firebase-tools "-bash: firebase: command not found" - bash

Question

Excited that Firebase's hosting is now out of beta. Trying to get going with with the firebase-tools package and I've successfully installed it:
npm install -g firebase-tools
Trying to run any tool fails with
-bash: firebase: command not found
I've tried putting the following command in my .bash_profile without any luck
export PATH=/usr/local/share/npm/bin:$PATH
Any ideas? Pretty new to the command line in general.
Thanks!

Answer 1

Run code below with terminal,
alias firebase="`npm config get prefix`/bin/firebase"

Answer 2

Installing firebase-tools globally did the trick for me :
npm install -g firebase-tools

Answer 3

You should add the npm bin folder to your bash PATH variable. To do that, run:
npm get prefix
And it should output something like /home/your-username/npm-global or /home/your-username/npm-packages.
Then in your ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile (if you're in a Mac) file, add:
export PATH="/home/your-username/npm-global/bin:$PATH" # Add npm bin PATH
Note the "/bin" after the npm get prefix result.

Answer 4

#mklement0 That answer looks good, but I'm worried it will be intimidating to someone who is so new to the command line. So I'm going to cherry-pick the most relevant piece of it.
#cienki Run this command to see what you should be putting in that PATH prefix in your .bash_profile file:
npm get prefix

Answer 5

by chance if you are using macOS with m1 chip
arch -x86_64 npm i -g firebase-tools
assuming that you haven't set the PATH
export PATH="`npm config get prefix`/bin:$PATH"
That's all and enjoy

Answer 6

On macOS: Use
curl -sL firebase.tools | upgrade=true bash
It worked for me
firebase -V

Answer 7

Using Windows 10, Bash
This worked for me:
npm get prefix // to find Path which for me it was C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\npm
search "Environment Variables" which located in "System Properties".
Under "System Variables", find the PATH variable, select it, and click "Edit". Click "New" and add the path found with the "npm get prefix" command earlier (which was for me C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\npm)
Then click "Ok"
Restart Bash
firebase --version //to check firebase version

Answer 8

Bruno's answer did the trick, I only needed to add a dot at npm-global in Ubuntu in .bashrc:
export PATH="/home/your-username/.npm-global/bin:$PATH" # Add npm bin PATH

Answer 9

Below command works for me on terminal
curl -sL firebase.tools | upgrade=true bash
This command install firebase tool for me

Answer 10

After installing:
$ npm install -g firebase-tools
$ firebase init
-bash: firebase: command not found
"If you are getting the above output then follow the below steps:"
For Windows Users:
type this cmd :
$ npm get prefix
C:\Users\Jeet\AppData\Roaming\npm [this is the location]
Now you have to set in enviorenment variable -> (windows+r) -> sysdm.cpl -> Advanced(tab) -> Environment Variables
-> under the System Variables -> click on path -> edit -> C:\Users\Jeet\AppData\Roaming\npm [paste] the above location -> apply - ok - ok.
Restart your bash terminal
Thanks!!!

Answer 11

For Mac OS Sierra:
$ sudo npm install -g firebase-tools
To stop other Node process use $ ps aux | grep node
If needed to upgrade or install emulator - $ npm install -g #google-cloud/functions-emulator
Ready to go $ firebase --version

Answer 12

For anyone using MacOS Catalina 10.15.2 getting the bash PATH variable fixed the issue for me.
Run:
npm get prefix
Then run:
export PATH=/Users/userid/.npm-global/bin:$PATH
Note: I recently upgraded from my old High Sierra MacBook Pro, and was confused as well.

Answer 13

For anyone using nvm the error could arise because you are on a different nvm version than you were on when you first installed firebase tools globally. That's what it was for me. When I restarted webstorm nvm switched to a different version.
Run nvm list to check the version you are on and run nvm use x.x.x to switch to the right version where you installed firebase tools originally.

Answer 14

This worked for me on Mac (same thing the others have been posting above, just for Mac):
go to your home folder in Finder (named after your user name, in my case "macbook")
press cmd+shift+dot (will reveal hidden files)
go the .npm-global/bin folder and copy its path (Finder menu -> View -> Show Path Bar, right click on the bin folder in the path bar -> "Copy 'bin' as Pathname")
open Terminal (by default the home folder) and go nano ~/.bash_profile
at the top of the file add export PATH="<cmd+v>:$PATH" (will look similar to this: export PATH="/Users/macbook/.npm-global/bin:$PATH")
save .bash_profile changes and restart Terminal, firebase command should work now

Answer 15

if you installing firebase-tools using
yarn global add firebase-tools
i got same error then i got answer and execute this
export PATH="$(yarn global bin):$PATH"
and then i can do firebase login pretty well

Answer 16

I am on Linux and installing the package with admin privileges resolved the problem:
sudo npm i -g firebase-tools

Answer 17

Simply reinstall node.js. This worked for me and fire command was recognized.

