Firebase AI Skill
This skill defines how to correctly use Firebase AI Logic in Flutter applications.
When to Use
Use this skill when:
- Setting up and configuring Firebase AI in a Flutter project.
- Generating text content or chat responses with Gemini models.
- Implementing streaming AI responses for real-time UI updates.
- Sending multimodal prompts (text + images) to Gemini.
- Handling errors, offline scenarios, and rate limits for AI operations.
- Applying security and privacy considerations for AI features.
1. Setup and Configuration
flutter pub add firebase_ai
dartimport 'package:firebase_ai/firebase_ai.dart'; import 'package:firebase_core/firebase_core.dart'; import 'firebase_options.dart'; // Initialize FirebaseApp await Firebase.initializeApp( options: DefaultFirebaseOptions.currentPlatform, ); // Initialize the Gemini Developer API backend service final model = FirebaseAI.googleAI().generativeModel(model: 'gemini-2.5-flash');
- Ensure the Firebase project is configured for AI services via the Firebase AI Logic page in the Firebase Console.
- Initialize Firebase before using any Firebase AI features.
- Use
FirebaseAI.googleAI()for the Gemini Developer API backend (recommended starting point). - Implement App Check to prevent abuse of Firebase AI endpoints.
Platform support:
| Platform | Support |
|---|---|
| iOS | Full |
| Android | Full |
| Web | Full |
| macOS / other Apple | Beta |
| Windows | Not supported |
2. Generating Content
Single-turn text generation
dartfinal response = await model.generateContent([ Content.text('Summarize the benefits of Flutter for mobile development'), ]); final text = response.text; // The generated summary string
Multi-turn chat
dartfinal chat = model.startChat(); final response = await chat.sendMessage( Content.text('What is the difference between StatelessWidget and StatefulWidget?'), ); print(response.text); // Follow-up in the same conversation final followUp = await chat.sendMessage( Content.text('When should I use StatefulWidget?'), ); print(followUp.text);
Streaming responses
Use streaming to display partial results as they arrive:
dartfinal stream = model.generateContentStream([ Content.text('Write a step-by-step guide to implementing dark mode in Flutter'), ]); await for (final chunk in stream) { // Append chunk.text to the UI progressively setState(() => _output += chunk.text ?? ''); }
Multimodal prompts (text + image)
dartfinal imageBytes = await File('photo.jpg').readAsBytes(); final response = await model.generateContent([ Content.multi([ TextPart('Describe what you see in this image'), InlineDataPart('image/jpeg', imageBytes), ]), ]);
3. Error Handling
Wrap AI calls in structured error handling:
darttry { final response = await model.generateContent([Content.text(prompt)]); return response.text; } on FirebaseAIException catch (e) { if (e.message?.contains('quota') ?? false) { // Handle rate limiting — show retry message or queue the request return 'Service is busy. Please try again shortly.'; } return 'AI service error: ${e.message}'; } catch (e) { return 'Unexpected error: $e'; }
- Provide meaningful error messages to users when AI operations fail.
- Handle offline scenarios with appropriate fallback behavior (e.g., cached responses).
- Implement exponential backoff for rate-limited or transient errors.
4. Security and Privacy
- Follow Firebase Security Rules best practices when using AI services alongside other Firebase products.
- Ensure proper authentication and authorization for AI feature access.
- Sanitize user input before sending it to the model to prevent prompt injection.
- Be mindful of data privacy requirements when processing user content with AI services.
- Implement appropriate content filtering and moderation using safety settings:
dartfinal model = FirebaseAI.googleAI().generativeModel( model: 'gemini-2.5-flash', safetySettings: [ SafetySetting(HarmCategory.harassment, HarmBlockThreshold.medium), SafetySetting(HarmCategory.dangerousContent, HarmBlockThreshold.high), ], );


