Firebase Studio alternatives: where to move before the March 2027 shutdown
Google is sunsetting Firebase Studio on 22 March 2027. New workspaces and sign-ups stopped on 22 June 2026, and anything left in a workspace after the shutdown is deleted. Google points users to Google AI Studio or Google Antigravity, and apps already deployed to Firebase keep running. The choice between Firebase Studio alternatives depends on how you worked in it.
What Google has announced
The banner on firebase.studio gives the sunset date, 22 March 2027, and tells users to move their code to Google AI Studio or Google Antigravity. The Firebase Studio documentation adds the detail: since 22 June 2026, creating new workspaces and signing up are disabled, but existing workspaces still work and can be migrated. Apps already deployed to Firebase keep running after the sunset, and Firestore, Authentication, App Hosting and the other Firebase products aren't affected.
Google's migration guide sets out the timeline: the sunset was announced on 19 March 2026, and on 22 March 2027 remaining workspace data is permanently deleted and can't be recovered. So the deadline that matters is for your workspace code, not your live app.
What to save, whichever route you take
- The workspace itself. Only the workspace's creator can use the Move now option. Collaborators need to duplicate the workspace or export the code manually and set up their own Firebase project.
- A zip or a GitHub copy. The guide offers Zip and Download, and a GitHub export, for moving to any platform. Make one even if you plan to use AI Studio, so you have a copy that doesn't depend on any tool.
- Environment variables and keys. List them, including any Gemini API key. If you publish from GitHub, the guide says to confirm
.envis excluded from the repository. - Agent history. The guide notes that agent chat history isn't included in the zip. Copy anything from it you'll want later, such as the prompts that produced the app.
- Your URL and domain. Note how the app is published today, because the routes below differ on whether it keeps its address.
The four routes, compared
| Route | Suits | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Google AI Studio | Working in the browser on any device, and apps made with the App Prototyping agent | Move now, then Move to Google AI Studio. Keep your URL by syncing to GitHub and connecting App Hosting, or publish to Cloud Run with a new run.app address |
| Google Antigravity | Code-first work in an IDE, imported repos, and choosing between models | Needs the Antigravity IDE, Node.js 20+ and Firebase CLI 15.10.0+; the export is optimised for Next.js, Flutter and Angular |
| Your own setup | Teams with an existing editor and hosting | Export a zip or to GitHub; firebase init apphosting linked to the existing backend keeps the URL |
| Anticode | Projects that were really a website, a landing page or a self-contained browser tool | Not a migration target: you describe the project again |
For most people with a real app (sign-in, Firestore, server code), one of Google's two routes is the shortest path, because the app stays on Firebase and the guide covers the steps. Choose AI Studio if you mostly prompted, and Antigravity if you mostly worked in the code view.
Where Anticode fits
Some Firebase Studio workspaces were never apps: a landing page for an idea, a portfolio, a site for a small business. For those, moving into another coding environment means keeping a JavaScript project alive for something that's really a set of pages. Anticode builds that kind of project from a description. The Architect asks up to three questions and shows a plan; the site is built as plain HTML and CSS, and its published pages carry no scripts. Forms save submissions and can email you, and a booking calendar takes appointments.
For small interactive tools (a calculator, a quiz, a game), Anticode writes the app as one HTML document that runs in a strict sandbox. If you later need accounts and a database, the Next.js export produces a standard project with Postgres through Prisma, email sign-in and an admin area, which you can push to GitHub and host yourself. You can also drive Anticode from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor through its MCP server.
What Anticode can't take over
- No Firebase. No Firestore, Firebase Authentication or App Hosting; Anticode doesn't run your server code.
- Sandboxed apps. Apps have no network access, no real accounts, no live data and no AI inside them; anything needing a server is simulated with labelled demo data. See the app sandbox.
- No import. It can't open a Firebase Studio zip or repository.
- One stack. Sites are HTML and CSS and the export is Next.js; there's no Flutter or Angular.
- English only. The builder and the sites it makes are in English.
If you can't move yet
There's no rush to rebuild a deployed app: Google says it keeps running after the sunset, and the Firebase products underneath it continue. What you can't do after 22 March 2027 is open the workspace. So export a zip now, store it somewhere you control, and plan the move to AI Studio or Antigravity before the date. For a wider view of Google's browser tool, see Anticode vs Google AI Studio.
Questions people ask
When is Firebase Studio shutting down?
On 22 March 2027, according to Google's notice. New workspaces and sign-ups were disabled on 22 June 2026, and remaining workspace data is deleted at the sunset.
Will my deployed app stop working?
No. Google's documentation says apps already deployed to Firebase keep running after the sunset, and products such as Firestore and Authentication aren't affected.
Should I move to Google AI Studio or Antigravity?
Google's guide suggests AI Studio for browser-based, prompt-driven work and apps from the App Prototyping agent, and Antigravity for code-first work in an IDE.
Is Anticode a Firebase Studio replacement?
Only for projects that were really websites or small self-contained tools. It doesn't host Firebase apps or import workspaces.
Sources
- Firebase Studio (sunset notice), checked
- Firebase Studio documentation, checked
- Firebase Studio: Migrate your project, checked