Firebase ".firebaserc" project alias not found in CI

You passed an alias like --project staging, but .firebaserc on the runner has no such alias. Aliases are defined in .firebaserc; if that file is missing or the alias is not in it, the CLI cannot resolve the project.

What this error means

A command fails with "Error: Unable to use alias staging, run firebase use --add" or "unknown project alias".

Error: Unable to use alias staging, run firebase use --add to set up a new project alias.

Common causes

The alias is not defined in .firebaserc

The projects map in .firebaserc has no entry for the alias you passed to --project.

.firebaserc is not present on the runner

If .firebaserc is gitignored or not checked out, no aliases exist in CI.

How to fix it

Commit the alias mapping

1. Add the alias to .firebaserc mapping it to a real project id.
2. Commit .firebaserc so CI has it.
3. Deploy with --project <alias> or the real project id.

{
  "projects": { "default": "my-project", "staging": "my-project-staging" }
}

Pass the real project id instead of an alias

Bypass aliases entirely by passing the concrete project id in CI.

firebase deploy --project my-project-staging

How to prevent it

• Commit .firebaserc so aliases exist in CI.
• Prefer explicit project ids over aliases in automated deploys.
• Keep alias names consistent across environments.

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