Core / Initialization

Firebase must be initialized before any service (Auth, Firestore, etc.) can be used. The FirebaseCorePlugin handles this automatically when the FirebaseIOS autoload starts.

How It Works

When the plugin is enabled, the FirebaseIOS autoload runs this sequence in _ready():

  1. Core — FirebaseCorePlugin.initialize() loads GoogleService-Info.plist and calls FirebaseApp.configure()
  2. Auth — FirebaseAuthPlugin is instantiated and its signals are connected
  3. Firestore — FirebaseFirestorePlugin is instantiated, signals are connected, and Firestore is initialized
  4. Remote Config — FirebaseRemoteConfigPlugin is instantiated and its signals are connected
  5. Analytics — FirebaseAnalyticsPlugin is instantiated (fire-and-forget, no signals)

All of this happens automatically. You do not need to call initialize() yourself.

Signals

These signals are available on the FirebaseIOS autoload directly:

  • firebase_initialized Emitted when FirebaseApp.configure() succeeds. At this point all services are ready to use.

  • firebase_error(message: String) Emitted if initialization fails (e.g., GoogleService-Info.plist is missing from the app bundle).

func _ready() -> void:
    FirebaseIOS.firebase_initialized.connect(_on_firebase_ready)
    FirebaseIOS.firebase_error.connect(_on_firebase_error)

func _on_firebase_ready() -> void:
    print("Firebase is ready!")

func _on_firebase_error(message: String) -> void:
    printerr("Firebase init failed: ", message)

GoogleService-Info.plist

The GoogleService-Info.plist file from your Firebase console must be included in the iOS app bundle. The plugin’s export script handles this automatically — just place the file in addons/GodotFirebaseiOS/.

If the file is missing at runtime, firebase_error will be emitted with an explanatory message.

Architecture 

FirebaseIOS (Autoload)
├── core          → FirebaseCorePlugin          (FirebaseApp.configure)
├── auth          → FirebaseAuthPlugin          (Authentication)
├── firestore     → FirebaseFirestorePlugin     (Cloud Firestore)
├── remote_config → FirebaseRemoteConfigPlugin  (Remote Config)
└── analytics     → FirebaseAnalyticsPlugin     (Analytics)

Each service plugin is independent — Auth and Firestore are peers, neither depends on the other. They only require that Core has initialized Firebase first, which the autoload guarantees.