Quickstart using a server client library

This quickstart shows you how to set up Firestore, add data, and read data by using the C#, Go, Java, Node.js, PHP, Python, or Ruby server client library.

Before you begin

  • Sign in to your Google Cloud account. If you're new to Google Cloud, create an account to evaluate how our products perform in real-world scenarios. New customers also get $300 in free credits to run, test, and deploy workloads.

  • In the Google Cloud Console, on the project selector page, select or create a Google Cloud project.

    Go to project selector

Create a Firestore in Native mode database

If this is a new project, you need to create a Firestore database instance.

  1. Go to the Firestore viewer.

  2. From the Select a database service screen, choose Firestore in Native mode.

  3. Select a location for your Firestore.

    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 default Cloud Storage bucket and your App Engine app (which is required if you use Cloud Scheduler).

  4. Click Create Database.

When you create a Firestore project, it also enables the API in the Cloud API Manager.

Set up authentication

To run the client library, you must first set up authentication by creating a service account and setting an environment variable.

Cloud Console

Create a service account:

  1. In the Cloud Console, go to the Create service account page.

    Go to Create service account
  2. Select a project.

  3. In the Service account name field, enter a name. The Cloud Console fills in the Service account ID field based on this name.

    In the Service account description field, enter a description. For example, Service account for quickstart.

  4. Click Create.

  5. Click the Select a role field.

    Under Quick access, click Basic, then click Owner.

  6. Click Continue.

  7. Click Done to finish creating the service account.

    Do not close your browser window. You will use it in the next step.

Create a service account key:

  1. In the Cloud Console, click the email address for the service account that you created.
  2. Click Keys.
  3. Click Add key, then click Create new key.
  4. Click Create. A JSON key file is downloaded to your computer.
  5. Click Close.

Command line

You can run the following commands using the Cloud SDK on your local machine, or in Cloud Shell.

  1. Create the service account. Replace NAME with a name for the service account. 

    gcloud iam service-accounts create NAME

  2. Grant permissions to the service account. Replace PROJECT_ID with your project ID. 

    gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding PROJECT_ID --member="serviceAccount:NAME@PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com" --role="roles/owner"

  3. Generate the key file. Replace FILE_NAME with a name for the key file. 

    gcloud iam service-accounts keys create FILE_NAME.json --iam-account=NAME@PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com

Provide authentication credentials to your application code by setting the environment variable GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS. This variable only applies to your current shell session, so if you open a new session, set the variable again.

Linux or macOS

export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="KEY_PATH"

Replace KEY_PATH with the path of the JSON file that contains your service account key.

For example:

export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/home/user/Downloads/service-account-file.json"

Windows

For PowerShell:

$env:GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="KEY_PATH"

Replace KEY_PATH with the path of the JSON file that contains your service account key.

For example:

$env:GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="C:\Users\username\Downloads\service-account-file.json"

For command prompt:

set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=KEY_PATH

Replace KEY_PATH with the path of the JSON file that contains your service account key.

Add the server client library to your app

Add the required dependencies and client libraries to your app.

Java

Add the Firestore Java library to your app:

  • Using Gradle: 
    compile 'com.google.cloud:google-cloud-firestore:1.32.0'
  • Using Maven: 
    <dependencyManagement>
  <dependencies>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
      <artifactId>libraries-bom</artifactId>
      <version>20.9.0</version>
      <type>pom</type>
      <scope>import</scope>
    </dependency>
  </dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>

<dependencies>
  <dependency>
    <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
    <artifactId>google-cloud-firestore</artifactId>
  </dependency>
    pom.xml
  • Using an IDE:

    If you're using VS Code, IntelliJ, or Eclipse, you can add client libraries to your project using these IDE plugins:

    The plugins provide additional functionality, such as key management for service accounts. Refer to each plugin's documentation for details.

Python

Add the Firestore Python library to your app: 

pip install --upgrade google-cloud-firestore

Node.js

Add the Firestore Node.js library to your app:

npm install --save @google-cloud/firestore
Go

Install the Firestore Go library:

go get cloud.google.com/go/firestore

Add the Firestore Go library to your app:

import "cloud.google.com/go/firestore"
PHP
  1. Install and enable the gRPC extension for PHP, which you will need to use the client library.
  2. Add the Firestore PHP library to your app: 
    composer require google/cloud-firestore
C#
  1. Add the Firestore C# library to your app in your .csproj file: 
    <ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="Google.Cloud.Firestore" Version="1.1.0-beta01" />
</ItemGroup>
  2. Add the following to your Program.cs file: 
    using Google.Cloud.Firestore;
Ruby
  1. Add the Firestore Ruby library to your app in your Gemfile: 
    gem "google-cloud-firestore"
  2. Install dependencies from your Gemfile using: 
    bundle install

Initialize Firestore

Initialize an instance of Firestore:

