iOS emulator Firebase Studio

General
1

Hi there,

Can I use Firebase Studio along with an iOS emulator to test my Flutter apps? I can’t seem to find an iOS emulator integrated in Firebase Studio when I create a new flutter project!

1 Like
2

Hey @marouane_baid1d :waving_hand:

You can absolutely use Firebase Studio alongside an iOS emulator for testing your Flutter apps — but here’s how the layers fit together:

  1. Firebase Studio is a project management and development interface for configuring Firebase services (Firestore, Auth, Storage, Remote Config, etc.). It doesn’t itself provide or embed mobile emulators.

  2. iOS emulators are handled through Xcode’s Simulator (on macOS). Flutter uses that simulator directly when you run:

    flutter run -d ios

    or via your IDE (VS Code, Android Studio, etc.) while your app is linked to your Firebase project.

  3. To integrate:

    • Create or open your project in Firebase Studio to manage back-end settings.

    • Run your Flutter app locally using the iOS Simulator from Xcode.

    • The app will connect to your Firebase project (via google-services.json or GoogleService-Info.plist) just like on a real device.

  4. Optional local testing:
    If you’re testing Firebase features like Firestore, Auth, or Functions locally, you can also run:

    firebase emulators:start

    This spins up local emulators that your Flutter app can target — giving you a full end-to-end test setup without deploying to production.

:white_check_mark: Summary:
Firebase Studio handles your cloud-side management. Flutter + Xcode’s iOS Simulator handles your app-side testing. Combine both and you’ve got a complete workflow — Firebase Studio doesn’t host the emulator, but it integrates seamlessly with the one from Xcode.

Let the Community know how this works out so we can help you develop smarter.