Installing and Configuring React Native Firebase Crashlytics

In the dynamic world of mobile app development, ensuring the stability and reliability of your application is paramount. Users expect seamless experiences, and app crashes can not only disrupt their flow but also erode their trust in your product. To effectively address this challenge, crash reporting plays a crucial role in identifying and resolving stability issues.

React Native, a popular framework for building cross-platform mobile apps, provides a robust development environment for creating engaging user interfaces. However, even the most well-crafted applications are not immune to crashes, making crash reporting an indispensable tool for maintaining app quality.

Enter Firebase Crashlytics, a powerful tool that empowers React Native developers to effectively track, prioritize, and fix stability issues. As a lightweight, real-time crash reporter, Crashlytics provides comprehensive insights into crash occurrences, enabling developers to identify and address the root causes of app instability.

By leveraging Crashlytics, developers can gather detailed crash reports, including stack traces, device information, and user activity logs. This rich data empowers developers to pinpoint the specific lines of code responsible for crashes, allowing for targeted troubleshooting and remediation.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the process of installing and configuring React Native Firebase Crashlytics, equipping you with the knowledge to seamlessly integrate this essential tool into your development workflow. We’ll cover the prerequisites, installation steps, configuration details, and testing procedures, ensuring you have a firm grasp of Crashlytics’ capabilities.

Embrace the power of Firebase Crashlytics and transform your React Native app into a rock-solid, crash-resistant experience for your users.

Prerequisites

Before embarking on the journey of integrating Firebase Crashlytics into your React Native project, it’s essential to ensure you have the necessary tools and resources in place. Here’s a checklist of prerequisites to ensure a smooth installation and configuration process:

1. A React Native Project:

   As the foundation of your mobile application, you’ll need an existing React Native project. This project should be set up and functioning correctly, ensuring a stable environment for integrating Crashlytics.

2. A Firebase Project:

   Firebase Crashlytics operates within the Firebase ecosystem, so you’ll need a Firebase project associated with your React Native project. This project will serve as the central hub for managing your Crashlytics data and settings.

3. A Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Project:

   While not strictly required for basic Crashlytics functionality, linking your Firebase project to a GCP project unlocks advanced features like custom crash analysis and advanced reporting. If you intend to utilize these features, ensure you have a GCP project linked to your Firebase project.

With these prerequisites in place, you’ve set the stage for a successful integration of Firebase Crashlytics into your React Native project. Now, let’s delve into the installation and configuration steps that will empower you to harness Crashlytics’ crash reporting capabilities

Installing Crashlytics

1. Install the React Native Firebase app module:

The @react-native-firebase/app module serves as the foundation for integrating Firebase features into your React Native project. To install this module, open your project directory and use either NPM or Yarn to execute the following command:

Bash

npm install --save @react-native-firebase/app

or

Bash

yarn add @react-native-firebase/app

2. Install the React Native Firebase Crashlytics module:

Once the app module is installed, proceed to install the @react-native-firebase/crashlytics module, which provides the specific crash reporting functionality. Again, utilize either NPM or Yarn to execute the following command:

Bash

npm install --save @react-native-firebase/crashlytics

or

Bash

yarn add @react-native-firebase/crashlytics

With these two modules installed, you’ve successfully added the necessary prerequisites for Crashlytics to operate within your React Native project. Next, let’s configure Crashlytics to connect it to your Firebase project and enable its crash reporting capabilities.

Configuring Crashlytics

1. Obtain your Firebase project’s Google Services JSON file:

To establish a connection between your React Native project and your Firebase project, you’ll need to obtain the Google Services JSON file. This file contains crucial configuration information that allows Crashlytics to communicate with Firebase servers.

To access this file, navigate to your Firebase project console and locate the Google Services JSON file under the “Project Settings” tab. Download this file and save it in the android/app directory of your React Native project.

2. Configure Crashlytics for Android:

To enable Crashlytics for Android, modify the android/app/build.gradle file as follows:

Gradle

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'

apply plugin: 'com.google.gms.google-services' // apply after this line

apply plugin: 'com.google.firebase.crashlytics'

Next, add the Firebase Crashlytics Gradle dependency to the same file:

Gradle

dependencies {

    implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics:18.2.1'

}

(Optional) Enable Crashlytics NDK reporting to capture native crashes by adding the following line to the android/app/build.gradle file:

Gradle

android {

    defaultConfig {

        ndk {

abiFilters 'armeabi-v7a', 'arm64-v8a', 'x86', 'x86_64'

        }

    }

}

This will enable Crashlytics to capture crashes from native code written in both C and C++.

Finally, rebuild your Android project to apply the changes you’ve made.

3. Configure Crashlytics for iOS:

To enable Crashlytics for iOS, perform the following steps:

I. Download the Pods repository if not already installed:

If you haven’t already installed the Pods repository, you’ll need to do so before proceeding. Open a terminal window and navigate to the ios directory of your React Native project. Then, execute the following command:

Bash

sudo gem install cocoapods

II. Add the RNFBCrashlytics pod to your ios/Podfile file:

Open the ios/Podfile file in your text editor and add the following line to the list of pods:

Ruby

pod 'RNFBCrashlytics'

III. Install the pods using the pod install command:

Navigate to the ios directory of your React Native project and execute the following command:

Bash

pod install

IV. Open your iOS project in Xcode and enable the Crashlytics capability:

Open your iOS project in Xcode and navigate to the “Project Settings” tab. Under the “Capabilities” section, enable the “Crashlytics” capability.

V. Rebuild your iOS project:

Rebuild your iOS project to apply the changes you’ve made.

Testing Crashlytics

Once you’ve successfully installed and configured Crashlytics for your React Native project, it’s crucial to verify that it’s functioning correctly and capturing crashes as expected. To accomplish this, follow these steps:

1. Introduce a controlled crash in your app:

   To test Crashlytics, you need to intentionally trigger a crash in your app. This can be done by introducing a known error or exception into your code. For instance, you could attempt to access a non-existent property of an object or call a non-existent function.

2. Verify crash reporting:

   After triggering the controlled crash, run your app on a device or emulator and observe its behavior. If Crashlytics is functioning correctly, the app should crash and a report should be generated.

3. Check the Firebase Crashlytics dashboard:

   To confirm that Crashlytics has captured the crash report, navigate to the Firebase Crashlytics dashboard in your Firebase project console. The dashboard should display the crash report, providing details about the crash, including the stack trace, device information, and user activity logs.

4. Analyze crash reports:

   Review the crash reports in the Firebase Crashlytics dashboard to identify the root causes of crashes. Use this information to fix the underlying issues and prevent future crashes.

By following these testing procedures, you can ensure that Crashlytics is effectively capturing crashes and providing valuable insights into your app’s stability. This proactive approach to crash reporting will help you maintain a high-quality and reliable app for your users.

In summary, integrating Firebase Crashlytics into your React Native project is a strategic move to improve app stability and user satisfaction. Beyond preventing crashes, Crashlytics offers real-time reporting and insights, helping developers address issues promptly and build a resilient application. The success of companies like GeekyAnts, using React Native and Crashlytics, highlights the importance of prioritizing stability in app development and demonstrates a commitment to delivering high-quality user experiences, fostering user trust. Incorporating Firebase Crashlytics is more than just a technical enhancement; it’s a proactive approach to building lasting relationships with users by ensuring a reliable and seamless app experience. For more information, please get in touch with us here.

Learn more: Firebase analytics in React Native app