firebase-ios-sdk

Firebase SDK for Apple App Development

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Quick Overview

The firebase/firebase-ios-sdk repository contains the official open-source Firebase SDK for iOS and tvOS. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools and services for building and managing mobile applications, including real-time database, authentication, cloud storage, and more.

Pros

Comprehensive suite of tools and services for mobile app development
Seamless integration with other Google and Firebase products
Regular updates and active community support
Extensive documentation and learning resources

Cons

Can be complex to set up and configure for beginners
Potential vendor lock-in to Google's ecosystem
Some features may require paid plans for larger-scale applications
Performance impact on app size and runtime, especially for smaller apps

Code Examples

Initialize Firebase in your app:

import Firebase

class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
    func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
        FirebaseApp.configure()
        return true
    }
}

Authenticate a user with email and password:

import FirebaseAuth

Auth.auth().signIn(withEmail: email, password: password) { (authResult, error) in
    if let error = error {
        print("Error: \(error.localizedDescription)")
    } else {
        print("User signed in successfully")
    }
}

Write data to Firestore:

import FirebaseFirestore

let db = Firestore.firestore()
db.collection("users").document("user1").setData([
    "name": "John Doe",
    "age": 30,
    "email": "john@example.com"
]) { err in
    if let err = err {
        print("Error writing document: \(err)")
    } else {
        print("Document successfully written")
    }
}

Getting Started

Install CocoaPods if not already installed:
```
sudo gem install cocoapods
```
Create a Podfile in your Xcode project directory:
```
pod init
```

Add Firebase pods to your Podfile:

pod 'Firebase/Analytics'
pod 'Firebase/Auth'
pod 'Firebase/Firestore'

Install the pods:
```
pod install
```
Open the .xcworkspace file instead of the .xcodeproj file.
Add the Firebase configuration file to your project and initialize Firebase in your AppDelegate as shown in the code examples above.

Competitor Comparisons

Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX

2,810

The Apple SDK for Parse Platform (iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS)

Pros of Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX

Open-source and community-driven, allowing for more flexibility and customization
Supports self-hosting, giving developers full control over their backend infrastructure
Offers a more straightforward setup process for basic applications

Cons of Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX

Less frequent updates and potentially slower bug fixes compared to Firebase
Smaller ecosystem and fewer integrated services than Firebase's comprehensive platform
May require more manual configuration and maintenance for advanced features

Code Comparison

Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX:

let object = PFObject(className: "MyClass")
object["key"] = "value"
object.saveInBackground { (success, error) in
    if success {
        print("Object saved!")
    }
}

firebase-ios-sdk:

let db = Firestore.firestore()
db.collection("myCollection").addDocument(data: [
    "key": "value"
]) { err in
    if let err = err {
        print("Error adding document: \(err)")
    } else {
        print("Document added successfully")
    }
}

Both SDKs offer similar functionality for basic operations like saving data, but Firebase's SDK is more tightly integrated with other Google services. Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX provides a simpler API for common tasks, while Firebase offers more advanced features out of the box. The choice between the two depends on specific project requirements, desired level of control, and the need for additional services beyond basic backend functionality.

realm-swift

16,606

Realm is a mobile database: a replacement for Core Data & SQLite

Pros of Realm Swift

Faster performance for local data operations
Simpler API and easier learning curve
Supports offline-first development with automatic sync

Cons of Realm Swift

Limited cloud services compared to Firebase
Smaller community and ecosystem
Less comprehensive documentation and tutorials

Code Comparison

Firebase iOS SDK:

let db = Firestore.firestore()
db.collection("users").document("user1").setData([
    "name": "John Doe",
    "age": 30
]) { err in
    if let err = err {
        print("Error writing document: \(err)")
    } else {
        print("Document successfully written!")
    }
}

Realm Swift:

let realm = try! Realm()
try! realm.write {
    let user = User()
    user.name = "John Doe"
    user.age = 30
    realm.add(user)
}

Both Firebase iOS SDK and Realm Swift are popular choices for iOS app development, offering different strengths. Firebase provides a comprehensive suite of cloud services, while Realm excels in local data management and offline-first development. The choice between them depends on specific project requirements and developer preferences.

