Skip to main content

Next.js Quickstart

To get setup quickly with Convex and Next.js run

npm create convex@latest

or follow the guide below.


Learn how to query data from Convex in a Next.js app using the App Router and

Alternatively see the Pages Router version of this quickstart.

  1. Create a React app

    Create a Next.js app using the npx create-next-app command.

    Choose the default option for every prompt (hit Enter).

    npx create-next-app@latest my-app
  2. Install the Convex client and server library

    To get started, install the convex package which provides a convenient interface for working with Convex from a React app.

    Navigate to your app and install convex.

    cd my-app && npm install convex
  3. Set up a Convex dev deployment

    Next, run npx convex dev. This will prompt you to log in with GitHub, create a project, and save your production and deployment URLs.

    It will also create a convex/ folder for you to write your backend API functions in. The dev command will then continue running to sync your functions with your dev deployment in the cloud.

    npx convex dev
  4. Create sample data for your database

    In a new terminal window, create a sampleData.jsonl file with some sample data.

    sampleData.jsonl
    {"text": "Buy groceries", "isCompleted": true}
    {"text": "Go for a swim", "isCompleted": true}
    {"text": "Integrate Convex", "isCompleted": false}
  5. Add the sample data to your database

    Now that your project is ready, add a tasks table with the sample data into your Convex database with the import command.

    npx convex import --table tasks sampleData.jsonl
  6. Expose a database query

    Add a new file tasks.ts in the convex/ folder with a query function that loads the data.

    Exporting a query function from this file declares an API function named after the file and the export name, api.tasks.get.

    convex/tasks.ts
    import { query } from "./_generated/server";

    export const get = query({
    args: {},
    handler: async (ctx) => {
    return await ctx.db.query("tasks").collect();
    },
    });
  7. Create a client component for the Convex provider

    Add a new file ConvexClientProvider.tsx in the app/ folder. Include the "use client"; directive, create a ConvexReactClient and a component that wraps its children in a ConvexProvider.

    app/ConvexClientProvider.tsx
    "use client";
    import { ReactNode } from "react";
    import { ConvexProvider, ConvexReactClient } from "convex/react";

    const convex = new ConvexReactClient(process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_URL!);

    export default function ConvexClientProvider({
    children,
    }: {
    children: ReactNode;
    }) {
    return <ConvexProvider client={convex}>{children}</ConvexProvider>;
    }
  8. Wire up the ConvexClientProvider

    In app/layout.tsx, wrap the children of the body element with the ConvexClientProvider.

    app/layout.tsx
    import "./globals.css";
    import type { Metadata } from "next";
    import { Inter } from "next/font/google";
    import ConvexClientProvider from "./ConvexClientProvider";

    const inter = Inter({ subsets: ["latin"] });

    export const metadata: Metadata = {
    title: "Create Next App",
    description: "Generated by create next app",
    };

    export default function RootLayout({
    children,
    }: {
    children: React.ReactNode;
    }) {
    return (
    <html lang="en">
    <body className={inter.className}>
    <ConvexClientProvider>{children}</ConvexClientProvider>
    </body>
    </html>
    );
    }
  9. Display the data in your app

    In app/page.tsx, use the useQuery hook to fetch from your api.tasks.get API function.

    app/page.tsx
    "use client";
    import { useQuery } from "convex/react";
    import { api } from "../convex/_generated/api";

    export default function Home() {
    const tasks = useQuery(api.tasks.get);
    return (
    <main className="flex min-h-screen flex-col items-center justify-between p-24">
    {tasks?.map(({ _id, text }) => <div key={_id}>{text}</div>)}
    </main>
    );
    }


  10. Start the app

    Start the app, open http://localhost:3000 in a browser, and see the list of tasks.

    npm run dev