Answer 18

You forgot sudo type this
sudo npm install -g firebase-tools
problem solved.

Answer 19

I know most answers work for all generic 'command not found' errors. Basically by manually setting PATH variable but there's an easier way for this specific problem relating 'firebase command not found':
Try this cURL command and it will fix this issue for good and will minimise any user errors.
Install the Firebase CLI using the automatic install script
Run the following cURL command (Mac or Windows):
curl -sL https://firebase.tools | bash
Source: https://firebase.google.com/docs/cli#install-cli-windows, https://firebase.google.com/docs/cli#install-cli-mac-linux

Answer 20

This is for updated mac mac Os Catalina(10.15.1+) & on zsh.
Go to Terminal (vim .zprofile)
add this export PATH="/Users/Your Username/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"
Works for me!

Answer 21

Faced the same issue, am a newbie backend guy.
Used npm install firebase-tools
It doesn't install and you can't run.
I tried looking at the forums and here's what worked for me:
sudo npm install -g firebase-tools.
Then it asks for Permissions when you firebase login.
Am using Ubuntu.

Answer 22

After trying pretty much everything, only one worked for me (I'm on MacOs Catalina):
Try the following in your terminal:
curl -sL https://firebase.tools | bash
This will check the OS of your machine and then install everything else automatically and properly.
The command is from the official Firebase Documentation.
https://stackoverflow.com/a/60474459/1245341

Answer 23

After installing
$ npm install -g firebase-tools
Note the directory where it istalled What I did was locate the directory where firebase was installed. In my case C:\usr\local then I copied the three firebase files. I also went into the node_modules folder and copied the firebase tools folder. Then I went to my app directory in file manager and pasted the firebase files, then created a new node_modules folder and pasted the firebase-tools folder.
Now go to your cmd and run
$ firebase init
It should work

Answer 24

I tried a lot of things from here and from other forums, but what ended up working for me (and this is more of a work-around) was to download the binary and then open it and it set up all the firebase stuff for me.
However, I found that if I moved it after opening it once, it did not work. So first move it to wherever you want to leave it and then run the .exe.
This allowed me to skip configuring the PATH variable which was nice.
I'm on a Windows 10 Pro Education. Hope this helps someone who has a similar struggle.

Answer 25

Adding to Durul Dalkanat's answer,
Assuming you have executed npm install firebase-tools -g
Firstly get the output of the command of npm get prefix.
Open .bashrc file which is in the home directory and add alias <output of npm get prefix>/bin/firebase at the end of the file.
Run source .bashrc in the home directory.
Enjoy!
The alias of firebase will be the actual firebase path in the main system and this solution should work flawlessly.

Answer 26

if you're windows 8 user, one possible solution is to put the PATH in environment variables manualy...
On the Windows desktop, right-click My Computer.
In the pop-up menu, click Properties.
In the System Properties window, click the Advanced tab, and then click Environment Variables.
In the System Variables window, highlight Path, and click Edit.
In the Edit System Variables window, insert the cursor at the end of the Variable value field.
If the last character is not a semi-colon (;), add one.
After the final semi-colon, type the full path to the file you want to find.
For me it was: C:\Users\ 'username' \AppData\Roaming\npm
To get your path put this string in you command line:
$ npm get prefix
Click OK in each open window

Answer 27

I tried all the answers above, other SO answers, and GitHub answers but nothing worked. The only thing that worked for me was to save whatever was inside my index.js file temporarily somewhere else, delete the entire cloud functions folder, then reinstall and start everything from the very beginning.

Answer 28

After many hours trying everything the only thing what helped (on windows) was downloading and installing node again.

Answer 29

I found a solution.
npm i express firebase-tools

Answer 30

If you are admin on your PC, installing firebase and firebase-tools with -g flag should resolve the issue (the path will added to the global PATH variable) but if you are an admin, you may have to add that path yourself.
Seeking help from one of the top answer, issue this command will return the path where firebase is installed
npm config get prefix /bin/firebase
In my case the following is returned.
C:\Users\*user_name*\AppData\Roaming\npm
Copy that path (from first line) and visit this page on how to update path variable (Window + x then visit systems > Advance Settings). Here add a new entry in path and past that path there. Firebase command should work from command prompt every time without the use of alias required.