Firebase Development

Overview

This skill system guides Firebase development using proven patterns from production projects. It routes to specialized sub-skills based on detected intent.

Sub-skills:

• firebase-development:project-setup - Initialize new Firebase projects
• firebase-development:add-feature - Add functions/collections/endpoints
• firebase-development:debug - Troubleshoot emulator and runtime issues
• firebase-development:validate - Review Firebase code for security/patterns

When This Skill Applies

• Starting new Firebase projects
• Adding Cloud Functions or Firestore collections
• Debugging emulator issues or rule violations
• Reviewing Firebase code for security and patterns
• Setting up multi-hosting configurations
• Implementing authentication (API keys or Firebase Auth)

Routing Logic

Keywords by Sub-Skill

project-setup:

• "new firebase project", "initialize firebase", "firebase init"
• "set up firebase", "create firebase app", "start firebase project"

add-feature:

• "add function", "create endpoint", "new tool", "add api"
• "new collection", "add feature", "build", "implement"

debug:

• "error", "not working", "debug", "emulator issue"
• "rules failing", "permission denied", "troubleshoot", "deployment failed"

validate:

• "review firebase", "check firebase", "validate", "audit firebase"
• "look at firebase code", "security review"

Routing Process

1. Analyze Request: Check for routing keywords
2. Match Sub-Skill: Identify best match based on keyword density
3. Announce: "I'm using the firebase-development:[sub-skill] skill to [action]"
4. Route: Load and execute the sub-skill
5. Fallback: If ambiguous, use AskUserQuestion with 4 options

Fallback Example

If intent is unclear, ask:

Question: "What Firebase task are you working on?"
Options:
  - "Project Setup" (Initialize new Firebase project)
  - "Add Feature" (Add functions, collections, endpoints)
  - "Debug Issue" (Troubleshoot errors or problems)
  - "Validate Code" (Review against patterns)

Reference Projects

Patterns are extracted from three production Firebase projects:

Project	Path	Key Patterns
oneonone	/Users/dylanr/work/2389/oneonone	Express API, custom API keys, server-write-only
bot-socialmedia	/Users/dylanr/work/2389/bot-socialmedia-server	Domain-grouped functions, Firebase Auth + roles
meme-rodeo	/Users/dylanr/work/2389/meme-rodeo	Individual function files, entitlements

Pattern Summaries

Multi-Hosting Setup

Three options based on needs:

Option	When to Use	Key Feature
site: based	Multiple independent URLs	Simple, no build coordination
target: based	Need predeploy hooks	Build scripts run automatically
Single + rewrites	Smaller projects	All under one domain

Details: See docs/examples/multi-hosting-setup.md

Authentication

Pattern	When to Use	Example
Custom API keys	MCP tools, server-to-server	oneonone
Firebase Auth + roles	User-facing apps	bot-socialmedia
Hybrid	Both patterns needed	Web UI + API access

Details: See docs/examples/api-key-authentication.md

Cloud Functions Architecture

Pattern	When to Use	Structure
Express app	API with middleware, routing	app.post('/mcp', handler)
Domain-grouped	Feature-rich apps	posts.ts, journal.ts
Individual files	Maximum modularity	One function per file

Details: See docs/examples/express-function-architecture.md

Security Model

Model	When to Use	Complexity
Server-write-only	Light-write apps, high security	Simple rules
Client-write + validation	High-volume writes, real-time	Complex rules

Strongly prefer server-write-only for light-write applications.

Details: See docs/examples/firestore-rules-patterns.md

Emulator-First Development

Always develop locally with emulators:

firebase emulators:start
# Access UI at http://127.0.0.1:4000

Key settings in firebase.json:

• singleProjectMode: true - Essential for emulators to work together
• ui.enabled: true - Access debug UI

Details: See docs/examples/emulator-workflow.md

Modern Tooling Standards

All Firebase projects follow these standards:

Tool	Purpose	Config File
TypeScript	Type safety	tsconfig.json
vitest	Testing	vitest.config.ts
biome	Linting + formatting	biome.json

ABOUTME Comment Pattern

Every TypeScript file starts with 2-line ABOUTME comment:

// ABOUTME: Brief description of what this file does
// ABOUTME: Second line with additional context

Testing Requirements

• Unit tests: Test handlers/utilities in isolation
• Integration tests: Test with emulators running
• Both required for every feature

Common Gotchas

Issue	Solution
Emulator ports in use	lsof -i :5001, kill process
Admin SDK vs Client SDK	Admin bypasses rules, client respects rules
Cold start delays	First call takes 5-10s, normal
Data persistence	Use Ctrl+C (not kill) to export data
CORS in functions	app.use(cors({ origin: true }))

Summary

This orchestrator routes to specialized sub-skills:

1. Detects intent via keywords
2. Routes to appropriate sub-skill
3. Sub-skills use TodoWrite checklists
4. All reference shared patterns in docs/examples/

Sub-Skills:

• firebase-development:project-setup - Initialize new projects
• firebase-development:add-feature - Add functions/collections
• firebase-development:debug - Troubleshoot issues
• firebase-development:validate - Review code