firebase-remote-config-basics/references/android_setup.md

Firebase Remote Config 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. Google Analytics is highly recommended as it enables conditional targeting based on user properties and audiences.

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

Ensure the Google Services plugin is in the plugins block:

plugins {
    // ... other plugins
    id("com.google.gms.google-services") version "4.4.0" apply false
}

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

1. Add the Google Services plugin to the plugins block:

   plugins {
       // ... other plugins
       id("com.google.gms.google-services")
   }
   

2. Add the Firebase Remote Config and Analytics dependencies. Using the Firebase Bill of Materials (BoM) is the best practice for version management.

   dependencies {
       // ... other dependencies
   
       // Import the Firebase BoM
       implementation(platform("com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:32.7.0"))
   
       // Add the dependencies for Remote Config and Analytics
       implementation("com.google.firebase:firebase-config-ktx")
       implementation("com.google.firebase:firebase-analytics-ktx")
   }
   

Follow up Steps

The following steps cover the essential patterns for using Remote Config effectively.

Set In-App Defaults

Define default values so your app has functional logic before it ever fetches a template from the server. Create an XML file (e.g., res/xml/remote_config_defaults.xml): xml <!-- Example Remote Config Defaults File --> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <defaultsMap> <entry> <key>welcome_message</key> <value>Welcome to the app!</value> </entry> <entry> <key>is_feature_enabled</key> <value>false</value> </entry> </defaultsMap> Then, initialize the SDK in your Activity or Application class:

```kotlin
val remoteConfig = Firebase.remoteConfig
remoteConfig.setDefaultsAsync(R.xml.remote_config_defaults)
```

Fetch and Activate Values

To apply values from the cloud, you must fetch them and then activate them. kotlin remoteConfig.fetchAndActivate() .addOnCompleteListener(this) { task -> if (task.isSuccessful) { val updated = task.result println("Config params updated: $updated") } else { println("Fetch failed") } // Access a value val message = remoteConfig.getString("welcome_message") }