Obtaining FCM Credentials

Overview

To send push notifications to Android devices and web browsers, you need Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) credentials. This guide walks you through creating a Firebase project and obtaining the service account credentials required by the Twilio Communications API.

Prerequisites

• A Google account
• Access to the Firebase Console

Create a Firebase project

1. Navigate to the Firebase Console.

2. Create a new Google Cloud project or select an existing one. See the Firebase setup guide for detailed instructions.

3. Register a new Firebase application. Check the app registration guide for detailed instruction.

Generate service account credentials

1. Select your app, then click the gear icon to open Settings.

2. Navigate to the Service Accounts tab and ensure Firebase Admin SDK is selected.

3. Click Generate new private key. This downloads a JSON file containing your credentials.

Encode the credentials

The credentials must be base64 encoded before uploading to Twilio. Open a terminal in the directory you saved the file to and run:

$
cat your_filename.json | base64 -b 0

Upload credentials to Twilio

Use the base64-encoded string as the privateKey value when creating your FCM credential:

$
curl -X POST 'https://comms.twilio.com/preview/PushNotifications/Credentials' \
>
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
>
--data '{
>
    "credentialType": "FCM",
>
    "content": {
>
        "privateKey": "your_base64_encoded_key"
>
    },
>
    "appName": "your_app_name"
>
}' \
>
-u $TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID:$TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN

Next steps

• Learn how to send a push notification.
• Set up APN credentials to send notifications to Apple devices.