react-firebase-hooks vs next-firebase-auth
Firebase Authentication Libraries for React Comparison
3 Years
react-firebase-hooksnext-firebase-auth
What's Firebase Authentication Libraries for React?

Both 'next-firebase-auth' and 'react-firebase-hooks' are libraries designed to facilitate Firebase authentication in React applications, but they serve different purposes and are optimized for different environments. 'next-firebase-auth' is specifically tailored for Next.js applications, providing server-side rendering support and seamless integration with Next.js's routing and API features. It simplifies the authentication flow by managing session states and providing easy-to-use hooks for authentication. On the other hand, 'react-firebase-hooks' offers a set of React hooks that allow developers to interact with Firebase services, including authentication, in a more generic React application. It does not focus on Next.js features but provides a flexible way to manage Firebase authentication and data fetching in any React app.

Package Weekly Downloads Trend
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Stat Detail
Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
react-firebase-hooks92,816
3,639433 kB46-Apache-2.0
next-firebase-auth4,942
1,375128 kB158 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: react-firebase-hooks vs next-firebase-auth

Integration with Frameworks

  • react-firebase-hooks:

    This library is framework-agnostic and can be used in any React application. It provides hooks for Firebase services, allowing developers to easily manage authentication and data fetching without being tied to a specific framework.

  • next-firebase-auth:

    This package is specifically designed for Next.js, allowing for seamless integration with its routing and server-side rendering capabilities. It provides built-in support for session management and API routes, making it easier to handle authentication flows in Next.js applications.

Session Management

  • react-firebase-hooks:

    While it provides hooks for authentication, session management is not its primary focus. Developers may need to implement additional logic to manage user sessions effectively in their applications.

  • next-firebase-auth:

    It offers robust session management capabilities, automatically handling user sessions and providing hooks to access the current user's authentication state. This is particularly useful for server-side rendered applications where session state needs to be consistent across server and client.

Ease of Use

  • react-firebase-hooks:

    It provides a simple and intuitive API for using Firebase services with React hooks. Developers can quickly implement authentication and data fetching without extensive setup, making it easy to get started.

  • next-firebase-auth:

    This package simplifies the authentication process in Next.js applications, providing a straightforward API and hooks that reduce boilerplate code. It allows developers to focus on building features rather than managing authentication complexities.

Server-Side Rendering Support

  • react-firebase-hooks:

    This library does not provide built-in support for server-side rendering, as it is designed for use in standard React applications. Developers using this library in a server-rendered context will need to handle authentication state management separately.

  • next-firebase-auth:

    One of its key features is support for server-side rendering, which is essential for Next.js applications. This allows developers to pre-fetch user authentication state on the server, improving performance and user experience.

Community and Documentation

  • react-firebase-hooks:

    It has a well-established community and comprehensive documentation, making it easy for developers to find support and examples for using Firebase with React.

  • next-firebase-auth:

    This package has a growing community and documentation tailored for Next.js users, providing examples and best practices for integrating Firebase authentication in Next.js applications.

How to Choose: react-firebase-hooks vs next-firebase-auth
  • react-firebase-hooks:

    Choose 'react-firebase-hooks' if you are working on a standard React application and want a straightforward way to use Firebase services with hooks. This package is ideal for developers who prefer to manage authentication and data fetching without the additional complexity of Next.js.

  • next-firebase-auth:

    Choose 'next-firebase-auth' if you are building a Next.js application and need server-side rendering support for authentication. This package simplifies the integration of Firebase authentication with Next.js routing and session management.

README for react-firebase-hooks

React Firebase Hooks

A set of reusable React Hooks for Firebase.

npm version npm downloads

This documentation is for v5 of React Firebase Hooks which requires Firebase v9 or higher.

  • For v4 documentation (Firebase v9), see here.
  • For v3 documentation (Firebase v8), see here.
  • For v2 documentation, see here.

Installation

React Firebase Hooks v4 requires React 16.8.0 or later and Firebase v9.0.0 or later.

Whilst previous versions of React Firebase Hooks had some support for React Native Firebase, the underlying changes to v9 of the Firebase Web library have meant this is no longer as straightforward. We will investigate if this is possible in another way as part of a future release.

# with npm
npm install --save react-firebase-hooks

# with yarn
yarn add react-firebase-hooks

This assumes that you’re using the npm or yarn package managers with a module bundler like Webpack or Browserify to consume CommonJS modules.

Why?

This library explores how React Hooks can work to make integration with Firebase even more straightforward than it already is. It takes inspiration for naming from RxFire and is based on an internal library that we had been using in a number of apps prior to the release of React Hooks. The implementation with hooks is 10x simpler than our previous implementation.

Upgrading from v4 to v5

To upgrade your project from v4 to v5 check out the Release Notes which have full details of everything that needs to be changed.

Documentation

License