Cloud Storage for Firebase lets you upload and share user generated content, such
as images and video, which allows you to build rich media content into your
apps. Your data is stored in a
Google Cloud Storage
bucket ? an
exabyte scale object storage solution with high availability and global
redundancy. Cloud Storage for Firebase lets you securely upload these files
directly from mobile devices and web browsers, handling spotty networks with
ease.
Prerequisites
If you haven't already,
add Firebase to your Android project
.
Create a default Cloud Storage bucket
From the navigation pane of the
Firebase console
, select
Storage
,
then click
Get started
.
Review the messaging about securing your Cloud Storage data using security
rules. During development, consider
setting up your rules for public access
.
Select a
location
for your default
Cloud Storage bucket.
This location setting is your project's
default Google Cloud Platform (GCP) resource location
.
Note that this location will be used for GCP services in your project
that require a location setting, specifically, your
Cloud Firestore
database and your
App Engine
app
(which is required if you use Cloud Scheduler).
If you aren't able to select a location, then your project already
has a default GCP resource location. It was set either during project
creation or when setting up another service that requires a location
setting.
If you're on the Blaze plan, you can
create multiple buckets
, each with its own
location
.
Click
Done
.
Set up public access
Cloud Storage for Firebase provides a declarative rules language that allows you
to define how your data should be structured, how it should be indexed, and when
your data can be read from and written to. By default, read and write access to
Cloud Storage is restricted so only authenticated users can read or write
data. To get started without setting up
Authentication
, you can
configure your rules for public access
.
This does make Cloud Storage open to anyone, even people not using your
app, so be sure to restrict your Cloud Storage again when you set up
authentication.
Add the Cloud Storage SDK to your app
In your
module (app-level) Gradle file
(usually
<project>/<app-module>/build.gradle.kts
or
<project>/<app-module>/build.gradle
),
add the dependency for the Cloud Storage library for Android. We recommend using the
Firebase Android BoM
to control library versioning.
dependencies {
// Import the BoM for the Firebase platform
implementation(platform("com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:32.8.1"))
// Add the dependency for the Cloud Storage library
// When using the BoM, you don't specify versions in Firebase library dependencies
implementation("com.google.firebase:firebase-storage")
}
By using the
Firebase Android BoM
,
your app will always use compatible versions of Firebase Android libraries.
(Alternative)
Add Firebase library dependencies
without
using the BoM
If you choose not to use the Firebase BoM, you must specify each Firebase library version
in its dependency line.
Note that if you use
multiple
Firebase libraries in your app, we strongly
recommend using the BoM to manage library versions, which ensures that all versions are
compatible.
dependencies {
// Add the dependency for the Cloud Storage library
// When NOT using the BoM, you must specify versions in Firebase library dependencies
implementation("com.google.firebase:firebase-storage:20.3.0")
}
Looking for a Kotlin-specific library module?
Starting in
October 2023
(Firebase BoM 32.5.0)
, both Kotlin and Java developers can
depend on the main library module (for details, see the
FAQ about this initiative
).
Set up Cloud Storage
The first step in accessing your Cloud Storage bucket is to create an
instance of
FirebaseStorage
:
Kotlin+KTX
storage = Firebase.storage
Java
FirebaseStorage storage = FirebaseStorage.getInstance();
You're ready to start using Cloud Storage!
First, let's learn how to
create a Cloud Storage
reference
.
Advanced setup
There are a few use cases that require additional setup:
The first use case is perfect if you have users across the world, and want to
store their data near them. For instance, you can create buckets in the US,
Europe, and Asia to store data for users in those regions to reduce latency.
The second use case is helpful if you have data with different access patterns.
For instance: you can set up a multi-regional or regional bucket that stores
pictures or other frequently accessed content, and a nearline or coldline bucket
that stores user backups or other infrequently accessed content.
In either of these use cases, you'll want to
use multiple Cloud Storage buckets
.
The third use case is useful if you're building an app, like Google Drive, which
lets users have multiple logged in accounts (for instance, a personal account
and a work account). You can
use a custom Firebase App
instance to authenticate each additional account.
Use multiple Cloud Storage buckets
If you want to use a Cloud Storage bucket other than the default provided above,
or use multiple Cloud Storage buckets in a single app, you can create an instance
of
FirebaseStorage
that references your custom bucket:
Kotlin+KTX
// Get a non-default Storage bucket
val storage = Firebase.storage("gs://my-custom-bucket")
Java
// Get a non-default Storage bucket
FirebaseStorage storage = FirebaseStorage.getInstance("gs://my-custom-bucket");
Working with imported buckets
When importing an existing Cloud Storage bucket into Firebase, you'll
have to grant Firebase the ability to access these files using the
gsutil
tool, included in the
Google Cloud SDK
:
gsutil -m acl ch -r -u service-<project number>@gcp-sa-firebasestorage.iam.gserviceaccount.com gs://<your-cloud-storage-bucket>
You can find your project number as described in the
introduction to
Firebase projects
.
This does not affect newly created buckets, as those have the default access
control set to allow Firebase. This is a temporary measure, and will be
performed automatically in the future.
Use a custom Firebase App
If you're building a more complicated app using a custom
FirebaseApp
, you can
create an instance of
FirebaseStorage
initialized with that app:
Kotlin+KTX
// Get the default bucket from a custom FirebaseApp
val storage = Firebase.storage(customApp!!)
// Get a non-default bucket from a custom FirebaseApp
val customStorage = Firebase.storage(customApp, "gs://my-custom-bucket")
Java
// Get the default bucket from a custom FirebaseApp
FirebaseStorage storage = FirebaseStorage.getInstance(customApp);
// Get a non-default bucket from a custom FirebaseApp
FirebaseStorage customStorage = FirebaseStorage.getInstance(customApp, "gs://my-custom-bucket");
Next steps