Firebase & FlutterFire Recommended Multi-Account Setup

Madhan Gannarapu

Posted on Jun 8

#cli #flutter #productivity #tooling

Overview

This guide describes the recommended setup for developers working with:

Personal Firebase Projects (personal@gmail.com)
Company Firebase Projects (employee@company.com)

The goal is to:

Avoid frequent login/logout cycles
Switch accounts quickly
Manage multiple Firebase environments
Keep FlutterFire configuration simple
Use an officially supported Firebase workflow

Architecture

Google Accounts
├── personal@gmail.com
└── employee@company.com

Firebase CLI
├── login:add
├── login:list
└── login:use

Firebase Projects
├── personal-app
├── company-dev
├── company-qa
└── company-prod

Project Aliases
├── dev
├── qa
└── prod

Shell Aliases
├── firebase-personal
└── firebase-company

Step 1: Install Firebase CLI

Install:

npm install -g firebase-tools

Verify:

firebase --version

Step 2: Install FlutterFire CLI

Install:

dart pub global activate flutterfire_cli

Verify:

flutterfire --version

Step 3: Add Multiple Firebase Accounts

Add Personal Account

firebase login:add

Select:

personal@gmail.com

Add Company Account

firebase login:add

Select:

employee@company.com

Verify Accounts

firebase login:list

Example:

✔ personal@gmail.com
✔ employee@company.com

Step 4: Create Shell Aliases

Instead of typing long email addresses repeatedly, create aliases.

Open:

nano ~/.zshrc

Add:

alias firebase-personal="firebase login:use personal@gmail.com"
alias firebase-company="firebase login:use employee@company.com"

Reload:

source ~/.zshrc

Step 5: Test Account Switching

Switch to personal account:

firebase-personal

Verify:

firebase projects:list

Switch to company account:

firebase-company

Verify:

firebase projects:list

Step 6: Configure Firebase Project Aliases

Navigate to your Flutter project:

cd my-project

Add development project:

firebase use --add

Example:

Project:
company-dev

Alias:
dev

Add QA project:

firebase use --add

Example:

Project:
company-qa

Alias:
qa

Add Production project:

firebase use --add

Example:

Project:
company-prod

Alias:
prod

Generated file:

.firebaserc

Example:

{
  "projects": {
    "dev": "company-dev",
    "qa": "company-qa",
    "prod": "company-prod"
  }
}

Step 7: Verify Project Aliases

Switch environment:

firebase use dev

firebase use qa

firebase use prod

Check active project:

firebase use

Step 8: Generate FlutterFire Configurations

Development:

flutterfire configure \
  --project=company-dev \
  --out=lib/firebase_options_dev.dart

QA:

flutterfire configure \
  --project=company-qa \
  --out=lib/firebase_options_qa.dart

Production:

flutterfire configure \
  --project=company-prod \
  --out=lib/firebase_options_prod.dart

Result:

lib/
├── firebase_options_dev.dart
├── firebase_options_qa.dart
└── firebase_options_prod.dart

Step 9: Configure Firebase Initialization

Example:

import 'firebase_options_dev.dart' as dev;
import 'firebase_options_prod.dart' as prod;

const isProd = bool.fromEnvironment('PROD');

await Firebase.initializeApp(
  options: isProd
      ? prod.DefaultFirebaseOptions.currentPlatform
      : dev.DefaultFirebaseOptions.currentPlatform,
);

Daily Workflow

Working on Personal Project

Switch account:

firebase-personal

Verify projects:

firebase projects:list

Configure FlutterFire if required:

flutterfire configure

Working on Company Development Environment

Switch account:

firebase-company

Switch environment:

firebase use dev

Verify:

firebase use

Run:

flutterfire configure

Working on Company QA Environment

firebase-company
firebase use qa

Working on Company Production Environment

firebase-company
firebase use prod

Troubleshooting

Show Logged-In Accounts

firebase login:list

Show Available Projects

firebase projects:list

Show Current Active Project

firebase use

Remove an Account

firebase logout employee@company.com

Why This Setup Is Recommended

Firebase Multi-Account Support

Uses Firebase's officially supported mechanism:

firebase login:add

Benefits:

Multiple Google accounts supported
No repeated browser authentication
Secure credential management
Works across all Firebase CLI commands

Shell Aliases

Provides faster switching:

firebase-personal
firebase-company

instead of:

firebase login:use personal@gmail.com
firebase login:use employee@company.com

Benefits:

Faster workflow
Less typing
Fewer mistakes

Final Recommendation

Use:

Firebase Multi-Account Support

firebase login:add

Firebase Project Aliases

firebase use --add

Shell Aliases

alias firebase-personal="firebase login:use personal@gmail.com"
alias firebase-company="firebase login:use employee@company.com"

This combination provides:

Official Firebase account management
Fast account switching
Environment management (Dev / QA / Prod)
FlutterFire compatibility
Minimal maintenance

Interactive shell scripts are optional and are only worth adding if you switch accounts and environments many times throughout the day.

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