Common Issues & Solutions

Quick Help

Quick solutions to the most frequently encountered problems and issues in Firebase Schema Viewer.

Quick Diagnosis Guide

Before diving into specific solutions, try these quick diagnostic steps:

1. Refresh the page and try again

2. Check your internet connection

3. Verify you're logged in

4. Check subscription status in settings

5. Try a different browser or incognito mode

6. Clear browser cache if necessary

Project Connection Issues

"Failed to connect to Firebase project"

Possible Causes:

• Invalid service account credentials

• Incorrect project ID

• Admin SDK service account lacks necessary permissions

• Network connectivity issues

Solutions:

1. Double-check your service account JSON file

2. Verify the project ID matches exactly

3. Ensure Admin SDK service account has full administrative privileges

4. Try re-downloading credentials from Firebase Console

Detailed Connection Guide →
"Permission denied accessing Firestore"

Cause:

Admin SDK service account doesn't have sufficient Firestore permissions.

Solution:

1. Go to Firebase Console → Project Settings → Service Accounts

2. Ensure your service account has these roles:

  • Firebase Admin SDK Service Agent
  • Cloud Datastore User (minimum)

3. Generate a new private key if permissions were recently updated

Schema Analysis Issues

"Schema analysis is very slow"

Causes:

• Large sample size (>200 documents)

• Deep nested object structures

• Analyzing too many collections simultaneously

• Large individual document sizes

Solutions:

1. Reduce sample size to 50-100 documents

2. Analyze fewer collections at once (3-5 max)

3. Use the URL parameter: ?sampleSize=50

4. Consider using shallow analysis depth

"Missing fields in schema output"

Cause:

Fields only appear in documents beyond the sample size.

Solutions:

1. Increase sample size: ?sampleSize=300

2. Check if missing fields are in newer documents

3. Verify field names are spelled correctly

4. Consider if fields are conditionally added by your app

"Empty collections show no schema"

Explanation:

This is expected behavior - schema analysis requires sample documents.

What to do:

• Add some test documents to the collection

• Come back after your app creates real documents

• Empty collections cannot be analyzed for structure

Data Browsing Issues

"The query requires an index"

Cause:

Firestore needs a composite index for sorting operations.

Solution:

1. Click the provided link in the error message

2. This automatically creates the required index

3. Wait 2-5 minutes for index creation to complete

4. Retry your query

Example index creation link
https://console.firebase.google.com/project/your-project/firestore/indexes?create_composite=
Cl...
"Search returns no results"

Possible Causes:

• Search term doesn't exist in selected field

• Wrong field selected for search

• Field contains non-text data

Solutions:

1. Try different search fields

2. Check spelling of search term

3. Try browsing without search first

4. Use shorter, more general search terms

"Pages load very slowly"

Causes:

• Large page size (100 records)

• Large individual documents

• Complex nested objects

• Network latency

Solutions:

1. Reduce page size to 25 or 50 records

2. Use "Load More" instead of large pages

3. Sort by indexed fields

4. Use search to filter results

AI Features Issues

"AI Relationship Discovery not available"

Cause:

OpenAI API is not configured or subscription doesn't include AI features.

Solutions:

1. Check your subscription status in settings

2. Ensure you have an active Pro subscription

3. Contact support if AI features should be available

"AI analysis times out"

Causes:

• Too many collections selected (>10)

• High sample size with deep analysis

• OpenAI API rate limiting

Solutions:

1. Reduce number of collections to 3-5

2. Use "Medium" or "Shallow" analysis depth

3. Reduce sample size to 10-20 documents

4. Wait a few minutes and try again

"No relationships discovered"

Possible Reasons:

• Collections are truly unrelated

• Naming conventions don't follow patterns

• Insufficient sample data

• Collections use complex relationship structures

Try:

1. Increase sample size to 20-30 documents

2. Use "Deep" analysis for more thorough examination

3. Select collections you know are related

4. Check that collections have clear foreign key fields

Performance Optimization

General Performance Tips
Schema Analysis:

• Start with sample size of 50-100

• Analyze 3-5 collections at a time

• Use shallow depth for initial exploration

• Increase settings only when needed

Data Browsing:

• Use page size of 25-50 records

• Sort by indexed fields when possible

• Use search to narrow results

• Avoid very large page sizes on mobile

Account & Subscription Issues

"Trial has expired" or "Subscription required"

What this means:

Your 7-day free trial has ended and a subscription is required to continue.

Solutions:

1. Go to Settings to check subscription status

2. Click "Manage Subscription" to add payment method

3. Choose the Pro plan ($5/month)

4. Contact support if you believe this is an error

Go to Settings →
"Payment failed" or "Update payment method"

Cause:

Your payment method declined or expired.

Solutions:

1. Go to Settings → Manage Subscription

2. Update your payment method in Stripe portal

3. Retry the failed payment

4. Contact your bank if card continues to decline

When to Get Additional Help