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Frequently Asked Questions

What is shared-features?​

shared-features is a React + Capacitor npm package that gives a portfolio of apps one shared layer for cross-promotion ads, in-app broadcasts/notifications, feature flags, and common profile data. Content is authored once in the aoneahsan.com admin panel and read by every app from shared Firestore collections.

Is this a third-party ad network?​

No. The advertising system is first-party cross-promotion of your own products. There is no third-party ad network, no programmatic bidding, and no third-party tracking pixels — just your products promoted across your own apps.

Why does nothing render after I add a component?​

Three usual causes, in order:

  1. initSharedFeatures() was not called (or the Firebase config env vars are missing) — the package stays inert and components render null.
  2. There is no active campaign/broadcast for that placement/variant in the admin panel.
  3. The component is not inside a Radix <Theme> ancestor.

isInitialized() and useSharedFeaturesOperational() help you confirm (1).

What are the peer dependencies?​

react, react-dom, firebase, @radix-ui/themes, zustand, and lucide-react are required peers; @capacitor/preferences is an optional peer for native persistence. They are peers (not bundled) so your app controls the versions and nothing is duplicated.

Do I need Capacitor?​

No. On the web, frequency capping and dismissal tracking use localStorage. @capacitor/preferences is only needed for native Android/iOS builds, where it persists the same data in the native key/value store.

How much does it cost to run?​

The package itself is free and MIT-licensed. Runtime cost is just your Firebase usage — it reads a handful of small documents and writes lightweight analytics, which fits comfortably in the Firestore free tier for typical app volumes.

Is it safe to ship the Firebase API key in my web bundle?​

Yes. Firebase web API keys are client identifiers, not secrets — access is enforced by Firestore security rules, not by hiding the key. The package only reads public collections and writes analytics.

Can I use it with my own Firebase project and admin tooling?​

Yes. It is MIT-licensed. The collections are prefixed zaions_ and the package is designed around the author's admin panel, but you can point initSharedFeatures() at your own Firebase project and seed/author the same collections yourself.

How do feature versions / deprecations work?​

You declare which feature versions your app supports in featureVersions. When the admin bumps a feature, you first get deprecated: true warnings, then upgradeRequired: true once minVersion passes you. See the Feature Flags guide.

Does it write any data from my app?​

Only analytics — ad impressions/clicks/closes and broadcast views/clicks/dismissals — into the zaions_impressions and zaions_broadcast_events collections. All content writes are admin-only.

What about the src/templates/consumer/ files?​

Those are copy-paste templates (notification bell, panel, store, OneSignal helper) for building a full notification center in your app. They intentionally contain "fill in your service here" placeholders — they are starting points, not finished package APIs.

Where do I report issues?​

On the package repository: github.com/aoneahsan/shared-features, or email aoneahsan@gmail.com.