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Firebase Functions Deployment Guide - Dev vs Prod ​

Last Updated: 2026-01-12

Overview ​

The Lantern app uses two separate Firebase projects:

  • lantern-app-dev: Development/testing environment
  • lantern-app-prod: Production environment for live users

This guide explains how to deploy and configure Firebase Cloud Functions for the feature request system to both environments.

Why It Matters ​

Critical Considerations ​

  1. GitHub Issues: Both dev and prod functions will create issues in the same GitHub repository (cattreedev/lantern_app)

    • ⚠️ This means dev submissions will create real GitHub issues
    • We need to distinguish dev vs prod submissions with labels

  2. Discord Notifications: You likely want separate Discord channels for dev vs prod

    • Dev submissions → #dev-feedback channel
    • Prod submissions → #user-feedback channel

  3. Firestore Data: Each project has its own Firestore database

    • Dev submissions stored in lantern-app-dev Firestore
    • Prod submissions stored in lantern-app-prod Firestore

  4. Rate Limiting: Separate per project

    • User can submit 5 times in dev AND 5 times in prod (independent limits)

Project Selection ​

Check Current Target ​

bash
# See which project is currently active
firebase projects:list

Switch Projects ​

The .firebaserc file controls the default project (currently set to lantern-app-dev).

To switch projects:

bash
# Method 1: Use firebase use command (RECOMMENDED)
firebase use lantern-app-dev    # Switch to dev
firebase use lantern-app-prod   # Switch to prod

# Method 2: Use --project flag (for one-off commands)
firebase deploy --only functions --project lantern-app-prod

Use environment-aware labels to distinguish dev vs prod submissions in the same GitHub repo.

Update Cloud Function ​

The function automatically detects which Firebase project it's running in and adds the appropriate label:

javascript
// Already implemented in functions/index.js
const projectId = process.env.GCLOUD_PROJECT
const isProduction = projectId === 'lantern-app-prod'
const envLabel = isProduction ? 'env-production' : 'env-development'

const labels = [
  type === 'feature' ? 'feature-request' : type,
  `priority-${priority}`,
  'user-submitted',
  'needs-triage',
  envLabel  // Automatically added!
]

Separate Discord Channels ​

Configure different Discord webhooks per environment:

Development:

bash
firebase use lantern-app-dev
firebase functions:config:set \
  github.token="ghp_YOUR_TOKEN" \
  github.repo="cattreedev/lantern_app" \
  discord.webhook_url="https://discord.com/api/webhooks/DEV_CHANNEL/..."

Production:

bash
firebase use lantern-app-prod
firebase functions:config:set \
  github.token="ghp_YOUR_TOKEN" \
  github.repo="cattreedev/lantern_app" \
  discord.webhook_url="https://discord.com/api/webhooks/PROD_CHANNEL/..."

Deployment Workflow ​

Initial Setup ​

1. Configure Development ​

bash
firebase use lantern-app-dev
firebase functions:config:set \
  github.token="ghp_YOUR_GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  github.repo="cattreedev/lantern_app" \
  discord.webhook_url="https://discord.com/api/webhooks/DEV/..."

firebase deploy --only functions
firebase functions:list  # Verify deployment

2. Configure Production ​

bash
firebase use lantern-app-prod
firebase functions:config:set \
  github.token="ghp_YOUR_GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  github.repo="cattreedev/lantern_app" \
  discord.webhook_url="https://discord.com/api/webhooks/PROD/..."

firebase deploy --only functions
firebase functions:list  # Verify deployment

Ongoing Deployments ​

bash
# Deploy to dev
firebase use lantern-app-dev
firebase deploy --only functions

# Deploy to prod
firebase use lantern-app-prod
firebase deploy --only functions

Client-Side Configuration ​

The client automatically uses the correct Firebase project based on environment variables:

  • Local dev: Uses .env.local (points to lantern-app-dev)
  • Dev deployment: Uses .env.development (lantern-app-dev)
  • Prod deployment: Uses .env.production (lantern-app-prod)

No code changes needed - Vite and Cloudflare Pages handle this automatically!

Testing ​

Local Testing (Dev Project) ​

bash
npm run dev
# Navigate to http://localhost:5173/#/feedback
# Submit test request → Creates issue with `env-development` label

Dev Deployment ​

bash
# Visit https://dev.ourlantern.app/#/feedback
# Submit test → Uses lantern-app-dev + dev Discord channel

Production ​

bash
# Visit https://ourlantern.app/#/feedback
# Submit test → Uses lantern-app-prod + prod Discord channel

Best Practices ​

✅ Do ​

  1. Always verify active project before deploying: firebase use
  2. Use separate Discord webhooks for dev/prod
  3. Test in dev first before deploying to prod
  4. Keep .firebaserc defaulted to dev to prevent accidental prod deploys

❌ Don't ​

  1. Don't deploy to prod without testing in dev
  2. Don't use the same Discord webhook for both environments
  3. Don't commit tokens/webhooks to git

Quick Reference ​

bash
# Check active project
firebase use

# Switch projects
firebase use lantern-app-dev
firebase use lantern-app-prod

# Deploy functions
firebase deploy --only functions

# View config
firebase functions:config:get

# View logs
firebase functions:log

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