diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 347006e..5eca6d7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -38,16 +38,16 @@ To install dependencies:
 npm install
 ```
 
-To install the Firebase CLI, [follow these instructions](https://www.npmjs.com/package/firebase-tools#installation) or simply run:
+Google provides emulators of their cloud services for dev builds. You do not need a Firebase project to run the emulators. To install the Firebase CLI, [follow these instructions](https://www.npmjs.com/package/firebase-tools#installation) or simply run:
 
 ```bash
 npm install -g firebase-tools
 ```
 
-To start the Firestore emulator and run the Vite development server:
+Then, to start the emulators and the app in dev mode:
 
 ```bash
-firebase emulators:start
+npm run firebase:emulators
 npm run dev
 ```
 
@@ -75,6 +75,20 @@ npm run preview
 
 Note that the preview feature may not work. A workaround is documented [here](https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/issues/14454#issuecomment-1397357957) but it doesn't seem to help.
 
+### Publish Firestore Indexes and Security Rules
+
+If the Firestore indexes or security rules have changed, they will need to be pushed during deployment of the app.
+
+Automating this is not so easy (see [#21](https://github.com/krazkidd/lineup/issues/21)), but it can be done through the Firebase CLI.
+
+```bash
+firebase login
+npm run firebase:deploy
+```
+
+> **Warning**<br>
+By deploying the app and Firestore configuration separately, there is no way to avoid a race condition. Index builds are ["long-running operations"](https://firebase.google.com/docs/firestore/query-data/indexing#index_build_time) and security rules can take [several minutes to propagate](https://firebase.google.com/docs/rules/manage-deploy).
+
 ## Hosting
 
 ### GitHub Pages (free)
diff --git a/db/Emotes.ts b/db/Emotes.ts
index 842dd27..6f67864 100644
--- a/db/Emotes.ts
+++ b/db/Emotes.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ import {
     CollectionReference,
     DocumentData,
 
+    Timestamp,
+
     query,
     where,
     orderBy,
@@ -40,7 +42,7 @@ export function addEmote(emote: Emote) {
 }
 
 export function getRecentEmotes(teamId: ID) {
-    return query(_collRef, where("teamId", "==", teamId), where("ticks", ">", Date.now()), orderBy("ticks"));
+    return query(_collRef, where("teamId", "==", teamId), where("timestamp", ">", Timestamp.now()), orderBy("timestamp"));
 }
 
 export function subscribeToNewEmotes(teamId: ID, callbackFn: Function) {
diff --git a/firestore.indexes.json b/firestore.indexes.json
index 415027e..a74c51f 100644
--- a/firestore.indexes.json
+++ b/firestore.indexes.json
@@ -1,4 +1,19 @@
 {
-  "indexes": [],
+  "indexes": [
+    {
+      "collectionGroup": "emotes",
+      "queryScope": "COLLECTION",
+      "fields": [
+        {
+          "fieldPath": "teamId",
+          "order": "ASCENDING"
+        },
+        {
+          "fieldPath": "timestamp",
+          "order": "ASCENDING"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  ],
   "fieldOverrides": []
 }
diff --git a/firestore.rules b/firestore.rules
index 9c37173..10d7255 100644
--- a/firestore.rules
+++ b/firestore.rules
@@ -33,12 +33,12 @@ service cloud.firestore {
 
     match /emotes/{id} {
     	allow read;
-      // only allow writing Scoreboard type
+      // only allow writing Emote type
       allow write:
         if request.resource.data.size() == 3
         && request.resource.data.teamId is string
         && request.resource.data.emote is string
-        && request.resource.data.ticks is int;
+        && request.resource.data.timestamp is timestamp;
     }
 
     // forbid everything else
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 1e95176..31e816c 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@
         "nuxt": "^3.7.3",
         "pinia": "^2.1.6",
         "primeicons": "^6.0.1",
-        "primevue": "^3.33.0"
+        "primevue": "^3.33.0",
+        "prompts": "^2.4.2"
       },
       "engines": {
         "node": "18.x",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index d9a9f3c..e8241f6 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -8,8 +8,11 @@
   "scripts": {
     "build": "nuxt build",
     "build:digitalocean": "npm install --production=false && npm run build && npm ci",
+    "confirm": "node -e \"(async () => { process.exitCode = (await require('prompts').prompt({ type: 'confirm', message: 'Continue?', name: 'value' })).value ? 0 : 1; })()\"",
+    "firebase:emulators": "firebase emulators:start",
+    "prefirebase:deploy": "npm run confirm",
+    "firebase:deploy": "firebase deploy --only firestore",
     "dev": "nuxt dev",
-    "emulators": "firebase emulators:start",
     "generate": "nuxt generate",
     "preview": "nuxt preview",
     "postinstall": "nuxt prepare",
@@ -28,7 +31,8 @@
     "nuxt": "^3.7.3",
     "pinia": "^2.1.6",
     "primeicons": "^6.0.1",
-    "primevue": "^3.33.0"
+    "primevue": "^3.33.0",
+    "prompts": "^2.4.2"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@firebase/app-types": "^0.9.0",
diff --git a/pages/scoreboard/[[id]].vue b/pages/scoreboard/[[id]].vue
index 31626b7..0c0f3a8 100644
--- a/pages/scoreboard/[[id]].vue
+++ b/pages/scoreboard/[[id]].vue
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 <script setup lang="ts">
+import { Timestamp } from 'firebase/firestore';
+
 import type { Team, Emote } from '~~/types';
 
 import { useTeamStore } from '~~/stores/Team';
@@ -61,7 +63,7 @@ const fakeTeam = {
         </div>
 
         <ScoreboardEmojiBoard
-            @emote="addEmote({ teamId, emote: $event, ticks: Date.now() } as Emote)"
+            @emote="addEmote({ teamId, emote: $event, timestamp: Timestamp.now() } as Emote)"
             :class="{ hidden: !route.params.id }"
             class="px-4"
         />
diff --git a/types/index.ts b/types/index.ts
index 5160856..43a2bf7 100644
--- a/types/index.ts
+++ b/types/index.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { Timestamp } from 'firebase/firestore';
 import { groupBy, keys } from 'lodash-es';
 
 export type ID = string;
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ export interface Scoreboard {
 export interface Emote {
     teamId: ID,
     emote: string,
-    ticks: number
+    timestamp: Timestamp
 };
 
 //TODO this can probably be refactored into something more readable