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Firebase Emulator Sharing System

Dynamic emulator sharing that works from any Firebase project directory using ngrok tunnels.

Quick Setup

  1. Install ngrok (if not already installed):

    brew install ngrok

  2. Install global alias:

    cd /path/to/firebase-devops-toolkit
./install-global-alias.sh
source ~/.zshrc  # or ~/.bashrc

Usage

From any Firebase project directory:

# Start sharing your running emulators
share-emulators start

# Check status and view URLs
share-emulators status

# Show only URLs
share-emulators urls

# Stop sharing
share-emulators stop

# Restart sharing
share-emulators restart

How It Works

  1. Auto-detects emulator ports from firebase.json
  2. Checks which services are actually running
  3. Creates ngrok tunnels for active services
  4. Extracts public URLs from ngrok API
  5. Displays shareable URLs with service labels

Supported Services

  • 🎛️ Emulator UI - Firebase console interface
  • ⚡ Functions - Firebase Functions
  • 🌐 Frontend - Next.js/React dev server
  • 🔥 Firestore - Database emulator
  • 🔐 Auth - Authentication emulator
  • 📦 Hosting - Static hosting

Example Output

🚀 Starting emulator sharing...
Found firebase.json: /path/to/project/firebase.json
Detected ports:
  UI: 4002
  Functions: 5002
  Frontend: 9002

✅ Emulator sharing started!

📱 Public URLs:
════════════════════════════════════════
  🎛️  Emulator UI: https://abc123.ngrok.io
  ⚡ Functions: https://def456.ngrok.io
  🌐 Frontend: https://ghi789.ngrok.io
════════════════════════════════════════
💡 Share these URLs with other developers!

Features

  • ✅ Universal - Works from any Firebase project
  • ✅ Smart Detection - Auto-finds ports and services
  • ✅ Clean URLs - Labeled output for easy sharing
  • ✅ Process Management - Proper cleanup and restart
  • ✅ Status Tracking - Know what's running
  • ✅ Cross-Platform - Works on macOS/Linux

Directory Structure

firebase-devops-toolkit/
├── share-emulators.sh          # Main script
├── install-global-alias.sh     # Setup script
├── .emulator-sharing/          # Runtime data (auto-created)
│   ├── ngrok_pids.txt         # Process IDs
│   ├── ngrok_urls.txt         # Extracted URLs
│   └── ngrok_*.log            # Individual logs
└── README-EMULATOR-SHARING.md  # This file

Troubleshooting

No URLs found:

  • Make sure your emulators are running
  • Check that ports in firebase.json match running services

ngrok not found:

  • Install with: brew install ngrok
  • Make sure it's in your PATH

Permission denied:

  • Make scripts executable: chmod +x *.sh

Tunnels not starting:

  • Check ngrok logs in .emulator-sharing/
  • Verify ports aren't already in use by other ngrok instances

Demo Workflow

  1. Start your Firebase emulators: firebase emulators:start
  2. Start sharing: share-emulators start
  3. Share URLs with team members
  4. They can access your local emulators remotely
  5. Stop sharing when done: share-emulators stop

Perfect for demos, testing, and collaborative development!