n8n-nodes-firestore-trigger

This is an n8n community node. It lets you use Firebase Firestore in your n8n workflows as a trigger source.

Firebase Firestore is a flexible, scalable NoSQL cloud database that lets you store and sync data between your users in real-time. This node allows you to listen for changes in your Firestore database and automatically trigger workflows when data is added, modified, or removed.

n8n is a fair-code licensed workflow automation platform.

Installation
Operations
Credentials
Compatibility
Usage
Resources
Version history

Installation

Follow the installation guide in the n8n community nodes documentation.

Self-hosted n8n:

• Go to Settings by clicking on 3-dots at the bottom left.
• Navigate to Community Nodes section on the left.
• Click on Install or Add Community Nodes button.
• Type n8n-nodes-firestore-trigger, accept the disclaimer and click Install.

The trigger node will now be available in your n8n instance by searching for Firestore.

Locally hosted n8n instance:

# Install from npm
pnpm add n8n-nodes-firestore-trigger

# Alternatively, for local development:
cd ~/.n8n/custom/
pnpm link /path/to/n8n-nodes-firestore-trigger

Restart n8n after installation.

Operations

The Firestore Trigger node supports the following operations:

Operation	Description
Listen to Collection	Listen for changes to documents in a collection
Listen to Document	Listen for changes to a specific document

Collection Listeners

When listening to a collection, you can:

• Monitor all documents in a collection or subcollection
• Filter which events trigger the workflow (Added, Modified, Removed)
• Use query filters to only trigger on specific document changes
• Monitor nested subcollections using path patterns (e.g., "users/:userId/orders")
• Use dynamic expressions in path segments for flexible data access

Document Listeners

When listening to a specific document, you can:

• Monitor a single document for any changes
• Include metadata changes if needed
• Get the complete document data when it changes

Credentials

To use this node, you need Firebase Admin SDK credentials:

Prerequisites:

1. A Firebase project with Firestore enabled
2. A service account with appropriate permissions

Steps to obtain credentials:

1. Go to your Firebase Console
2. Navigate to Project Settings > Service Accounts
3. Click "Generate new private key"
4. Download the JSON file containing your service account credentials

Setting up in n8n:

1. In your n8n instance, go to the Credentials tab
2. Click "Create New Credentials"
3. Select "Firebase Admin API"
4. Choose Authentication Method:
   • Service Account JSON: Paste the contents of your JSON credentials file
   • Application Default Credentials: For testing with emulator or environment-based auth
5. Enter your Firebase Project ID
6. Optionally specify a Database ID (leave as "(default)" for standard setup)
7. Save your credentials

Compatibility

• Requires n8n version 0.209.0 or later
• Compatible with Firebase Admin SDK v13.0.0 and later
• Tested with Firestore database in Native mode

Usage

Basic Collection Monitoring

To monitor all changes to a collection:

1. Add the Firestore Trigger node to your workflow (Note: The node appears as "Firestore" in the UI rather than "Firestore Trigger")
2. Select "Listen to Collection" operation
3. Enter the collection path (e.g., "users")
4. Select which events to trigger on (Added, Modified, Removed)
5. Save and activate the workflow

The workflow will execute whenever documents in the collection are added, modified, or removed.

Monitoring a Specific Document

To monitor a specific document:

1. Add the Firestore Trigger node to your workflow
2. Select "Listen to Document" operation
3. Enter the collection path (e.g., "orders")
4. Enter the document ID (e.g., "order-123")
5. Save and activate the workflow

The workflow will execute whenever the specified document changes.

Using Query Filters

To only trigger the workflow for specific documents:

1. Add the Firestore Trigger node to your workflow
2. Select "Listen to Collection" operation
3. Enter the collection path
4. Under "Options" > "Query Filters", add one or more filters:
   • Field: The document field to filter on
   • Operator: Comparison operator (==, !=, >, >=, <, <=, array-contains)
   • Value: The value to compare against
5. Save and activate the workflow

The workflow will only execute for documents that match the filter criteria.

Monitoring Subcollections

To monitor a subcollection:

1. Add the Firestore Trigger node to your workflow
2. Select "Listen to Collection" operation
3. Enter the path including the subcollection (e.g., "users/user-123/orders")
4. Select which events to trigger on
5. Save and activate the workflow

Using Path Patterns

To dynamically monitor subcollections across multiple documents:

1. Add the Firestore Trigger node to your workflow
2. Select "Listen to Collection" operation
3. Enter a path with a parameter (e.g., "users/:userId/orders")
   • The :userId parameter will match any document ID in the users collection
4. Select which events to trigger on
5. Save and activate the workflow

This creates a dynamic listener that will monitor the "orders" subcollection under any document in the "users" collection.

Node Output

When a document change triggers the workflow, the node outputs the following data:

{
  "id": "document-id",
  "data": {
    // Document fields and values
  },
  "changeType": "added | modified | removed",
  "path": "collection/document-id",
  "metadata": {
    "hasPendingWrites": false,
    "fromCache": false
  },
  "timestamp": 1715501234567
}

Resources

• n8n community nodes documentation
• Firebase Firestore documentation
• Firebase Admin SDK documentation
• Testing documentation can be found in the tests/docs/ folder

Version history

Version 1.0.0

• Initial release
• Support for collection and document listeners
• Support for event filtering (added, modified, removed)
• Support for query filters
• Support for subcollection monitoring
• Support for path patterns with parameters
• Support for metadata changes

Known Issues

1. Node Display Name: When installed in n8n, the node may appear as "Firestore" rather than "Firestore Trigger" in the node selection menu. This is a known issue and doesn't affect functionality.
2. Delete Events: Delete events may not be consistently triggered during testing, especially in the emulator environment. This primarily affects document deletion notifications in nested collection patterns.