---
title: Pipelines
description: Firestore pipeline queries in React Native Firebase - overview, requirements, and getting started.
next: /firestore/pipelines/sdk-compatibility
previous: /firestore/pagination
---

Firestore **pipeline queries** let you run multi-stage read operations (filter, project, aggregate, vector search, and more) against Cloud Firestore using a fluent, composable API. React Native Firebase exposes the same modular pipeline surface as the [firebase-js-sdk](https://firebase.google.com/docs/reference/js/firestore_pipelines) so you can reuse patterns from web documentation and samples.

Pipeline support in React Native Firebase is marked **@beta** in TypeScript. APIs may evolve as Firebase ships new pipeline features.

<YouTube id="sYY1NweSlEc" />

# What are pipeline queries?

Traditional Firestore queries are collection-scoped and limited to a single query shape. **Pipelines** chain **stages** (for example `where`, `select`, `aggregate`, `findNearest`) on a **source** (collection, collection group, documents list, or an existing query). Each stage transforms the result of the previous stage.

Google's upstream resources:

- [Get started with pipeline queries](https://firebase.google.com/docs/firestore/pipelines/get-started-with-pipelines)
- [firebase-js-sdk pipeline reference](https://firebase.google.com/docs/reference/js/firestore_pipelines)
- [Introducing pipeline operations (Firebase blog, Jan 2026)](https://firebase.blog/posts/2026/01/firestore-enterprise-pipeline-operations/)

For a full list of which firebase-js-sdk exports are available in React Native Firebase today, see [SDK compatibility](/firestore/pipelines/sdk-compatibility).

# Requirements

## Firestore Enterprise edition

Pipeline `execute()` requires a **Firestore Enterprise** database. Standard edition databases reject pipeline execution. Create an Enterprise database in the Firebase console or with the Firebase CLI before testing pipelines in your project.

## Cloud execution (not the local emulator)

The Firestore emulator used for most React Native Firebase e2e tests runs in **Standard** edition mode and does **not** faithfully execute pipeline queries. Plan to develop and test pipelines against a **live Enterprise database** in your Firebase project.

The emulator may gain additional Enterprise pipeline support over time, but React Native Firebase pipeline integration tests today run against a dedicated cloud database (`pipelines-e2e` on the public testing project), not the local emulator.

# Installation

Pipelines ship inside `@react-native-firebase/firestore`. Install the app and Firestore modules as described in [Cloud Firestore usage](/firestore/usage):

```bash
yarn add @react-native-firebase/app @react-native-firebase/firestore
cd ios && pod install
```

Expression helpers and types are imported from the pipelines entry point:

```js
import { getFirestore } from '@react-native-firebase/firestore';
import { field, constant, execute } from '@react-native-firebase/firestore/pipelines';
```

You can also call `getFirestore().pipeline()` on any Firestore instance to start building a pipeline from a source stage.

# Basic example

This example reads documents from a collection, keeps rows where `score` is at least 10, projects two fields, and sorts by score descending. Adjust the database id and collection path for your Enterprise database.

```js
import { getFirestore } from '@react-native-firebase/firestore';
import { field, execute } from '@react-native-firebase/firestore/pipelines';

const db = getFirestore(); // use a named Enterprise database id if needed

const pipeline = db
  .pipeline()
  .collection('books')
  .where(field('score').greaterThanOrEqual(10))
  .select(field('title'), field('score'))
  .sort({ ordering: [{ fieldPath: 'score', direction: 'desc' }] });

const snapshot = await execute(pipeline);
snapshot.results.forEach(row => {
  console.log(row.data());
});
```

`execute()` returns a `PipelineSnapshot` with a `results` array of pipeline rows. Iterate `snapshot.results` or access individual entries by index.

# Supported stages and sources

React Native Firebase supports these **source** types:

| Source            | Description                                                      |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `collection`      | Documents in a collection path                                   |
| `collectionGroup` | Documents across a collection id                                 |
| `database`        | Database-scoped pipeline source                                  |
| `documents`       | Explicit document paths                                          |
| `query`           | Pipeline created from an existing Firestore query (`createFrom`) |

These **stage** types are available on the pipeline builder:

| Stage                        | Purpose                                          |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| `where`                      | Filter rows                                      |
| `select`                     | Project fields                                   |
| `addFields` / `removeFields` | Add or drop computed fields                      |
| `sort`                       | Order results                                    |
| `limit` / `offset`           | Paginate                                         |
| `aggregate`                  | Group and reduce                                 |
| `distinct`                   | Deduplicate                                      |
| `findNearest`                | Vector similarity search (requires vector index) |
| `replaceWith`                | Replace row shape                                |
| `sample`                     | Random sample                                    |
| `union`                      | Combine pipelines                                |
| `unnest`                     | Expand array fields into rows                    |

## Vector search with `findNearest`

The `findNearest` stage runs vector similarity search over an indexed embedding field. Use the same **lowercase** `distanceMeasure` values as the [firebase-js-sdk pipeline reference](https://firebase.google.com/docs/reference/js/firestore_pipelines): `'euclidean'`, `'cosine'`, or `'dot_product'`.

Create a [vector index](https://firebase.google.com/docs/firestore/pipelines/get-started-with-pipelines) on your Enterprise database before running this query.

```js
import { getFirestore } from '@react-native-firebase/firestore';
import { execute } from '@react-native-firebase/firestore/pipelines';

const db = getFirestore(); // Enterprise database with a vector index on `embedding`

const queryVector = [1.0, 0.0, 0.0];

const snapshot = await execute(
  db
    .pipeline()
    .collection('products')
    .findNearest({
      field: 'embedding',
      vectorValue: queryVector,
      distanceMeasure: 'euclidean',
      limit: 5,
    })
    .select('name'),
);

snapshot.results.forEach(row => {
  console.log(row.data().name);
});
```

Newer firebase-js-sdk stage helpers such as `subcollection` and `parent` are not yet exposed — see [SDK compatibility](/firestore/pipelines/sdk-compatibility).

# Platform notes

| Platform    | Runtime                       | Notes                                                                        |
| ----------- | ----------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Android** | Native Firebase Android SDK   | Full native pipeline execution                                               |
| **iOS**     | Native Firebase iOS SDK       | Some expression helpers are not yet supported on iOS; see compatibility page |
| **macOS**   | firebase-js-sdk (web interop) | Same API shape as web; requires network access to Firestore                  |

On **iOS**, pipelines that use unsupported expression functions fail before execution with a clear error listing the function names. The compatibility page lists the current set.

On **macOS**, pipeline execution goes through the web Firebase SDK bundled for React Native macOS targets. Behavior should match web pipeline queries for the same database and rules.

# TypeScript

Pipeline types and expression helpers are exported from `@react-native-firebase/firestore/pipelines`. The `firestore.pipeline()` method is augmented on `Firestore` when you import the firestore module.

Run `yarn compare:types` in the React Native Firebase repository to see tracked differences between our public types and the firebase-js-sdk pipelines declarations.

# Next steps

- Review [SDK compatibility](/firestore/pipelines/sdk-compatibility) before porting firebase-js-sdk pipeline samples.
- Read Firebase's [get started guide](https://firebase.google.com/docs/firestore/pipelines/get-started-with-pipelines) for index setup, vector search, and security rules considerations.
- For classic collection queries, continue with [Cloud Firestore usage](/firestore/usage).