Cloud Storage for Firebase allows you to quickly and easily upload files to a
Cloud Storage
bucket provided
and managed by Firebase.
Upload Files
To upload a file to Cloud Storage, you first create a reference to the
full path of the file, including the file name.
Web modular API
import { getStorage, ref } from "firebase/storage";
// Create a root reference
const storage = getStorage();
// Create a reference to 'mountains.jpg'
const mountainsRef = ref(storage, 'mountains.jpg');
// Create a reference to 'images/mountains.jpg'
const mountainImagesRef = ref(storage, 'images/mountains.jpg');
// While the file names are the same, the references point to different files
mountainsRef.name === mountainImagesRef.name; // true
mountainsRef.fullPath === mountainImagesRef.fullPath; // false
Web namespaced API
// Create a root reference
var storageRef = firebase.storage().ref();
// Create a reference to 'mountains.jpg'
var mountainsRef = storageRef.child('mountains.jpg');
// Create a reference to 'images/mountains.jpg'
var mountainImagesRef = storageRef.child('images/mountains.jpg');
// While the file names are the same, the references point to different files
mountainsRef.name === mountainImagesRef.name; // true
mountainsRef.fullPath === mountainImagesRef.fullPath; // false
Upload from a
Blob
or
File
Once you've created an appropriate reference, you then call the
uploadBytes()
method.
uploadBytes()
takes files via the JavaScript
File
and
Blob
APIs and uploads
them to Cloud Storage.
Web modular API
import { getStorage, ref, uploadBytes } from "firebase/storage";
const storage = getStorage();
const storageRef = ref(storage, 'some-child');
// 'file' comes from the Blob or File API
uploadBytes(storageRef, file).then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded a blob or file!');
});
Web namespaced API
// 'file' comes from the Blob or File API
ref.put(file).then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded a blob or file!');
});
Upload from a Byte Array
In addition to the
File
and
Blob
types,
uploadBytes()
can also upload a
Uint8Array
to Cloud Storage.
Web modular API
import { getStorage, ref, uploadBytes } from "firebase/storage";
const storage = getStorage();
const storageRef = ref(storage, 'some-child');
const bytes = new Uint8Array([0x48, 0x65, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x6f, 0x2c, 0x20, 0x77, 0x6f, 0x72, 0x6c, 0x64, 0x21]);
uploadBytes(storageRef, bytes).then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded an array!');
});
Web namespaced API
var bytes = new Uint8Array([0x48, 0x65, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x6f, 0x2c, 0x20, 0x77, 0x6f, 0x72, 0x6c, 0x64, 0x21]);
ref.put(bytes).then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded an array!');
});
Upload from a String
If a
Blob
,
File
, or
Uint8Array
isn't available, you can use the
uploadString()
method to upload a raw,
base64
,
base64url
, or
data_url
encoded string to Cloud Storage.
Web modular API
import { getStorage, ref, uploadString } from "firebase/storage";
const storage = getStorage();
const storageRef = ref(storage, 'some-child');
// Raw string is the default if no format is provided
const message = 'This is my message.';
uploadString(storageRef, message).then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded a raw string!');
});
// Base64 formatted string
const message2 = '5b6p5Y+344GX44G+44GX44Gf77yB44GK44KB44Gn44Go44GG77yB';
uploadString(storageRef, message2, 'base64').then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded a base64 string!');
});
// Base64url formatted string
const message3 = '5b6p5Y-344GX44G-44GX44Gf77yB44GK44KB44Gn44Go44GG77yB';
uploadString(storageRef, message3, 'base64url').then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded a base64url string!');
});
// Data URL string
const message4 = 'data:text/plain;base64,5b6p5Y+344GX44G+44GX44Gf77yB44GK44KB44Gn44Go44GG77yB';
uploadString(storageRef, message4, 'data_url').then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded a data_url string!');
});
Web namespaced API
// Raw string is the default if no format is provided
var message = 'This is my message.';
ref.putString(message).then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded a raw string!');
});
// Base64 formatted string
var message = '5b6p5Y+344GX44G+44GX44Gf77yB44GK44KB44Gn44Go44GG77yB';
ref.putString(message, 'base64').then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded a base64 string!');
});
// Base64url formatted string
var message = '5b6p5Y-344GX44G-44GX44Gf77yB44GK44KB44Gn44Go44GG77yB';
ref.putString(message, 'base64url').then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded a base64url string!');
});
// Data URL string
var message = 'data:text/plain;base64,5b6p5Y+344GX44G+44GX44Gf77yB44GK44KB44Gn44Go44GG77yB';
ref.putString(message, 'data_url').then((snapshot) => {
console.log('Uploaded a data_url string!');
});
Since the reference defines the full path to the file, make sure that you are
uploading to a non-empty path.
