cloudparts

Firebase StudioDeprecated

Google’s browser-based workspace that pairs a Gemini app-prototyping agent with a full Code OSS IDE on a Nix-configured cloud VM; it is being shut down on 22 March 2027 in favor of Google AI Studio and Antigravity.

What it is
AI app builders
Used for
Editors and terminals
Type
Managed service on Google Cloud
Made by
Google LLC
License
Proprietary
Status
Deprecated. Google announced on 19 March 2026 that it will shut Firebase Studio down on 22 March 2027 and delete remaining data; new workspaces and sign-ups stopped on 22 June 2026.
Facts checked
13 October 2026
Website

What it is

Firebase Studio gives each workspace a full virtual machine on Google Cloud with a Code OSS editor (the open-source base of VS Code), a terminal, emulators and web and Android previews in the browser. The environment is declared with Nix, covering system packages, language tooling and previews, so a template can carry its whole setup. On top sits the App Prototyping agent: from a prompt, image or drawing it generates a Next.js web app, wires up Genkit with a Gemini API key, and adds Cloud Firestore and Firebase Authentication when the app needs a database or sign-in. You can switch between the agent and the code at any time, and **Publish** deploys to Firebase App Hosting.

It never left preview, so it had no SLA or deprecation policy. On 19 March 2026 Google announced it is folding the product into two others: Google AI Studio for prompt-based prototyping in the browser, and Antigravity, Google’s agent-first desktop IDE, for code-first work. New workspace creation and sign-ups were turned off on 22 June 2026. Existing workspaces keep working until 22 March 2027, when Firebase Studio shuts down and remaining data is deleted for good. A **Move now** button transfers a workspace to AI Studio. Apps already deployed to Firebase, and services such as Firestore, Authentication and App Hosting, are not affected.

Why teams pick it

  • A real Linux VM per workspace, customizable with Nix, so it can run backends, Android emulators and languages beyond JavaScript
  • The agent sets up Firebase services itself: Firestore, Authentication, a Gemini key for Genkit flows, and App Hosting for publishing
  • Migration paths are documented: one-click transfer to Google AI Studio, or export to Antigravity, while deployed apps keep running

Watch out for

  • Being shut down: no new workspaces since 22 June 2026, and all remaining data deleted on 22 March 2027
  • Always a preview product, with no SLA and no deprecation policy
  • When moving to AI Studio, the Gemini API key in the workspace’s .env file has to be set again by hand as an App Hosting environment variable to keep publishing to the same URL

Alternatives

What all ai app builders have in common →Compare side by side →
DyadOpen sourceA free, open-source desktop app builder: you chat with the model of your choice, and it writes a React or Next.js app into a local Git repository and runs it on your own machine.LovableRenamedCommercialA Stockholm-built prompt-to-app service that generates a TanStack Start web app with a built-in Supabase-based backend, hosts it, and syncs the code to your Git repository.ReplitCommercialA cloud workspace where Replit Agent builds an app from a prompt, with separate development and production databases, checkpoints you can roll back, and one-click hosting on Google Cloud.RiffRenamedCommercialAn Oslo-built AI builder, formerly Databutton, whose agent writes React and FastAPI apps and configures ERP-connected agents for procurement and operations teams in manufacturing.v0CommercialVercel’s prompt-to-app agent: it writes a Next.js app inside a Vercel Sandbox VM, pushes each chat’s changes to its own GitHub branch, and publishes to Vercel.

How it fits with other technologies

See it in a real stack

No architecture uses Firebase Studio yet. Drop it into the playground and wire it up yourself.Open playground →
Where it came from2023–2027

On 8 August 2023 a small Google team shared an experiment called Project IDX: a browser-based development environment built on Google Cloud and Code OSS, where every workspace had the full capabilities of a Linux VM, with templates for Angular, Flutter, Next.js, React, Svelte and Vue, AI help from the Codey model, and deployment to Firebase Hosting. The team’s complaint was that shipping a multiplatform app felt like building a Rube Goldberg machine of tools.

On 9 April 2025, at Cloud Next, Google launched Firebase Studio in preview. It fused Project IDX, Genkit and Gemini in Firebase into one agentic environment and added the App Prototyping agent, which turns a prompt or a drawing into a working Next.js app. Everything from IDX carried over: the Nix-configured VM, emulators, more than 60 templates and imports from GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket. It started with 3 free workspaces, 10 for Google Developer Program members and 30 for premium members.

Less than a year later Google decided to simplify its AI developer tools. On 19 March 2026 it announced the sunset: browser prototyping, with Firestore and Authentication built in, moved to Google AI Studio, and agentic coding to Antigravity. Sign-ups stopped on 22 June 2026, and the service shuts down on 22 March 2027.

Why it’s built this way

A full cloud VM instead of an in-browser sandbox
Project IDX wanted development from any device with the full fidelity of local development, so each workspace is a Linux VM hosted in a nearby data center.
Nix to describe the environment
Declaring packages, tooling and previews in Nix lets a project share its entire development environment as a template, for a team or the community.
Fold it into AI Studio and Antigravity
Google said it was streamlining its tools based on feedback: one browser path from prompt to production, and one agent-first IDE for code-first work, instead of a third product in between.

Timeline

  1. 2023

    Project IDX announced on 8 August as an experiment

  2. 2025

    Firebase Studio launches in preview on 9 April, absorbing Project IDX

  3. 2026

    Sunset announced on 19 March; migration tools roll out

  4. 2026

    New workspaces and sign-ups disabled on 22 June

  5. 2027

    Shutdown and data deletion scheduled for 22 March

Sources5 · facts checked 13 October 2026

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