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Firebase (sdk) User not found error when attempting to authenticate.
Understanding Firebase Authentication
Firebase Authentication is a service that provides backend services, easy-to-use SDKs, and ready-made UI libraries to authenticate users to your app. It supports authentication using passwords, phone numbers, popular federated identity providers like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, and more.
Identifying the Symptom
When using Firebase Authentication, you might encounter the error code auth/user-not-found. This error typically occurs when attempting to sign in a user with an email and password or other identifiers, and Firebase cannot find a user record that matches the provided credentials.
Explaining the Issue
The auth/user-not-found error is triggered when the Firebase Authentication system cannot locate a user record that corresponds to the identifier provided during the sign-in attempt. This might happen if the user has not registered yet or if there is a typo in the email or identifier used.
Common Scenarios
- The user has not signed up yet.
- The email or identifier is incorrect due to a typo.
- The user account was deleted.
Steps to Resolve the Issue
Step 1: Verify User Input
Ensure that the email or identifier provided by the user is correct. Double-check for any typos or incorrect formatting. You can implement client-side validation to help users enter their information correctly.
Step 2: Check User Registration
Verify if the user has already signed up. You can do this by querying your Firebase Authentication database to see if a user record exists for the provided email or identifier. Use the Firebase Admin SDK to list users and check for the presence of the user:
const admin = require('firebase-admin');
admin.auth().getUserByEmail(email)
.then((userRecord) => {
console.log('User data:', userRecord.toJSON());
})
.catch((error) => {
console.log('Error fetching user data:', error);
});
Step 3: Prompt User to Sign Up
If the user does not exist, prompt them to sign up. You can redirect them to your sign-up page or display a message encouraging them to create an account.
Step 4: Handle Errors Gracefully
Implement error handling in your application to provide users with clear feedback. For example, display a message like "User not found. Please check your email or sign up."
Additional Resources
For more information on Firebase Authentication, visit the Firebase Authentication Documentation. To learn more about handling errors in Firebase, check out the Firebase Auth Error Codes page.
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