AI & TechnologyFirebase Studio Shutting Down: How to Migrate by March 2027

Firebase Studio shuts down on March 22, 2027, and Firebase says any data still in it after that date is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. New workspaces and signups were already disabled on June 22, 2026. Firebase names two places to move your project, Google Antigravity and Google AI Studio, and also documents a zip or GitHub export for other platforms.

The facts below come from two Firebase documentation pages, as shown in the sources. I checked each one on October 18, 2026. Google can change a date, so open the linked page before you plan around it.

Disclosure: App369 is my studio. I build and fix Flutter and Firebase apps, and the last section mentions what I sell. Google doesn't pay me for anything on this page.

The dated timeline

Between those dates, Firebase says existing workspaces remain accessible and that it keeps providing critical security patches and Gemini model updates. The Studio overview page says: "You can continue to work in and migrate your existing workspaces to Google AI Studio or Google Antigravity."

What happens to your workspace, code and data

Firebase's page is direct about this. Projects you want to keep must be migrated before March 22, 2027. After that date, remaining data is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. I read that as: if the only copy of your code is in a Studio workspace, treat the date as a hard deadline.

Firebase also says what does not change:

• Cloud Firestore, Authentication and App Hosting keep working. The sunset applies only to the Firebase Studio development environment.
• The overview page says apps already deployed to Firebase keep running after the sunset date.

So the deadline is about your editing environment and the files inside it, not your live backend.

One more fact from the overview page. Firebase Studio is a preview, with no SLA, and it combines Project IDX with AI agents and Gemini assistance. Firebase says Project IDX is now part of Firebase Studio.

Which path Firebase recommends

Firebase says its development focus now goes to two tools. Antigravity is for code-first, agentic development. AI Studio is for browser-based prototyping, with Cloud Firestore and Firebase Authentication integrated into it.

You aren't locked in. Firebase says you can start in AI Studio and move to Antigravity later, using the Code tab, then Export, then Export to Antigravity.

My advice: if your project is a real codebase that you plan to keep editing, Firebase's own criteria point to Antigravity. If it began as a prompt-built prototype, they point to AI Studio.

Before you start

1. Check who created the workspace. Only the creator can use the Move now button. For a shared workspace, others can duplicate it or export the code manually. Its backend config still points to the owner's Firebase project and keys, so create your own project and update the environment variables.
2. Save your chat history. It is not in the zip. Firebase says prompts and responses for the App Prototyping agent and Gemini are in /home/user/.idx/ai. To keep them, open the folder with File > Open Folder, right-click .idx/ai, choose Zip and Download, and cancel the environment rebuild prompt. For Prototyper sessions, check git log or Source Control history.
3. Trim what you export. If an export stalls or times out, Firebase says to delete node_modules, large media, database exports and build folders, and to avoid zipping a large .git history or logs.
4. Allow pop-ups. If the download does nothing, Firebase says to allow pop-ups in your browser or run Zip and Download manually.

Move to Google AI Studio

Firebase's steps for the transfer:

1. Click Move now at the top of your workspace, then select Prepare for AI Studio.
2. When preparation finishes, click Move to Google AI Studio.
3. If asked, review and accept the Terms of Service. Your code opens in a new AI Studio workspace.

Firebase says conversion can take several minutes and that AI Studio notifies you when it is done.

Then you choose how to publish.

Option A: keep your existing URL

This uses App Hosting and GitHub sync. Firebase Studio stored your Gemini API key from the workspace .env file as an App Hosting environment variable. After migrating, you must set the environment variable manually in the Firebase console, because the .env file shouldn't be stored in GitHub to avoid API key exposure. Firebase notes the key stays accessible to anyone with access to the Firebase project, and suggests Secret Manager for finer control.

1. In the Firebase console, open App Hosting and click View on your backend, usually named studio. Go to Settings > Environment, click Add new, and enter your .env contents in the Key field.
2. In AI Studio, open Settings, then the GitHub panel. Sign in to GitHub and install the Google AI Studio GitHub App. Click Create GitHub repository, confirm .env is not in the file list, and select Stage and commit all changes.
3. In the App Hosting backend's Settings > Deployment, select Connect to GitHub. Install the Firebase App Hosting GitHub App, select your repository, set the branch to main and the root directory to /, then click Save and deploy.

