Deploying Flutter Web App with Firebase Auth on your own server (Hostpoint): Overcoming the Firebase Auth Conundrum

Are you tired of struggling to deploy your Flutter web app with Firebase Auth on your own server, specifically on Hostpoint? Do you find yourself pulling your hair out because Firebase Auth simply refuses to work? Well, worry no more! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the process of deploying your Flutter web app with Firebase Auth on Hostpoint, and troubleshoot the common issues that come with it.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the main tutorial, make sure you have the following:

• A Hostpoint account with a VPS or dedicated server
• A Firebase project set up with Auth enabled
• A Flutter web app with Firebase Auth integrated
• Familiarity with SSH and command-line interfaces

Step 1: Setting up your Hostpoint Server

Log in to your Hostpoint account and access your server via SSH. We’ll assume you’re using a Linux-based system. Create a new directory for your project and navigate to it:

mkdir ~/flutter-web-app
cd ~/flutter-web-app

Create a new file called `firebase-config.json` with the following content:

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "authDomain": "YOUR_AUTH_DOMAIN",
  "databaseURL": "YOUR_DATABASE_URL",
  "projectId": "YOUR_PROJECT_ID",
  "storageBucket": "YOUR_STORAGE_BUCKET",
  "messagingSenderId": "YOUR_MESSAGING_SENDER_ID"
}

Replace the placeholders with your actual Firebase project configuration values.

Step 2: Building and Deploying your Flutter Web App

Build your Flutter web app using the following command:

flutter build web

This will generate a `build` directory containing your web app files. Create a new file called `.htaccess` in the `build` directory with the following content:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase /

RewriteRule ^index\.html$ - [L]
RewriteRule ^(.*)\$ $1.html [L]

This configuration allows Apache to serve your Flutter web app correctly.

Step 3: Configuring Firebase Auth on your Hostpoint Server

Create a new file called `firebase.js` in the root of your project directory with the following content:

import * as firebase from 'firebase/app';
import 'firebase/auth';

const firebaseConfig = {
  apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
  authDomain: 'YOUR_AUTH_DOMAIN',
  projectId: 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID',
};

firebase.initializeApp(firebaseConfig);

export const auth = firebase.auth();

Replace the placeholders with your actual Firebase project configuration values.

The Problem: Firebase Auth doesn’t work on your Hostpoint Server

At this point, you might be wondering why Firebase Auth isn’t working on your Hostpoint server. The issue lies in the fact that Firebase Auth relies on the `httpOnly` cookie, which isn’t enabled by default on Hostpoint servers.

Solution 1: Enable httpOnly Cookies on Hostpoint

To enable `httpOnly` cookies on your Hostpoint server, create a new file called `httpd.conf` in the `etc/apache2/conf.d` directory (create the directories if they don’t exist) with the following content:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName yourdomain.com
    DocumentRoot /home/yourusername/flutter-web-app/build

    <Directory /home/yourusername/flutter-web-app/build>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    Header set Set-Cookie HttpOnly;Secure
</VirtualHost>

Replace `yourdomain.com` with your actual domain name and `yourusername` with your actual username. Restart the Apache service:

sudo service apache2 restart

Solution 2: Use a Reverse Proxy to Enable httpOnly Cookies

If the above solution doesn’t work, you can use a reverse proxy to enable `httpOnly` cookies. Create a new file called `nginx.conf` in the `etc/nginx/sites-available` directory (create the directories if they don’t exist) with the following content:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

Replace `yourdomain.com` with your actual domain name. Create a new file called `start-nginx.sh` in the root of your project directory with the following content:

#!/bin/bash

nginx -c /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Make the script executable:

chmod +x start-nginx.sh

Run the script to start the Nginx service:

./start-nginx.sh

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve walked you through the process of deploying your Flutter web app with Firebase Auth on your own server (Hostpoint). We’ve also covered the common issue of Firebase Auth not working due to the lack of `httpOnly` cookies and provided two solutions to overcome this problem.

By following these instructions, you should now have a fully functional Flutter web app with Firebase Auth running on your Hostpoint server. Remember to replace the placeholders with your actual Firebase project configuration values and adjust the server configurations according to your needs.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you encounter any issues during the deployment process, refer to the following troubleshooting tips:

• Check the Firebase Auth configuration values in your `firebase-config.json` file.
• Verify that the `httpOnly` cookie is enabled on your Hostpoint server.
• Ensure that the Apache or Nginx service is running and properly configured.
• Test your Firebase Auth implementation using the Firebase Auth Emulator.

Solution	Description
Enable httpOnly Cookies on Hostpoint	Modify the Apache configuration to enable httpOnly cookies.
Use a Reverse Proxy to Enable httpOnly Cookies	Use Nginx as a reverse proxy to enable httpOnly cookies.

We hope this comprehensive guide has helped you successfully deploy your Flutter web app with Firebase Auth on your own server (Hostpoint). If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to ask in the comments section below.

Further Reading

For more information on deploying Flutter web apps and Firebase Auth, refer to the following resources:

• Flutter Web App Deployment Guide
• Firebase Auth Documentation
• Hostpoint Server Configuration Guide

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