Emulator Suite

Overview

Stackpane can manage the full lifecycle of the Firebase Emulator Suite. Start and stop emulators, monitor service health, and configure launch settings — all without switching to a terminal.

Starting the Emulator

1. Select an emulator connection from the sidebar.
2. Click Start in the emulator panel.
3. Stackpane launches the emulator using your configured launch method.
4. Service health indicators turn green as each emulator service comes online.

Before starting, Stackpane checks port availability and reports any conflicts.

Stopping the Emulator

Click Stop to shut down all emulator services. Stackpane sends a graceful shutdown signal and waits for the process to terminate. Service indicators turn gray when the emulator is fully stopped.

Monitoring Status

The emulator panel shows real-time status for each service:

• Green — service is running and healthy
• Gray — service is stopped

Available services include Firestore, Auth, Storage, and Functions. The status updates automatically through periodic polling.

Launch Methods

Firebase CLI

The default launch method uses the Firebase CLI:

• Runs firebase emulators:start from your configured project directory
• Select which emulators to start (Firestore, Auth, Storage, Functions)
• Optionally specify a custom Firebase CLI path if it is not in your system PATH

Configuration:

• Project directory — the folder containing your firebase.json
• CLI path — path to the firebase binary (default: detected from PATH)
• Selected services — which emulator services to start

Docker Compose

For teams using Docker-based workflows:

• Runs docker compose with your configured service settings
• Configure the Docker service name, host ports, hub port, and UI port
• Ports are editable per-connection

Configuration:

• Service name — the Docker Compose service running the emulator
• Host ports — mapped ports for each emulator service
• Hub port — the emulator hub port for management APIs
• UI port — the emulator UI port (if enabled)

Launch Configuration Reference

The emulator panel includes a read-only summary of the current launch configuration, showing the method, project directory, CLI path, selected services, or Docker settings. This provides a quick reference without opening the connection editor.

Port Configuration

Each emulator service uses a specific port. Default ports are:

Service	Default Port
Firestore	8080
Auth	9099
Storage	9199
Functions	5001
Emulator Hub	4400
Emulator UI	4000

Customize ports in the connection editor. Stackpane checks for port conflicts before starting.

Tips

• Keep the emulator panel visible while developing to monitor service health
• Use the Firebase CLI method for simple setups and Docker Compose for reproducible team environments
• If the emulator fails to start, check that the Firebase CLI is installed and your firebase.json is valid