Custom domain configuration in Firebase - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Custom domain configuration lets you use your own website address instead of the default Firebase URL. This makes your site look professional and easier to remember.

When you want your website to have a branded address like www.myapp.com instead of myapp.firebaseapp.com

When you want to improve trust with visitors by showing your own domain name

When you want to use HTTPS with your custom domain for secure connections

When you want to manage your website and domain settings in one place

When you want to link your Firebase hosting to a domain you already own

Commands

This command creates a new hosting site in Firebase for your app. It prepares Firebase to link your custom domain.

Terminal

firebase hosting:sites:create my-app-site

Expected Output

✔ Hosting site my-app-site created successfully

This deploys your website to the live channel of the hosting site you created. It makes your site ready to connect with your custom domain.

Terminal

firebase hosting:channel:deploy live --site my-app-site

Expected Output

✔ Deploy complete!

Project Console: https://console.firebase.google.com/project/my-app/hosting/sites/my-app-site

→

--site - Specifies which hosting site to deploy to

This command starts the process to link your custom domain to your Firebase hosting site. Firebase will give you DNS records to add to your domain provider.

Terminal

firebase hosting:domain:add www.mycustomdomain.com --site my-app-site

Expected Output

✔ Domain www.mycustomdomain.com added to site my-app-site

Please add the following DNS records to your domain provider to verify ownership and enable hosting.

→

--site - Specifies which hosting site to link the domain to

This command shows the list of custom domains linked to your hosting site and their verification status.

Terminal

firebase hosting:domain:list --site my-app-site

Expected Output

Domain Name           Status

www.mycustomdomain.com  Pending Verification

→

--site - Shows domains for the specified hosting site

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: you must add the DNS records Firebase gives you to your domain provider to verify and activate your custom domain.

Common Mistakes

Not adding the DNS records to the domain provider after running the domain:add command

Without DNS records, Firebase cannot verify your domain ownership and the custom domain won't work.

Copy the DNS records Firebase shows and add them exactly to your domain provider's DNS settings.

Deploying to the default hosting site instead of the site linked to the custom domain

Your custom domain points to a specific hosting site, so deploying elsewhere means your domain won't show the updated site.

Always use the --site flag with deploy commands to target the correct hosting site.

Summary

Create a Firebase hosting site for your app using firebase hosting:sites:create.

Deploy your website to the hosting site with firebase hosting:channel:deploy.

Add your custom domain to the hosting site with firebase hosting:domain:add and get DNS records.

Add the DNS records to your domain provider to verify ownership and activate the domain.

Check domain status with firebase hosting:domain:list.