For later updates, you stage and commit in the AI Studio GitHub panel and watch the deployment in the Firebase console.

Option B: one-click publish to Cloud Run

This gives you a new URL. In AI Studio, click Publish, click Import project in the project selector, choose the project name shown in the top bar of your Studio workspace, click Import, then Publish.

Firebase warns about custom domains here. You must map the domain to the new Cloud Run service, mapping can take up to 24 hours, and it may cause downtime. Firebase offers staying on App Hosting through AI Studio's GitHub sync (Option A) as the way to avoid migrating domains.

My advice: if you have a custom domain or real users, pick Option A. It keeps your URL, so you don't have to remap the domain.

Move to Google Antigravity

Firebase lists three prerequisites: the Antigravity IDE (choose the IDE, not the other download options), Node.js 20 or higher, and Firebase CLI 15.10.0 or higher.

Step 1: export and initialize. Firebase gives an automated way and a manual one.

• Automated: click Move now, then Zip and Download if it is shown. If not, run Firebase Studio: Zip & Download from the command palette. Extract the folder and open it in the Antigravity IDE. In the Agent pane, enter @fbs-to-agy-export. Firebase recommends the Gemini Flash model for this task. Follow the agent's prompts, and if errors occur, ask it to try again.
• Manual, with no AI tokens: run npx firebase-tools@latest studio:export PATH, where PATH is your project folder or zip file, or . if you are already in it. Firebase says this command is optimized for Next.js, Flutter and Angular, and that other workspace types may not be fully updated.

Step 2: preview. Open Run and Debug in the left sidebar, click the play button to start the local dev server, and follow the terminal instructions.

Step 3: publish. In the agent chat, enter Publish my app. When prompted to run firebase deploy, choose Yes. Firebase says that if you have published before, the app keeps its existing URL. Otherwise the agent walks you through App Hosting setup.

If the Antigravity terminal can't find npx or the Firebase CLI, Firebase says to add a block to ~/.bash_profile that sources ~/.bashrc if it exists, then restart Antigravity.

Move to another platform: zip or GitHub

Firebase documents a third route that doesn't use either tool.

1. Click Move now, then Zip and Download, and extract the archive. Firebase says you can also export to GitHub.
2. Pick how to publish:
   • Firebase CLI, which keeps your URL. Install with npm install -g firebase-tools, run firebase init apphosting, choose Link to an existing backend, select studio, then run firebase deploy.
   • External hosting. It works with any provider, but you get a new URL.
   • Local only. Use the Firebase Local Emulator Suite for offline testing.

My advice: even if you plan to use AI Studio or Antigravity, download the zip first. It is a copy of your code that lives outside Google's workspace.

What the App Prototyping agent and Gemini become

Firebase's migration page has no dedicated guidance on either. What it does say is narrow. Apps built with the App Prototyping agent fit the AI Studio path, where you get prompt-based generation. Gemini model updates continue in Studio until the shutdown, and Firebase recommends the Gemini Flash model for the automated Antigravity step. The Gemini API key in your workspace .env is the thing you have to move yourself.

A short checklist

1. Find out who created each workspace you care about.
2. Download a zip now and store it somewhere you control.
3. Zip the .idx/ai folder if you want your chat history.
4. Choose AI Studio, Antigravity or another platform using Firebase's criteria above.
5. Move your Gemini API key out of .env and into App Hosting settings or Secret Manager.
6. Test sign-in. Firebase says that if Google Sign-In breaks after migration, you add the AI Studio app's domain under Authentication > Settings > Authorized domains.
7. Finish well before March 22, 2027.

For the other Firebase retirements that fall in 2027, see my Firebase deprecations table. If your app came from Builder.ai, which shut down in 2025, the Builder.ai guide covers what to do with it.

For every other dated Apple, Google Play and Firebase requirement in 2026 and 2027, see App Store and Google Play deadlines for 2026 and 2027.

Need a hand?

If your app lives in a Firebase Studio workspace and you want it moved out safely before the shutdown, the App Fix Ticket covers it in two fixed-price steps. A $450 Diagnosis gives you the root cause with evidence and a fixed repair quote within 3 business days, credited toward the fix. If you go ahead, the $1,200 Fix takes 5 business days and comes as a pull request. Or send me a short description.