Connecting to Firestore

FireFetch supports four ways to connect. You can use several at once — multiple Google accounts, service accounts and emulators all coexist in the sidebar.

Existing CLI credentials

If you already use the gcloud CLI or the Firebase CLI, FireFetch detects those credentials on startup and offers the projects they can reach. For most developers this means the first run needs no setup at all.

This is checked automatically. If the credentials are missing or expired, FireFetch falls back to asking you to sign in.

Google Sign-In

Choose Add account → Sign in with Google. FireFetch opens your browser and uses OAuth 2.0 with PKCE, which is the flow designed for desktop applications — there is no client secret embedded in the app, and no token to copy and paste.

Once you approve, the browser hands control back and FireFetch discovers the projects your account can access. The sign-in window times out after five minutes.

Service-account key

Choose Add account → Service account and select a JSON key file.

To create one: Firebase Console → Project settings → Service accounts → Generate new private key.

A service-account key is useful when you need to reach a project your personal account cannot, or want to use credentials scoped tightly to one project.

Treat the key file like a password. Anyone holding it has whatever access you granted the service account. FireFetch stores imported credentials encrypted, using a key held in your operating system’s keychain.

Firestore emulator

Choose Add project → Emulator and enter the host and port your emulator is listening on — typically localhost and 8080.

Emulator connections need no credentials and are marked clearly in the sidebar so you never confuse local data with production.

Multiple databases

Firestore projects can contain more than one database. FireFetch lists every database it finds under its project, and treats each as a separate thing: separate tabs, separate write gate, separate counters.

Where credentials are stored

Credentials are encrypted with a per-installation key held in your operating system’s credential store — Keychain on macOS, Credential Manager on Windows, Secret Service on Linux. They are never transmitted to FireFetch’s servers, because Firestore traffic goes directly from your machine to Google.