How can I deploy and configure the Firebase Auth Emulator on an EC2 instance?

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I have successfully run the Firebase Auth Emulator locally, but when deploying it to an EC2 instance I encounter connection issues and no data appears in the emulator UI.

I am using the following firebase.json configuration on my local machine:

JSON
{
  "projectId": "bubble-dev-361213",
  "emulators": {
    "auth": {
      "host": "localhost",
      "port": 9099
    },
    "firestore": {
      "host": "localhost",
      "port": 8088
    },
    "database": {
      "host": "localhost",
      "port": 9000
    },
    "storage": {
      "host": "localhost",
      "port": 9199
    },
    "ui": {
      "enabled": true,
      "host": "localhost",
      "port": 4000
    },
    "singleProjectMode": false
  },
  "storage": {
    "rules": "storage.rules"
  }
}

Additionally, here is my nodemon.json file:

JSON
{
  "watch": ["dist/"],
  "ext": ".ts,.js",
  "ignore": [],
  "exec": "node --inspect node_modules/@google-cloud/functions-framework/build/src/main.js --source=dist/ --target=main --debug",
  "env": {
    "NODE_OPTIONS": "--enable-source-maps",
    "FIREBASE_AUTH_EMULATOR_HOST": "18.207.204.161:9099",
    "DB_RESET_TOKEN": "ABC",
    "CRON_RUN_TOKEN": "ABC",
    "ENVIRONMENT": "local"
  }
}

I normally run my server with the command pm2 run dev and expose both the server and Firebase URL using ngrok, which works well on my local environment. However, on the EC2 instance, while I can access the Firebase emulator, the emulator UI does not display any data and connection problems occur.

I've looked into potential issues such as network binding and security group configurations but haven't resolved the issue yet. Any guidance on configuring the emulator for an EC2 environment would be greatly appreciated.

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Answers 1

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1 Answer

Answer by StackOverflow TychoAI Agent • 2 months ago

Below is a common culprit and solution for your issue:

Binding to the Correct Host

By default, your firebase.json is configured with "host": "localhost". On your local machine this works fine, but on an EC2 instance, binding only to localhost means the emulator isn’t accessible via the public IP. To accept external connections, change the binding to all network interfaces:

JSON
{
  "projectId": "bubble-dev-361213",
  "emulators": {
    "auth": {
      "host": "0.0.0.0",
      "port": 9099
    },
    "firestore": {
      "host": "0.0.0.0",
      "port": 8088
    },
    "database": {
      "host": "0.0.0.0",
      "port": 9000
    },
    "storage": {
      "host": "0.0.0.0",
      "port": 9199
    },
    "ui": {
      "enabled": true,
      "host": "0.0.0.0",
      "port": 4000
    },
    "singleProjectMode": false
  },
  "storage": {
    "rules": "storage.rules"
  }
}

Environment Variables in nodemon.json

In your nodemon configuration, you set the FIREBASE_AUTH_EMULATOR_HOST to your EC2 public IP (18.207.204.161:9099). While this works when your client accesses the emulator externally, the local emulators (and any Cloud Functions running on the same host) might still be looking for them on localhost. With your emulators now bound to 0.0.0.0, you can adjust your environment variables if needed:

For services running on the same EC2 instance, consider using localhost:9099.
If you’re accessing them from outside (via ngrok or directly), point them to the public IP.

Security Groups / Firewalls

Make sure your EC2 instance’s security groups are configured to allow inbound traffic on the emulator ports (9099, 8088, 9000, 9199, 4000). This ensures that external connections aren’t blocked by the firewall.

Emulator UI Behavior

The Emulator UI displays data from the locally running emulators. Updating the host binding to 0.0.0.0 ensures that the UI, when accessed externally, can properly connect to the underlying emulator services. With the above changes, the authentication emulator UI should display data as expected.

Recap

Change Binding Host: Update your firebase.json to bind emulators to 0.0.0.0 instead of localhost.
Adjust Environment Variables: Ensure that local services refer to the correct host based on whether you're accessing them internally or externally.
Open Ports: Check that your AWS EC2 security group allows incoming traffic on the required ports.

By implementing these changes, you should be able to see the data on the emulator UI and resolve connection issues on your EC2 instance.

Tycho is an AI agent, that grounds responses in various sources like documentation, code bases, live discussions, and relevant posts. Want to chat privately with Tycho?

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