When uploading a file, you can also specify metadata for that file.
This metadata contains typical file metadata properties such as
name
,
size
,
and
contentType
(commonly referred to as MIME type). Cloud Storage
automatically infers the content type from the file extension where the file is
stored on disk, but if you specify a
contentType
in the metadata it will
override the auto-detected type. If no
contentType
metadata is specified and
the file doesn't have a file extension, Cloud Storage defaults to the
type
application/octet-stream
. More information on file metadata can be found
in the
Use File Metadata
section.
Web modular API
import { getStorage, ref, uploadBytes } from "firebase/storage";
const storage = getStorage();
const storageRef = ref(storage, 'images/mountains.jpg');
// Create file metadata including the content type
/** @type {any} */
const metadata = {
contentType: 'image/jpeg',
};
// Upload the file and metadata
const uploadTask = uploadBytes(storageRef, file, metadata);
Web namespaced API
// Create file metadata including the content type
var metadata = {
contentType: 'image/jpeg',
};
// Upload the file and metadata
var uploadTask = storageRef.child('images/mountains.jpg').put(file, metadata);
Manage Uploads
In addition to starting uploads, you can pause, resume, and cancel uploads using
the
pause()
,
resume()
, and
cancel()
methods. Calling
pause()
or
resume()
will raise
pause
or
running
state changes. Calling the
cancel()
method results in the upload failing and returning an error
indicating that the upload was canceled.
Web modular API
import { getStorage, ref, uploadBytesResumable } from "firebase/storage";
const storage = getStorage();
const storageRef = ref(storage, 'images/mountains.jpg');
// Upload the file and metadata
const uploadTask = uploadBytesResumable(storageRef, file);
// Pause the upload
uploadTask.pause();
// Resume the upload
uploadTask.resume();
// Cancel the upload
uploadTask.cancel();
Web namespaced API
// Upload the file and metadata
var uploadTask = storageRef.child('images/mountains.jpg').put(file);
// Pause the upload
uploadTask.pause();
// Resume the upload
uploadTask.resume();
// Cancel the upload
uploadTask.cancel();
Monitor Upload Progress
While uploading, the upload task may raise progress events in
the
state_changed
observer, such as:
Event Type
|
Typical Usage
|
running
|
This event fires when the task starts or resumes uploading, and is often
used in conjunction with the
pause
event. For larger
uploads this event may fire multiple times as a progress update.
|
pause
|
This event fires any time the upload is paused, and is often used in
conjunction with the
running
event.
|
When an event occurs, a
TaskSnapshot
object is passed back. This snapshot
is an immutable view of the task at the time the event occurred.
This object contains the following properties:
Property
|
Type
|
Description
|
bytesTransferred
|
Number
|
The total number of bytes that have been transferred when this
snapshot was taken.
|
totalBytes
|
Number
|
The total number of bytes expected to be uploaded.
|
state
|
firebase.storage.TaskState
|
Current state of the upload.
|
metadata
|
firebaseStorage.Metadata
|
Before upload completes, the metadata sent to the server. After upload
completes, the metadata the server sent back.
|
task
|
firebaseStorage.UploadTask
|
The task this is a snapshot of, which can be used to
`pause`, `resume`, or `cancel` the task.
|
ref
|
firebaseStorage.Reference
|
The reference this task came from.
|
These changes in state, combined with the properties of the
TaskSnapshot
provide a simple yet powerful way to monitor upload events.
Web modular API
import { getStorage, ref, uploadBytesResumable, getDownloadURL } from "firebase/storage";
const storage = getStorage();
const storageRef = ref(storage, 'images/rivers.jpg');
const uploadTask = uploadBytesResumable(storageRef, file);
// Register three observers:
// 1. 'state_changed' observer, called any time the state changes
// 2. Error observer, called on failure
// 3. Completion observer, called on successful completion
uploadTask.on('state_changed',
(snapshot) => {
// Observe state change events such as progress, pause, and resume
// Get task progress, including the number of bytes uploaded and the total number of bytes to be uploaded
const progress = (snapshot.bytesTransferred / snapshot.totalBytes) * 100;
console.log('Upload is ' + progress + '% done');
switch (snapshot.state) {
case 'paused':
console.log('Upload is paused');
break;
case 'running':
console.log('Upload is running');
break;
}
},
(error) => {
// Handle unsuccessful uploads
},
() => {
// Handle successful uploads on complete
// For instance, get the download URL: https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/...
