Support multi-line strings in Database rules JSON

I’m trying to do a simple database rules deploy using version 3.6.0 and I recieve the following error on the CL.

Error: There was an error loading firebase.json:

Unexpected token ' ' at 6:35
      ".write": "data.exists() &&
                                 ^
Having trouble? Try firebase deploy --help

My rules are saved in a file ‘database_rules.json’, my firebase.json file looks like this:

{
  "rules": "database_rules.json",
  "hosting": {
    "public": "./",
    "ignore": [
      "firebase.json",
      "**/.*",
      "**/node_modules/**",
      "functions",
      "gulpfile.js"
    ]
  }
}

My rules are the following:

{
  "rules": {
    ".validate": "auth !== null",
    "_const": {
      ".read":"true",
      ".write": "data.exists() &&
          newData.exists()"
    }
  }
}

I was under the impression multi-line strings were OK, as they publish fine in the rules editor on the console. If this is intended, what’s the work-around to get this to deploy whilst preserving the newlines so they stay readable in the console?

[mbleigh]

Multi-line strings are not currently supported by the CLI when deploying rules. I’ll change the title of this to reflect that as a bug/feature request.

[danielo515]

Thanks for the tip @samtstern but how that helps? Broken strings are also a syntax error on JS unless you use inverted ticks `` And if that is supported inside a JSON file, at that point the file may be better defined as a JS file insted