Database rules validation error with 14.12.1

[hvisser]

[REQUIRED] Environment info

firebase-tools:
14.12.1

Platform:
mac, linux

[REQUIRED] Test case

Run firebase deploy --only database there's a difference between 14.11.1 behavior and 14.12.1

[REQUIRED] Steps to reproduce

Run firebase deploy --only database on a project containing a database.rules.json file that deploys with 14.11.1

[REQUIRED] Expected behavior

Rules are deployed

[REQUIRED] Actual behavior

Error: Syntax error in database rules:

1:2: Expected 'rules' property.

Debug output:

i  deploying database 
i  database: checking rules syntax... 
[2025-08-20T08:11:18.714Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:11:18.714Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:11:18.714Z] >>> [apiv2][query] GET https://firebasedatabase.googleapis.com/v1beta/projects/myproject/locations/-/instances/myproject-default-rtdb [none]
[2025-08-20T08:11:19.459Z] <<< [apiv2][status] GET https://firebasedatabase.googleapis.com/v1beta/projects/myproject/locations/-/instances/myproject-default-rtdb 200
[2025-08-20T08:11:19.460Z] <<< [apiv2][body] GET https://firebasedatabase.googleapis.com/v1beta/projects/myproject/locations/-/instances/myproject-default-rtdb {"name":"projects/436903830445/locations/europe-west1/instances/myproject-default-rtdb","project":"projects/436903830445","databaseUrl":"https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app","type":"DEFAULT_DATABASE","state":"ACTIVE"}
[2025-08-20T08:11:19.461Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:11:19.461Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:11:19.462Z] >>> [apiv2][query] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json 
[2025-08-20T08:11:19.462Z] >>> [apiv2][body] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json {"dryRun":true}
[2025-08-20T08:11:19.563Z] <<< [apiv2][status] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json 400
[2025-08-20T08:11:19.563Z] <<< [apiv2][body] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json {"error":"1:2: Expected 'rules' property.\n"}

Error: Syntax error in database rules:

1:2: Expected 'rules' property.

Same output with 14.11.1

i  deploying database 
i  database: checking rules syntax... 
[2025-08-20T08:13:36.563Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:13:36.563Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:13:36.563Z] >>> [apiv2][query] GET https://firebasedatabase.googleapis.com/v1beta/projects/myproject/locations/-/instances/myproject-default-rtdb [none]
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.364Z] <<< [apiv2][status] GET https://firebasedatabase.googleapis.com/v1beta/projects/myproject/locations/-/instances/myproject-default-rtdb 200
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.364Z] <<< [apiv2][body] GET https://firebasedatabase.googleapis.com/v1beta/projects/myproject/locations/-/instances/myproject-default-rtdb {"name":"projects/436903830445/locations/europe-west1/instances/myproject-default-rtdb","project":"projects/436903830445","databaseUrl":"https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app","type":"DEFAULT_DATABASE","state":"ACTIVE"}
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.365Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.365Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.366Z] >>> [apiv2][query] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json dryRun=true
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.366Z] >>> [apiv2][body] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json "{\n  \"rules\": {\n    \".write\": \"false\",\n    \"contacts\": {\n      \"$uid\": {\n        \".read\": \"$uid === auth.uid\"\n      }\n    },\n    \"calls\": {\n      \"$uid\": {\n        \".read\": \"$uid === auth.uid\"\n      }\n    },\n    \"location-age\": {\n      \".read\": false,\n      \".indexOn\": \".value\"\n    },\n    \"rooms\": {\n      \".read\": \"auth.token.mb == true\"\n    }\n  }\n}\n"
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.455Z] <<< [apiv2][status] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json 200
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.456Z] <<< [apiv2][body] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json {"status":"ok"}
✔  database: rules syntax for database myproject-default-rtdb is valid 
i  database: releasing rules... 
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.457Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.457Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.458Z] >>> [apiv2][query] GET https://firebasedatabase.googleapis.com/v1beta/projects/myproject/locations/-/instances/myproject-default-rtdb [none]
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.665Z] <<< [apiv2][status] GET https://firebasedatabase.googleapis.com/v1beta/projects/myproject/locations/-/instances/myproject-default-rtdb 200
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.665Z] <<< [apiv2][body] GET https://firebasedatabase.googleapis.com/v1beta/projects/myproject/locations/-/instances/myproject-default-rtdb {"name":"projects/436903830445/locations/europe-west1/instances/myproject-default-rtdb","project":"projects/436903830445","databaseUrl":"https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app","type":"DEFAULT_DATABASE","state":"ACTIVE"}
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.666Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.666Z] Checked if tokens are valid: true, expires at: 1755680122275
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.666Z] >>> [apiv2][query] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json 
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.666Z] >>> [apiv2][body] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json "{\n  \"rules\": {\n    \".write\": \"false\",\n    \"contacts\": {\n      \"$uid\": {\n        \".read\": \"$uid === auth.uid\"\n      }\n    },\n    \"calls\": {\n      \"$uid\": {\n        \".read\": \"$uid === auth.uid\"\n      }\n    },\n    \"location-age\": {\n      \".read\": false,\n      \".indexOn\": \".value\"\n    },\n    \"rooms\": {\n      \".read\": \"auth.token.mb == true\"\n    }\n  }\n}\n"
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.974Z] <<< [apiv2][status] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json 200
[2025-08-20T08:13:37.974Z] <<< [apiv2][body] PUT https://myproject-default-rtdb.europe-west1.firebasedatabase.app/.settings/rules.json {"status":"ok"}
✔  database: rules for database myproject-default-rtdb released successfully 

✔  Deploy complete! 

It appears that 14.12.1 is not posting any rules.

[willemjanvankranenburg]

We have the same issue.. Downgrading to 14.11 works

[aalej]

Hey @hvisser, thanks for reporting this. It looks like this is a duplicate of #8985. A fix has been merged to address this issue #8986. This should be available in the next release.

For now, to workaround the issue, please downgrade to 14.12.0 until the fix is released.

[willemjanvankranenburg]

@aalej any idea when this fix will be released? I see the PR was merged 2 days ago, it seems to me that a breaking fix like this should be released asap.

[aalej]

I'll check with our engineering team to see when we can schedule the release.

[aalej]

Quick Update: we should be able to run a release later today. In the meantime, please use 14.12.0 to workaround the issue. Apologies for the inconvenience.