Setup Service Accounts

ShipFast uses Next.js API routes (e.g., api/stripe/events) to handle server-side operations like processing Stripe payments and storing subscription data in Firestore. Since these API routes are hosted separately (e.g., on Vercel), a service account is required to securely authenticate with Firebase.

The service account ensures secure communication between ShipFast and Firebase, enabling tasks like managing subscriptions, credits, and other backend operations without exposing sensitive credentials.

1. Generate a Service Account Key

Visit the Firebase Console (opens in a new tab).
Select your project from the list.
In the left sidebar, click the gear icon next to "Project Overview", then select "Project settings".
Go to the "Service accounts" tab.
In the "Admin SDK Configuration Snippet" section, select Node.js.
Click "Generate new private key". A JSON file will be downloaded to your computer.

2. Copy the JSON File Content

Open the downloaded service account JSON file.

Copy its entire content. The file will look similar to this:

{
  "type": "service_account",
  "project_id": "your-project-id",
  "private_key_id": "your-private-key-id",
  "private_key": "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\\nYOUR-PRIVATE-KEY\\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----\\n",
  "client_email": "your-client-email",
  "client_id": "your-client-id",
  "auth_uri": "https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth",
  "token_uri": "https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token",
  "auth_provider_x509_cert_url": "https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v1/certs",
  "client_x509_cert_url": "https://www.googleapis.com/robot/v1/metadata/x509/your-client-email",
  "universe_domain": "googleapis.com"
}

3. Add the Service Account to Your Project

Locate the firebase-service-account.json file in the root directory of your project.
Replace its content with the copied JSON content.

Firebase is now setup and ready to use for ShipFast.

Setup Firebase Setup Environment Variables