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Script Tag Quickstart

Learn how to query data from Convex from script tags in HTML.

  1. Create a new npm project

    Create a new directory for your Convex project.

    mkdir my-project && cd my-project && npm init -y
  2. Install the Convex client and server library

    Install the convex package which provides a convenient interface for working with Convex from JavaScript.

    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.js 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.js
    import { query } from "./_generated/server";

    export const get = query({
      args: {},
      handler: async (ctx) => {
        return await ctx.db.query("tasks").collect();
      },
    });
  7. Copy the deployment URL

    Open the .env.local file and copy the CONVEX_URL of your development environment for use in the HTML file.

  8. Add the script to your webpage

    In a new file index.html, create a ConvexClient using the URL of your development environment.

    Open this file in a web browser and you'll see it run each time the tasks table is modified.

    index.html
    <!doctype html>
    <script src="https://unpkg.com/convex@1.3.1/dist/browser.bundle.js"></script>
    <script>
      const CONVEX_URL = "CONVEX_URL_GOES_HERE";
      const client = new convex.ConvexClient(CONVEX_URL);
      client.onUpdate("tasks:get", {}, (tasks) =>
        console.log(tasks.map((task) => task.text))),
      );
    </script>