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
- Install the Firebase SDK
.
- Add your app to your Firebase project in the
Firebase console
.
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 Cloud Storage to your app
Use Swift Package Manager to install and manage Firebase dependencies.
- In Xcode, with your app project open, navigate to
File > Add Packages
.
- When prompted, add the Firebase Apple platforms SDK repository:
https://github.com/firebase/firebase-ios-sdk.git
- Choose the Cloud Storage library.
- Add the
-ObjC
flag to the
Other Linker Flags
section of your target's build settings.
-
When finished, Xcode will automatically begin resolving and downloading your
dependencies in the background.
Set up Cloud Storage
You must initialize Firebase before any Firebase reference is created or
used. If you have already done this for another Firebase feature, you can skip
this step.
- Import the
FirebaseCore
module in your
UIApplicationDelegate
, as well as any other
Firebase modules
your app delegate uses.
For example, to use Cloud Firestore and Authentication:
SwiftUI
import SwiftUI
import FirebaseCore
import FirebaseFirestore
import FirebaseAuth
// ...
Swift
import FirebaseCore
import FirebaseFirestore
import FirebaseAuth
// ...
Objective-C
@import FirebaseCore;
@import FirebaseFirestore;
@import FirebaseAuth;
// ...
- Configure a
FirebaseApp
shared instance in your app delegate's
application(_:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:)
method:
SwiftUI
// Use Firebase library to configure APIs
FirebaseApp.configure()
Swift
// Use Firebase library to configure APIs
FirebaseApp.configure()
Objective-C
// Use Firebase library to configure APIs
[FIRApp configure];
- If you're using SwiftUI, you must create an application delegate and attach it
to your
App
struct via
UIApplicationDelegateAdaptor
or
NSApplicationDelegateAdaptor
. You must also disable app delegate swizzling. For
more information, see the
SwiftUI instructions
.
SwiftUI
@main
struct YourApp: App {
// register app delegate for Firebase setup
@UIApplicationDelegateAdaptor(AppDelegate.self) var delegate
var body: some Scene {
WindowGroup {
NavigationView {
ContentView()
}
}
}
}
-
Get a reference to the Cloud Storage service, using the default Firebase App:
Swift
let storage = Storage.storage()
Objective-C
FIRStorage *storage = [FIRStorage storage];
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
FIRStorage
that references your custom bucket:
Swift
// Get a non-default Cloud Storage bucket
storage = Storage.storage(url:"gs://my-custom-bucket")
Objective-C
// Get a non-default Cloud Storage bucket
FIRStorage storage = [FIRStorage storageWithURL:@"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
Storage
initialized with that app:
Swift
// Get the default bucket from a custom FirebaseApp
storage = Storage.storage(app:customApp)
// Get a non-default bucket from a custom FirebaseApp
storage = Storage.storage(app:customApp, url:"gs://my-custom-bucket")
Objective-C
// Get the default bucket from a custom FIRApp
FIRStorage storage = [FIRStorage storageForApp:customApp];
// Get a non-default bucket from a custom FIRApp
FIRStorage storage = [FIRStorage storageForApp:customApp withURL:@"gs://my-custom-bucket"];
Next steps