Get started with Cloud Storage on Apple platforms

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.

Before you begin

  1. If you haven't already, make sure you've completed the getting started guide for Apple platforms apps. This includes:

    • Creating a Firebase project.

    • Registering your Apple platforms app with the project, and connecting your app to Firebase by adding the Firebase library and your Firebase config file (GoogleService-Info.plist) to your app.

  2. Make sure your Firebase project is on the pay-as-you-go Blaze pricing plan. If you're new to Firebase and Google Cloud, check if you're eligible for a $300 credit.

Create a default Cloud Storage bucket

  1. From the navigation pane of the Firebase console, select Storage.

    If your project is not yet on the pay-as-you-go Blaze pricing plan, then you'll be prompted to upgrade your project.

  2. Click Get started.

  3. Select a location for your default bucket.

  4. Configure the Firebase Security Rules for your default bucket. During development, consider setting up your rules for public access.

  5. Click Done.

You can now view the bucket in the Cloud Storage Files tab of the Firebase console. Your default bucket name format is PROJECT_ID.firebasestorage.app.

Set up public access

Cloud Storage for Firebase provides a declarative rules language that lets you 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.

  1. In Xcode, with your app project open, navigate to File > Add Packages.
  2. When prompted, add the Firebase Apple platforms SDK repository:
    3.   https://github.com/firebase/firebase-ios-sdk.git
  3. Choose the Cloud Storage library.
  4. Add the -ObjC flag to the Other Linker Flags section of your target's build settings.
  5. When finished, Xcode will automatically begin resolving and downloading your dependencies in the background.

Set up Cloud Storage in your app

  1. Initialize Firebase before any Firebase reference is created or used.

    You may have already done this if you've already set up another Firebase product, but you need to make sure to add the FirebaseStorage library to your list of imports.

    1. Import the FirebaseCore module and the FirebaseStorage module in your UIApplicationDelegate. We also recommend adding FirebaseAuth.

      SwiftUI 

      import SwiftUI
import FirebaseCore
import FirebaseStorage
import FirebaseAuth
// ...

      Swift 

      import FirebaseCore
import FirebaseStorage
import FirebaseAuth
// ...

      Objective-C 

      @import FirebaseCore;
@import FirebaseStorage;
@import FirebaseAuth;
// ...

    2. 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];

    3. (SwiftUI only) Create an application delegate and attach it to your App struct using 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()
      }
    }
  }
}

  2. Get a reference to the Cloud Storage service, using the default Firebase App.

    1. Make sure the Firebase config file (GoogleService-Info.plist) in your app's codebase is updated with the name of your default Cloud Storage bucket.

      1. Obtain your updated config file..

      2. Use this downloaded config file to replace the existing GoogleService-Info.plist file in the root of your Xcode project. If prompted, select to add the config file to all targets.

        Make sure that you only have this most recent downloaded config file in your app and that its filename isn't appended with additional characters, like (2).

    2. Get a reference to the Cloud Storage service, using the default Firebase App:

      Swift 

      let storage = Storage.storage()
       
      // Alternatively, explicitly specify the bucket name URL.
storage = Storage.storage(url:"gs://BUCKET_NAME")

      Objective-C 

      FIRStorage *storage = [FIRStorage storage];
       
      // Alternatively, explicitly specify the bucket name URL.
// FIRStorage storage = [FIRStorage storageWithURL:@"gs://BUCKET_NAME"];

You're ready to start using Cloud Storage!

Next step? 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://BUCKET_NAME

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