Java
import com.google.cloud.firestore.Firestore;
import com.google.cloud.firestore.FirestoreOptions;
FirestoreOptions firestoreOptions =
    FirestoreOptions.getDefaultInstance().toBuilder()
        .setProjectId(projectId)
        .setCredentials(GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault())
        .build();
Firestore db = firestoreOptions.getService();
Quickstart.java
Python
from google.cloud import firestore

# The `project` parameter is optional and represents which project the client
# will act on behalf of. If not supplied, the client falls back to the default
# project inferred from the environment.
db = firestore.Client(project='my-project-id')
snippets.py
Python
(Async)
from google.cloud import firestore

# The `project` parameter is optional and represents which project the client
# will act on behalf of. If not supplied, the client falls back to the default
# project inferred from the environment.
db = firestore.AsyncClient(project='my-project-id')
snippets.py
Node.js
const Firestore = require('@google-cloud/firestore');

const db = new Firestore({
  projectId: 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID',
  keyFilename: '/path/to/keyfile.json',
});
Go
import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"log"

	"google.golang.org/api/iterator"

	"cloud.google.com/go/firestore"
)

func createClient(ctx context.Context) *firestore.Client {
	// Sets your Google Cloud Platform project ID.
	projectID := "YOUR_PROJECT_ID"

	client, err := firestore.NewClient(ctx, projectID)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatalf("Failed to create client: %v", err)
	}
	// Close client when done with
	// defer client.Close()
	return client
}

main.go
PHP
use Google\Cloud\Firestore\FirestoreClient;

/**
 * Initialize Cloud Firestore with default project ID.
 */
function setup_client_create()
{
    // Create the Cloud Firestore client
    $db = new FirestoreClient();
    printf('Created Cloud Firestore client with default project ID.' . PHP_EOL);
}
setup_client_create.php
C#
FirestoreDb db = FirestoreDb.Create(project);
Console.WriteLine("Created Cloud Firestore client with project ID: {0}", project);
Program.cs
Ruby
require "google/cloud/firestore"

# The `project_id` parameter is optional and represents which project the
# client will act on behalf of. If not supplied, the client falls back to the
# default project inferred from the environment.
firestore = Google::Cloud::Firestore.new project_id: project_id

puts "Created Cloud Firestore client with given project ID."
quickstart.rb

Add data

Firestore stores data in Documents, which are stored in Collections. Firestore creates collections and documents implicitly the first time you add data to the document. You do not need to explicitly create collections or documents.

Create a new collection and a document using the following example code.

Java

DocumentReference docRef = db.collection("users").document("alovelace");
// Add document data  with id "alovelace" using a hashmap
Map<String, Object> data = new HashMap<>();
data.put("first", "Ada");
data.put("last", "Lovelace");
data.put("born", 1815);
//asynchronously write data
ApiFuture<WriteResult> result = docRef.set(data);
// ...
// result.get() blocks on response
System.out.println("Update time : " + result.get().getUpdateTime());

Python

doc_ref = db.collection(u'users').document(u'alovelace')
doc_ref.set({
    u'first': u'Ada',
    u'last': u'Lovelace',
    u'born': 1815
})

Python
(Async)

doc_ref = db.collection("users").document("alovelace")
await doc_ref.set({"first": "Ada", "last": "Lovelace", "born": 1815})

Node.js

const docRef = db.collection('users').doc('alovelace');

await docRef.set({
  first: 'Ada',
  last: 'Lovelace',
  born: 1815
});

Go

_, _, err := client.Collection("users").Add(ctx, map[string]interface{}{
	"first": "Ada",
	"last":  "Lovelace",
	"born":  1815,
})
if err != nil {
	log.Fatalf("Failed adding alovelace: %v", err)
}

PHP

$docRef = $db->collection('samples/php/users')->document('lovelace');
$docRef->set([
    'first' => 'Ada',
    'last' => 'Lovelace',
    'born' => 1815
]);
printf('Added data to the lovelace document in the users collection.' . PHP_EOL);

C#

DocumentReference docRef = db.Collection("users").Document("alovelace");
Dictionary<string, object> user = new Dictionary<string, object>
{
    { "First", "Ada" },
    { "Last", "Lovelace" },
    { "Born", 1815 }
};
await docRef.SetAsync(user);

Ruby

doc_ref = firestore.doc "#{collection_path}/alovelace"

doc_ref.set(
  {
    first: "Ada",
    last:  "Lovelace",
    born:  1815
  }
)

puts "Added data to the alovelace document in the users collection."

Now add another document to the users collection. Notice that this document includes a key-value pair (middle name) that does not appear in the first document. Documents in a collection can contain different sets of information.

