firebase-crashlytics/references/android_setup.md

Firebase Crashlytics Android Setup Guide

Important references:

• Refer to the firebase-basics skills, particularly those for project and app setup, before proceeding.

Project and App Setup

Before you begin, ensure you have the following. If a google-services.json file is present, then use that Firebase project and app. Otherwise you may need to create them.

• Firebase CLI: Installed and logged in (see firebase-basics).
• Firebase Project: Created via npx -y firebase-tools@latest projects:create (see firebase-basics).
• Firebase App: Created via npx -y firebase-tools@latest apps:create <IOS|ANDROID|WEB> <package-name-or-bundle-id>

The google-services.json file must be present in the Android app's module directory. If missing, get the config using the Firebase CLI: npx -y firebase-tools@latest apps:sdkconfig ANDROID <App-ID>.

Add Dependencies to Gradle Build

These changes are made to your Android project's Gradle files.

Project-level build.gradle.kts (<project>/build.gradle.kts)

Add the latest version of the Crashlytics Gradle plugin to the plugins block. Fetch the latest version from the Google Maven repository before adding this.

plugins {
    // ... other plugins
    id("com.google.firebase.crashlytics") version "<latest_plugin_version>" apply false
}

App-level build.gradle.kts (<project>/<app-module>/build.gradle.kts)

1. Add the Crashlytics plugin to the plugins block:

   plugins {
       // ... other plugins
       id("com.google.firebase.crashlytics")
   }
   

2. Add the Firebase Crashlytics dependency to the dependencies block. It is recommended to use the Firebase Bill of Materials (BoM) to manage SDK versions. Fetch the latest version from the Google Maven repository before adding this.

   dependencies {
       // ... other dependencies
   
       // Import the Firebase BoM
       implementation(platform("com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:<latest_bom_version>"))
   
       // Add the dependencies for the Crashlytics and Analytics
       implementation("com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics-ktx")
   }
   

Follow up Steps

Optional: Install the NDK SDK to capture native crashes

If your app uses native code (C/C++), or includes a library with native code, you can configure Crashlytics to report native crashes.

App-level build.gradle.kts (<project>/<app-module>/build.gradle.kts)

1. Add the firebase-crashlytics-ndk dependency:

   dependencies {
       // ... other dependencies
       implementation("com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics-ndk:18.6.2")
   }
   

2. Enable the nativeSymbolUpload flag in your buildTypes configuration. This will automatically upload symbol files for your native code, which are required to symbolicate native crash reports.

   android {
       // ... other config
       buildTypes {
           getByName("release") {
               // ...
               firebaseCrashlytics {
                   nativeSymbolUploadEnabled = true
               }
           }
       }
   }
   

After these changes, Crashlytics will automatically report crashes in your app's native code.

Required: Force a Test Crash

To verify that Crashlytics is correctly installed, you need to force a test crash in the app.

1. Add code to your main activity (e.g., in onCreate) to trigger a crash a few seconds after app startup:

   import android.os.Handler
   import android.os.Looper
   
   // ... in your Activity's onCreate method or similar startup logic
   Handler(Looper.getMainLooper()).postDelayed({
       throw RuntimeException("Test Crash") // Force a crash after 3 seconds
   }, 3000)
   

2. Run your app on a device or emulator. The app should crash after a short delay.

3. Restart the app. The Crashlytics SDK will send the crash report to Firebase on the next app launch.

4. After a few minutes, the crash should be available in the Firebase console. Go to DevOps & Engagement > Crashlytics to view your dashboard and crash reports.

• If the Firebase MCP server is installed, use the get_report tool to check that a crash was received.
• As a fallback, visit the Crashlytics dashboard in the Firebase console to see the new crash report.

5. After verifying that Firebase has received the crash report - either using the get_report tool or manually viewing it in the Firebase console - remove the code from step 1 that triggers the crash. This prevents the application from always crashing on start up after a delay.

Optional: Add custom debugging information

Customize reports to help you better understand what's happening in your app and the circumstances around events reported to Crashlytics. See Customize Crash Reports for Android.