Sending automated emails from Firebase through Google Cloud Platform (no third parties)

40
votes

We've been doing some research for many hours already.

The first solution that appears everywhere (other StackExchange questions too) is using third-party service SendGrid.com and sometimes in conjunction with Zapier, but that's not the approach we are wanting to implement.

For sending without third-parties in the middle, the first solution that seemed viable was "Firebase Triggers", which was anounced on Google I/O 2014 but never came to life and seemingly was merged into Google Cloud Functions which is still in Alpha.

I'm pretty sure I had seen the solution almost a year ago in a link on the FireBase blog, but the only post that seems to have existed upon that matter is now empty.

We've never worked before with GCP, but our logic tells us this matter should be solved (inside Google) using with another GCP existing API, and the Mail API is apparently the correct one, but there seems not to be any way our Firebase Web App could make the request.

Could anyone (preferably with GCP experience) please explain what's the situation here, and how does Google expects it's FireBase developers to send emails to their clients?

1
emailgoogle-app-enginefirebasegoogle-cloud-platformgoogle-cloud-functions
For an up to date version of that blog post, see: cloud.google.com/solutions/mobile/… - Frank van Puffelen
Firebase has no built-in support for sending developer-specified email. In that sense it also has no expectation on how an app sends email to its users. One way to do so would be through app engine as shown in the blog post you mentioned. But there are many more ways to accomplish the same. - Frank van Puffelen
Thanks @FrankvanPuffelen, we are developing a WebApp, so... we would appreciate such a link for a WebApp approach if it exists... - DavidTaubmann
@davidtaubmann Actually you can follow the tutorial shared by FrankvanPuffelen by starting at "Adding backend logic using App Engine". You create a project in Android Studio but you just work in the AppEngine module part, i.e. you leave "untouched" the Android app module. - Renaud Tarnec
@frank-van-puffelen and 3371862, as I understand the link mentioned, the procedure makes an inquiry to app engine from the app itself, not from firebase, which means that in Web Apps environment, the inquiry for the email would be made by the client-browser directly to app engine... Wouldn't that be a huge security risk? And if not... Please explain why not... - DavidTaubmann

1 Answers

28
votes

Firebase Functions

As gracefully stated by @ajostergaard, TODAY Google has announced its much waited Google Cloud Functions, but precisely for Firebase they've implemented their own specific Firebase Functions which substitutes the Triggers shown in conferences since Nov. 2014 (more than 2 years ago!) and mentioned in Firebase groups .

This is an example link that explains exactly how to do what is asked in this question: