What is ShoreBird in flutter and how does it differs from Firebase Remote Config?

Question

I have been using Firebase Remote Config to dynamically update some features in my Flutter apps. I used it, for instance to change my app's theme depending on the user's region. Then I discovered ShoreBird which is a CodePush solution for flutter apps. I have read few blogs about it, but I still don't get a real sense of these concepts...

Answer 1

Both Firebase Remote Config and Shorebird Code Push allow you to modify an app's behavior after the app has been installed on the user's device. The difference is in how you modify this behavior, and it's hinted at in each product's name.

---

With Firebase Remote Config you pre-define certain configuration variables in your code, whose value you can then control from the server after the app has been installed on the user's device. You can send one specific updated value to all users, or you can target specific values to specific dynamic groups of users.

Shorebird's Code Push on the other hand allows you to change the actual code that runs on the user's device after the app has been installed. You can change anything about the app that you're willing to write the code for, and then push that updated code to all your user's devices with a single command.

---

So while both can be used to change the behavior of the app after it's been installed, the way you go about it is quite different. In the code of Code push you update the code in your regular development environment, and then push that updated code to the devices of your user. In the case of Remote Config you've pre-defined the variables that control the behavior, and you then change the behavior through the Firebase console or the REST API.