Alamofire

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Elegant HTTP Networking in Swift

Pros of Alamofire

Lightweight and focused on networking tasks
Simpler setup and integration for basic HTTP requests
More flexible and customizable for specific networking needs

Cons of Alamofire

Limited to networking functionality, unlike Firebase's comprehensive suite
Requires more manual implementation for features like authentication and real-time updates
Less built-in support for offline persistence and synchronization

Code Comparison

Alamofire HTTP request:

AF.request("https://api.example.com/data").responseJSON { response in
    switch response.result {
    case .success(let value):
        print("Success: \(value)")
    case .failure(let error):
        print("Error: \(error)")
    }
}

Firebase Firestore read operation:

db.collection("users").document("user1").getDocument { (document, error) in
    if let document = document, document.exists {
        let data = document.data()
        print("Document data: \(data)")
    } else {
        print("Document does not exist")
    }
}

While Alamofire excels in simplicity for network requests, Firebase iOS SDK offers a more comprehensive solution for app development, including real-time database, authentication, and cloud functions. The choice between them depends on the specific needs of your project and the desired level of integration with other services.

PromiseKit

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Promises for Swift & ObjC.

Pros of PromiseKit

Lightweight and focused on asynchronous programming
Easier to learn and implement for specific async tasks
More flexible and can be used with various APIs and frameworks

Cons of PromiseKit

Limited to handling asynchronous operations
Requires additional libraries for features like real-time updates
Less comprehensive ecosystem compared to Firebase

Code Comparison

PromiseKit:

firstly {
    fetchUser(id: 123)
}.then { user in
    updateProfile(for: user)
}.done { result in
    print("Profile updated: \(result)")
}.catch { error in
    print("Error: \(error)")
}

Firebase iOS SDK:

let db = Firestore.firestore()
db.collection("users").document("123").getDocument { (document, error) in
    if let document = document, document.exists {
        // Update user profile
    } else {
        print("Document does not exist")
    }
}

PromiseKit focuses on simplifying asynchronous code with a chainable syntax, while Firebase iOS SDK provides a more comprehensive set of tools for various backend services, including real-time database operations.

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README

[!WARNING] CocoaPods: New versions of the Firebase Apple SDK will no longer be published to CocoaPods after October 2026. Existing CocoaPods versions will remain available and installations will remain functional. See the migration guide for more information.

[!TIP] Preview Release: Firebase AI Logic's Gemini Foundation Models framework adapter is now available in preview. Get started by visiting the documentation.

Firebase Apple Open Source Development

This repository contains the source code for all Apple platform Firebase libraries except FirebaseAnalytics.

Firebase is an app development platform with libraries, services, and tools to help you build, grow, and monetize your app. Learn more about Firebase at the official Firebase website.

Supported Firebase Products

The following products are open-source and included in this repository:

Firebase AI Logic (FirebaseAI)
App Check (FirebaseAppCheck)
App Distribution (FirebaseAppDistribution)
Authentication (FirebaseAuth)
Cloud Firestore (FirebaseFirestore)
Cloud Functions (FirebaseFunctions)
Cloud Messaging (FirebaseMessaging)
Crashlytics (FirebaseCrashlytics)
In-App Messaging (FirebaseInAppMessaging)
Performance Monitoring (FirebasePerformance)
Realtime Database (FirebaseDatabase)
Remote Config (FirebaseRemoteConfig)
Storage (FirebaseStorage)

[!NOTE] Firebase Analytics is not open-source, but its pre-compiled binaries are included when installing Firebase via Swift Package Manager or CocoaPods.

