isBestFriend: boolean;
}
const { id } = Astro.params;
if (!id) {
return Astro.redirect("/404");
}
const db = getFirestore(app);
const friendsRef = db.collection("friends");
const friendSnapshot = await friendsRef.doc(id).get();
if (!friendSnapshot.exists) {
return Astro.redirect("/404");
}
const friend = friendSnapshot.data() as Friend;
---
<Layout title="Edit {friend.name}">
<h1>Edit {friend.name}</h1>
<p>Here you can edit or delete your friend's data.</p>
<form method="post" action={`/api/friends/${id}`}>
<label for="name">Name</label>
<input type="text" id="name" name="name" value={friend.name} />
<label for="age">Age</label>
<input type="number" id="age" name="age" value={friend.age} />
<label for="isBestFriend">Is best friend?</label>
<input
type="checkbox"
id="isBestFriend"
name="isBestFriend"
checked={friend.isBestFriend}
/>
<button type="submit">Edit friend</button>
</form>
<button type="button" id="delete-document">Delete</button>
</Layout>
<script>
const deleteButton = document.getElementById(
"delete-document"
) as HTMLButtonElement;
const url = document.querySelector("form")?.getAttribute("action") as string;
deleteButton.addEventListener("click", async () => {
const response = await fetch(url, {
method: "DELETE",
});
if (response.redirected) {
window.location.assign(response.url);
}
});
</script>

src/pages/friend/[id].astro will display the details of a friend.

src/pages/friend/[id].astro
---
import Layout from "../../layouts/Layout.astro";
import { app } from "../../firebase/server";
import { getFirestore } from "firebase-admin/firestore";
interface Friend {
name: string;
age: number;
isBestFriend: boolean;
}
const { id } = Astro.params;
if (!id) {
return Astro.redirect("/404");
}
const db = getFirestore(app);
const friendsRef = db.collection("friends");
const friendSnapshot = await friendsRef.doc(id).get();
if (!friendSnapshot.exists) {
return Astro.redirect("/404");
}
const friend = friendSnapshot.data() as Friend;
---
<Layout title={friend.name}>
<h1>{friend.name}</h1>
<p>Age: {friend.age}</p>
<p>Is best friend: {friend.isBestFriend ? "Yes" : "No"}</p>
</Layout>

Display a list of records with an edit button

Section titled Display a list of records with an edit button

Finally, src/pages/dashboard.astro will display a list of friends. Each friend will have a link to their details page and an edit button that will redirect the user to the edit page.

src/pages/dashboard.astro
---
import { app } from "../firebase/server";
import { getFirestore } from "firebase-admin/firestore";
import Layout from "../layouts/Layout.astro";
interface Friend {
id: string;
name: string;
age: number;
isBestFriend: boolean;
}
const db = getFirestore(app);
const friendsRef = db.collection("friends");
const friendsSnapshot = await friendsRef.get();
const friends = friendsSnapshot.docs.map((doc) => ({
id: doc.id,
...doc.data(),
})) as Friend[];
---
<Layout title="My friends">
<h1>Friends</h1>
<ul>
{
friends.map((friend) => (
<li>
<a href={`/friend/${friend.id}`}>{friend.name}</a>
<span>({friend.age})</span>
<strong>{friend.isBestFriend ? "Bestie" : "Friend"}</strong>
<a href={`/edit/${friend.id}`}>Edit</a>
</li>
))
}
</ul>
</Layout>

After creating all the pages, you should have the following file structure:

  • Directorysrc
    • env.d.ts
    • Directoryfirebase
      • client.ts
      • server.ts
    • Directorypages
      • dashboard.astro
      • add.astro
      • Directoryedit
        • [id].astro
      • Directoryfriend
        • [id].astro
      • Directoryapi
        • Directoryfriends
          • index.ts
          • [id].ts
  • .env
  • astro.config.mjs
  • package.json

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