TTN Firebase Webhook

A Node.js webhook server that receives data from The Things Network (TTN) and stores it in Firebase Firestore.

Features

• Receives TTN webhook POST requests
• Extracts device data (battery, distance, tilt)
• Stores data in Firebase Firestore
• Supports both local development and production deployment

Local Development

1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Place your serviceAccountKey.json file in the root directory
4. Start the server:

   node index.js

5. Test the webhook:

   node test-webhook.js

Deployment on Render

Environment Variables

Set the following environment variables in your Render service:

Variable	Description	Example
NODE_ENV	Environment type	production
FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID	Firebase project ID	thethingsnetwork-16c4b
FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY_ID	Private key ID from service account	6e97262b94f...
FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY	Private key from service account	-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\n...
FIREBASE_CLIENT_EMAIL	Client email from service account	firebase-adminsdk-...@...iam.gserviceaccount.com
FIREBASE_CLIENT_ID	Client ID from service account	11234567890...
FIREBASE_CLIENT_CERT_URL	Client certificate URL	https://www.googleapis.com/robot/v1/metadata/x509/...
FIREBASE_DATABASE_URL	Firebase Realtime Database URL	https://your-project-default-rtdb.firebaseio.com/

Deployment Steps

1. Push your code to GitHub
2. Create a new Web Service on Render
3. Connect your GitHub repository
4. Set the build command: npm install
5. Set the start command: node index.js
6. Add all the environment variables listed above
7. Deploy!

Getting Firebase Service Account Values

1. Go to Firebase Console → Project Settings → Service Accounts
2. Click "Generate New Private Key"
3. Download the JSON file
4. Extract the values and add them as environment variables:
   • type → Not needed (hardcoded)
   • project_id → FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID
   • private_key_id → FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY_ID
   • private_key → FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY (keep the newlines as \n)
   • client_email → FIREBASE_CLIENT_EMAIL
   • client_id → FIREBASE_CLIENT_ID
   • client_x509_cert_url → FIREBASE_CLIENT_CERT_URL

API Endpoint

• POST /ttn - Receives TTN webhook data

Expected payload structure:

{
  "end_device_ids": {
    "device_id": "your-device-id"
  },
  "received_at": "2023-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "uplink_message": {
    "decoded_payload": {
      "battery": 85,
      "distance": 150.5,
      "tilt": 12.3
    }
  }
}

Firebase Data Structure

Data is stored in Firestore with the following structure:

iot-data/{deviceId}/messages/{auto-generated-id}

Each message document contains:

• receivedAt: Timestamp when data was received
• battery: Battery level
• distance: Distance measurement
• tilt: Tilt angle