getDownloadURL(uploadTask.snapshot.ref).then((downloadURL) => {
console.log('File available at', downloadURL);
});
}
);
Web namespaced API
var uploadTask = storageRef.child('images/rivers.jpg').put(file);
// Register three observers:
// 1. 'state_changed' observer, called any time the state changes
// 2. Error observer, called on failure
// 3. Completion observer, called on successful completion
uploadTask.on('state_changed',
(snapshot) => {
// Observe state change events such as progress, pause, and resume
// Get task progress, including the number of bytes uploaded and the total number of bytes to be uploaded
var progress = (snapshot.bytesTransferred / snapshot.totalBytes) * 100;
console.log('Upload is ' + progress + '% done');
switch (snapshot.state) {
case firebase.storage.TaskState.PAUSED: // or 'paused'
console.log('Upload is paused');
break;
case firebase.storage.TaskState.RUNNING: // or 'running'
console.log('Upload is running');
break;
}
},
(error) => {
// Handle unsuccessful uploads
},
() => {
// Handle successful uploads on complete
// For instance, get the download URL: https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/...
uploadTask.snapshot.ref.getDownloadURL().then((downloadURL) => {
console.log('File available at', downloadURL);
});
}
);
Error Handling
There are a number of reasons why errors may occur on upload, including
the local file not existing, or the user not having permission to upload
the desired file. More information on errors can be found in the
Handle Errors
section of the docs.
Full Example
A full example of an upload with progress monitoring and error handling
is shown below:
Web modular API
import { getStorage, ref, uploadBytesResumable, getDownloadURL } from "firebase/storage";
const storage = getStorage();
// Create the file metadata
/** @type {any} */
const metadata = {
contentType: 'image/jpeg'
};
// Upload file and metadata to the object 'images/mountains.jpg'
const storageRef = ref(storage, 'images/' + file.name);
const uploadTask = uploadBytesResumable(storageRef, file, metadata);
// Listen for state changes, errors, and completion of the upload.
uploadTask.on('state_changed',
(snapshot) => {
// Get task progress, including the number of bytes uploaded and the total number of bytes to be uploaded
const progress = (snapshot.bytesTransferred / snapshot.totalBytes) * 100;
console.log('Upload is ' + progress + '% done');
switch (snapshot.state) {
case 'paused':
console.log('Upload is paused');
break;
case 'running':
console.log('Upload is running');
break;
}
},
(error) => {
// A full list of error codes is available at
// https://firebase.google.com/docs/storage/web/handle-errors
switch (error.code) {
case 'storage/unauthorized':
// User doesn't have permission to access the object
break;
case 'storage/canceled':
// User canceled the upload
break;
// ...
case 'storage/unknown':
// Unknown error occurred, inspect error.serverResponse
break;
}
},
() => {
// Upload completed successfully, now we can get the download URL
getDownloadURL(uploadTask.snapshot.ref).then((downloadURL) => {
console.log('File available at', downloadURL);
});
}
);
Web namespaced API
// Create the file metadata
var metadata = {
contentType: 'image/jpeg'
};
// Upload file and metadata to the object 'images/mountains.jpg'
var uploadTask = storageRef.child('images/' + file.name).put(file, metadata);
// Listen for state changes, errors, and completion of the upload.
uploadTask.on(firebase.storage.TaskEvent.STATE_CHANGED, // or 'state_changed'
(snapshot) => {
// Get task progress, including the number of bytes uploaded and the total number of bytes to be uploaded
var progress = (snapshot.bytesTransferred / snapshot.totalBytes) * 100;
console.log('Upload is ' + progress + '% done');
switch (snapshot.state) {
case firebase.storage.TaskState.PAUSED: // or 'paused'
console.log('Upload is paused');
break;
case firebase.storage.TaskState.RUNNING: // or 'running'
console.log('Upload is running');
break;
}
},
(error) => {
// A full list of error codes is available at
// https://firebase.google.com/docs/storage/web/handle-errors
switch (error.code) {
case 'storage/unauthorized':
// User doesn't have permission to access the object
break;
case 'storage/canceled':
// User canceled the upload
break;
// ...
case 'storage/unknown':
// Unknown error occurred, inspect error.serverResponse
break;
}
},
() => {
// Upload completed successfully, now we can get the download URL
uploadTask.snapshot.ref.getDownloadURL().then((downloadURL) => {
console.log('File available at', downloadURL);
});
}
);
Now that you've uploaded files, let's learn how to
download them
from Cloud Storage.