What is react-firebase-starter?

React Firebase Starter is a pre-built template for creating web applications that run on Google's cloud infrastructure. Instead of spending days wiring together the tools a modern web app needs, a developer can start from this template and have the basic structure already in place. The template combines several specific technologies: React for building the user interface, GraphQL for how the app requests data, Relay for managing that data on the client, and Firebase on Google Cloud for hosting, file storage, and running server-side functions. A PostgreSQL database handles the data storage. The stack is oriented toward what the project calls a serverless approach, meaning there is no traditional server that you manage yourself. Instead, the backend logic runs as Cloud Functions on Google's infrastructure, which scale automatically based on traffic. Authentication is handled through Passport.js using social login options, with sessions stored as tokens rather than in a database table. The UI uses Material UI, which is a component library that follows Google's visual design guidelines. The project folder structure is laid out clearly in the README: source code lives in src/, divided into sections for the server API, client-side pages, shared components, GraphQL mutations and queries, user account pages, and utility functions. Database migrations are managed through a separate migrations/ folder. Environment configuration is split across separate files for development, testing, and production. Getting started requires cloning the repository, filling in environment variables, and running two commands: one to install dependencies and set up the database, and another to start the development server with live reload. The README also covers how to deploy to Firebase, how to handle database schema changes, and notes about connecting to Cloud SQL from a local environment. This is a starting point rather than a finished product. It is aimed at developers who know JavaScript and React and want a foundation that already handles the common infrastructure decisions, rather than building from scratch or assembling the pieces themselves.