Building a Real-Time User Authentication App with React Native and Firebase
When it comes to mobile app development, implementing user authentication flows is a critical feature to get right. In this tutorial, we’ll explore one strategy for implementing an authentication flow using an email sign-in provider with React Native and the latest versions of react-navigation and react-native-firebase libraries.
Getting Started
To follow along, ensure your development environment includes the following required packages:
- Node.js (version 10.x.x or higher)
- Watchman (file watcher)
- React Native CLI (installed through npm or accessed via npm)
- Cocoapods (for iOS only)
- iOS Simulator or Android Emulator for testing
Creating a React Native App
Start by creating a new React Native app using the following command:
npx react-native init rnEmailAuthFirebase
Then, navigate into the project directory and install the required dependencies:
yarn install
Configuring Firebase
Create a new Firebase project and enable the Email sign-in method. Then, download the google-services.json file and add it to your React Native project.
Implementing Authentication
Create a new directory src/components and add three new files: FormButton.js, FormInput.js, and Loading.js. These reusable components will be used in the login and signup screens.
Next, create a new directory src/screens and add three new files: LoginScreen.js, SignupScreen.js, and HomeScreen.js. These screens will handle user authentication and navigation.
Creating a Stack Navigator
Create a new directory src/navigation and add two new files: HomeStack.js and AuthStack.js. These files will define the stack navigators for the app.
Implementing Authentication Provider
Create a new file AuthProvider.js inside src/navigation/. This file will define the authentication provider that checks whether the user is logged in or not and automatically authenticates them if they are logged in.
Wrapping Routers in Provider
Create a new file src/navigation/index.js and wrap the auth provider around the routes.
Verifying User’s Logged-in State
Create a new file src/navigation/Routes.js and define the routes function that verifies the user’s logged-in state on initial routes.
Using AuthContext to Complete the App
Modify the Login.js, Signup.js, and HomeScreen.js files to use the helper methods from the AuthContext.
Running the App
Build the app using the platform-specific command and run it in the simulator. You should see the login screen with the ability to create a new user account and log in.
Congratulations! You have completed this tutorial and built a real-time user authentication app using React Native and Firebase.