When we first began working on the Firebase Emulator Suite we dreamed of the day that every backend service in Firebase would have a local emulator. Today we can proudly say we’re releasing another great emulator for Firebase Build products: the Cloud Storage for Firebase emulator.

The Cloud Storage for Firebase emulator integrates with the rest of the Firebase Emulator Suite, including the Firebase Auth emulator and the Cloud Functions emulator, unlocking the ability to locally test your app end-to-end like never before.

What is it?

Just like the other components in the Firebase Emulator Suite, the Cloud Storage for Firebase emulator is part of the Firebase command-line interface which allows you to develop and test your app without connecting to production services.

The Cloud Storage for Firebase emulator supports the Web, Android, iOS and Admin (for Node.js) SDKs so regardless of where your app runs, you can use the new emulator.

What can it do?

The Cloud Storage for Firebase emulator supports all operations from the Web, iOS, and Android SDKs. This includes evaluating security rules, uploading and downloading files, and modifying metadata.

The emulator also supports all the most popular methods in the Firebase Admin SDK. This includes the same operations of uploading and downloading files along with metadata operations. If you’re using more advanced Cloud Storage features which aren’t supported, let us know. We’ll continue to expand functionality over the coming months and your feedback will help us prioritize what to implement.

Getting started

Make sure you update the Firebase CLI to at least version 9.11.0 and run the following command:

firebase init

Select Cloud Storage and the Emulators, when prompted, pick the Cloud Storage emulator. If this is a first time setup, you’ll need to pick each Firebase product you need, such as Cloud Functions, Firestore and Realtime Database rules, as well as Hosting sites. Once everything you need is initialized, run the following command:

firebase emulators:start

This will start the Storage Emulator on localhost:9199 by default. Jump over to our documentation to connect your app to your new emulator!

Let us know what you need!

Now that every Build product in Firebase has a local emulator, you can do the majority of your development entirely locally. We can’t wait to see all the new stuff you’ll build with your newly unlocked productivity. Make sure to send us a tweet and let us know what you make!