Chapter 5 - Integrate Laravel with Google Firebase connecting Cloud Firestore

In this chapter, we will create a Laravel project and connect it with the Cloud Firestore with installing all necessary packages and build some basic queries.


Step 1: Install a fresh Laravel Project with name my-project

 composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel my-project

Step 2: Setup a Firebase account and Cloud Firestore Database

A detail chapter on this topic is available here https://laravelwithfirebase.blogspot.com/2020/02/chapter-3-creating-project-in-firebase-for-laravel-php.html

Step 3: Use the Laravel package built over Firebase PHP Admin SDK by Kreait
The package url on Github: https://github.com/kreait/laravel-firebase. We have already explain the Firebase PHP Admin SDK in previous chapters by the same Author. So this code has been used by lot of people and is highly maintainable. Run the following command to install the package.

 composer require kreait/laravel-firebase

To publish this service in Laravel, run following command:

 php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Kreait\Laravel\Firebase\ServiceProvider" --tag=config

Step 4: Setting up the Firebase Credentials 

Place the credentials json file obtained from Step 2 in the root of Laravel project and rename to "firebase-credentials.json".

Then update the  key FIREBASE_CREDENTIALS value in config/firebase.php to the "base_path('firebase-credentials.json')"

Step 5: Installing google cloud firestore php package

 composer require google/cloud-firestore

This package require grpc php extension. We will have a separate chapter to install this extension. Let us know in comment section if you face any difficulty.

Here we are ready. Our Firebase has been connected to Laravel Project.

Step 6: Create a controller name FirebaseController.php

 

 <?php  
 namespace App\Http\Controllers;  
 use Illuminate\Http\Request;  
 class FirebaseController extends Controller  
 {  
   protected $db;  
   public function __construct() {  
     $this->db = app('firebase.firestore')->database();  
   }  
 }  

So $this->db is the root for your firestore and all your futher queries will take place from here.

Let us consider the following Firestore database

Following is the code to fetch the blogs from firestore

 public function index(Request $request)  
   {  
     $docRef = $this->db->collection('blogs');  
     $query = $docRef;  
     if(isset($request->search))  
       $query = $docRef->where('name', '=', $request->search);  
     $documents = $query->documents();  
     foreach ($documents as $document) {  
       if ($document->exists()) {  
         printf('Document data for document %s:' . PHP_EOL, $document->id());  
         printf($document->data());  
         printf(PHP_EOL);  
       } else {  
         printf('Document %s does not exist!' . PHP_EOL, $snapshot->id());  
       }  
     }  
   }  

This is the query is to fetch blogs collection and search by name inside the blogs. Then looping the documents and checking each document exists by "$document->exists()" and printing the id by "$document->id()" ex: 7PWSpBaBMTbsuEcG95P0 and the data can be fetch by "$document->data()" and to fetch name, you can retrieve by key "$document->data()['name']".

Hope now your clear with basic connection and query. Further detail query will covered in upcoming chapters. Let us know if you have any doubt in this chapter in the comments below.