Installation

See the subsections below for details about the different installation methods. Where available, it's recommended to install libraries with a Swift suffix to get the best experience when writing your app in Swift.

Swift Package Manager
CocoaPods
Install from GitHub
Experimental Carthage
Framework or library

Swift Package Manager installation

Find instructions for installing using Swift Package Manager in the Firebase get started documentation.

CocoaPods installation

Find instructions for installing with CocoaPods (pod install) in the Firebase installation options documentation.

Note: To accommodate the read-only announcement from CocoaPods, Firebase will stop publishing new versions to CocoaPods in October 2026. Learn more.

Install from GitHub

You can install from GitHub to access the Firebase repo at other branches, tags, or commits.

Background

For instructions and options about overriding pod source locations, see the Podfile Syntax Reference.

Access Firebase source snapshots

All official releases are tagged in this repo and available via CocoaPods. To access a local source snapshot or unreleased branch, use Podfile directives. Here are some example directives which use FirebaseFirestore as the example library.

To access FirebaseFirestore via a branch:

pod 'FirebaseCore', :git => 'https://github.com/firebase/firebase-ios-sdk.git', :branch => 'main'
pod 'FirebaseFirestore', :git => 'https://github.com/firebase/firebase-ios-sdk.git', :branch => 'main'

To access FirebaseFirestore via a checked-out version of the firebase-ios-sdk repo:

pod 'FirebaseCore', :path => '/path/to/firebase-ios-sdk'
pod 'FirebaseFirestore', :path => '/path/to/firebase-ios-sdk'

Carthage (iOS only)

Find instructions for the experimental Carthage distribution (iOS only) at Carthage.md within this repo.

Use Firebase from a Framework or a library

Find details about using Firebase from a Framework or a library at firebase_in_libraries.md within this repo.

Building with Firebase on Apple platforms

Firebase provides official beta support for macOS, Catalyst, and tvOS. visionOS and watchOS are community supported. Thanks to community contributions for many of the multi-platform PRs.

At this time, most Firebase products are available across Apple platforms. There are still a few gaps, especially on visionOS and watchOS. For details about the current support matrix, see this chart in the Firebase documentation.

visionOS

Where supported, visionOS works as expected with the exception of Firestore via Swift Package Manager where it is required to use the source distribution.

To enable the Firestore source distribution, quit Xcode and open the desired project from the command line with the FIREBASE_SOURCE_FIRESTORE environment variable: open --env FIREBASE_SOURCE_FIRESTORE /path/to/project.xcodeproj. To go back to using the binary distribution of Firestore, quit Xcode and open Xcode like normal, without the environment variable.

watchOS

Thanks to contributions from the community, many of Firebase SDKs now compile, run unit tests, and work on watchOS. See the Independent Watch App Sample.

Keep in mind that watchOS is not officially supported by Firebase. While we can catch basic unit test issues with GitHub Actions, there may be some changes where the SDK no longer works as expected on watchOS. If you encounter this, please file an issue.

During app setup in the console, you may get to a step that mentions something like "Checking if the app has communicated with our servers". This relies on FirebaseAnalytics and will not work on watchOS. It's safe to ignore the message and continue, the rest of the SDKs will work as expected.

Additional Crashlytics notes for watchOS

Using Crashlytics with watchOS has limited support. Due to watchOS restrictions, mach exceptions and signal crashes are not recorded. (Crashes in SwiftUI are generated as mach exceptions, so will not be recorded).

Combine

Thanks to contributions from the community, FirebaseCombineSwift contains support for Apple's Combine framework. This module is currently under development and not yet supported for use in production environments. For more details, see the docs within this repo.

Roadmap

See Roadmap for more about the Firebase Apple SDK Open Source plans and directions.

Contributing

For information on how to contribute, set up the development environment, build, or test the SDK, see the Contributing Guide.

License

The contents of this repository are licensed under the Apache License, version 2.0.

Your use of Firebase is governed by the Terms of Service for Firebase Services.

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