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Video Guide

If you would like to follow a video demonstration, the Youtuber, HowToMen, has made a fantastic video detailing the installation process. It is slightly outdated, so if you have any issues with your install join our Discord and we can offer personalized help!

References

BlueBubbles Server Docs
BlueBubbles Android / Desktop / Web Docs
Private API setup instructions (for sending reactions / replies / effects, viewing typing indicators, etc)

Server Installation

Step 1/16

1.) On the device you wish to use as your server, go to our server GitHub downloads page.

Click the "BlueBubbles-x.x.x.dmg" file to download it.

2.) Open the .dmg file and drag the BlueBubbles icon into the applications folder icon.

Right click on the popup window and click "Eject".

Lastly, run BlueBubbles.

3.) Click "Next" on the server app to proceed to the Permissions tab.

Follow the instructions given to give BlueBubbles full disk access.

Accessibility access is not required but might be needed for certain functions.

4.) Navigate to Google Firebase Console and login with your Google account.

5.) Create a new project titled "BlueBubblesApp".

6.) Click on Realtime Database > Create Database > Next > Enable

7.) Click on Project settings > Service accounts > Create Service Account > Generate a new private key, and save the file locally.

8.) Click on Cloud Messaging > 3 dot menu underneath "Cloud Messaging Legacy API" > Manage API in Cloud Console > Enable.

Once enabled, go back to the Project Settings menu

Note: If your Cloud Messaging Legacy API is already enabled, simply skip this step!

9.) Drag the private key we just downloaded into the firebase-adminsdk drop zone on the BlueBubbles application.

10.) From the Settings page click on the General tab, then click on the Android icon towards the bottom of the page.

11.) For package name enter com.<your name>.bluebubbles then click Register App and download the google-services.json file locally.

12.) Drag the google-services.json file into the google-services.json drop zone on the BlueBubbles application.

13.) Enter a strong password for your server. If you plan on port forwarding, you can change the proxy service dropdown to Dynamic DNS.

NOTE: If you plan on using Ngrok, please register for a free account on their website.

Once you have registered, go to "Your Authtoken".

Paste this string into the auth token field. This helps prevent connection issues.

14.) If you'd like to setup the Private API Features, then follow the instructions here, otherwise skip this step and finish the setup tutorial.

This step is completely optional and can be revisited at any time from the server settings tab.

15.) Download any of our client applications, and scan the QR code or enter the URL and password to start syncing!

16.) Yay! You're connected!

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