Java

DocumentReference docRef = db.collection("users").document("aturing");
// Add document data with an additional field ("middle")
Map<String, Object> data = new HashMap<>();
data.put("first", "Alan");
data.put("middle", "Mathison");
data.put("last", "Turing");
data.put("born", 1912);

ApiFuture<WriteResult> result = docRef.set(data);
System.out.println("Update time : " + result.get().getUpdateTime());

Python

doc_ref = db.collection(u'users').document(u'aturing')
doc_ref.set({
    u'first': u'Alan',
    u'middle': u'Mathison',
    u'last': u'Turing',
    u'born': 1912
})

Python
(Async)

doc_ref = db.collection("users").document("aturing")
await doc_ref.set(
    {"first": "Alan", "middle": "Mathison", "last": "Turing", "born": 1912}
)

Node.js

const aTuringRef = db.collection('users').doc('aturing');

await aTuringRef.set({
  'first': 'Alan',
  'middle': 'Mathison',
  'last': 'Turing',
  'born': 1912
});

Go

_, _, err = client.Collection("users").Add(ctx, map[string]interface{}{
	"first":  "Alan",
	"middle": "Mathison",
	"last":   "Turing",
	"born":   1912,
})
if err != nil {
	log.Fatalf("Failed adding aturing: %v", err)
}

PHP

$docRef = $db->collection('samples/php/users')->document('aturing');
$docRef->set([
    'first' => 'Alan',
    'middle' => 'Mathison',
    'last' => 'Turing',
    'born' => 1912
]);
printf('Added data to the aturing document in the users collection.' . PHP_EOL);

C#

DocumentReference docRef = db.Collection("users").Document("aturing");
Dictionary<string, object> user = new Dictionary<string, object>
{
    { "First", "Alan" },
    { "Middle", "Mathison" },
    { "Last", "Turing" },
    { "Born", 1912 }
};
await docRef.SetAsync(user);

Ruby

doc_ref = firestore.doc "#{collection_path}/aturing"

doc_ref.set(
  {
    first:  "Alan",
    middle: "Mathison",
    last:   "Turing",
    born:   1912
  }
)

puts "Added data to the aturing document in the users collection."

Read data

To quickly verify that you've added data to Firestore, use the data viewer in the Firebase console.

You can also use the get method to retrieve the entire collection.

Java

// asynchronously retrieve all users
ApiFuture<QuerySnapshot> query = db.collection("users").get();
// ...
// query.get() blocks on response
QuerySnapshot querySnapshot = query.get();
List<QueryDocumentSnapshot> documents = querySnapshot.getDocuments();
for (QueryDocumentSnapshot document : documents) {
  System.out.println("User: " + document.getId());
  System.out.println("First: " + document.getString("first"));
  if (document.contains("middle")) {
    System.out.println("Middle: " + document.getString("middle"));
  }
  System.out.println("Last: " + document.getString("last"));
  System.out.println("Born: " + document.getLong("born"));
}

Python

users_ref = db.collection(u'users')
docs = users_ref.stream()

for doc in docs:
    print(f'{doc.id} => {doc.to_dict()}')

Python
(Async)

users_ref = db.collection("users")
docs = users_ref.stream()

async for doc in docs:
    print(f"{doc.id} => {doc.to_dict()}")

Node.js

const snapshot = await db.collection('users').get();
snapshot.forEach((doc) => {
  console.log(doc.id, '=>', doc.data());
});

Go

iter := client.Collection("users").Documents(ctx)
for {
	doc, err := iter.Next()
	if err == iterator.Done {
		break
	}
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatalf("Failed to iterate: %v", err)
	}
	fmt.Println(doc.Data())
}

PHP

$usersRef = $db->collection('samples/php/users');
$snapshot = $usersRef->documents();
foreach ($snapshot as $user) {
    printf('User: %s' . PHP_EOL, $user->id());
    printf('First: %s' . PHP_EOL, $user['first']);
    if (!empty($user['middle'])) {
        printf('Middle: %s' . PHP_EOL, $user['middle']);
    }
    printf('Last: %s' . PHP_EOL, $user['last']);
    printf('Born: %d' . PHP_EOL, $user['born']);
    printf(PHP_EOL);
}
printf('Retrieved and printed out all documents from the users collection.' . PHP_EOL);

C#

CollectionReference usersRef = db.Collection("users");
QuerySnapshot snapshot = await usersRef.GetSnapshotAsync();
foreach (DocumentSnapshot document in snapshot.Documents)
{
    Console.WriteLine("User: {0}", document.Id);
    Dictionary<string, object> documentDictionary = document.ToDictionary();
    Console.WriteLine("First: {0}", documentDictionary["First"]);
    if (documentDictionary.ContainsKey("Middle"))
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Middle: {0}", documentDictionary["Middle"]);
    }
    Console.WriteLine("Last: {0}", documentDictionary["Last"]);
    Console.WriteLine("Born: {0}", documentDictionary["Born"]);
    Console.WriteLine();
}

Ruby

users_ref = firestore.col collection_path
users_ref.get do |user|
  puts "#{user.document_id} data: #{user.data}."
end

Next steps

Deepen your knowledge with the following topics: