Unlock the Power of Interactive Content with MDX

Markdown has become a popular choice for writing content, but it has its limitations. What if you could create interactive content, like widgets and dynamic elements, within your Markdown files? Enter MDX, a powerful tool that combines the simplicity of Markdown with the flexibility of JSX.

What is MDX?

MDX is a language that allows you to write interactive content using Markdown and JSX. It’s not a new syntax, but rather a combination of the two, making it easy to write dynamic content without sacrificing readability.

MDX Syntax

MDX files have a.mdx extension and can be written using Markdown syntax. You can import components, write expressions, and even use JSX syntax within your Markdown files.

import MyComponent from './MyComponent';

# My Markdown Title

Building a Blog with MDX and Next.js

In this tutorial, we’ll build a simple blog using MDX and Next.js. We’ll cover:

• Configuring MDX to work with Next.js
• Structuring your app for optimal performance
• Finding and parsing MDX files into metadata and content
• Creating interactive content using JSX components

Creating a Next.js App

To start, create a new Next.js app using npx create-next-app pressblog. Then, install the required dependencies, including @mdx-js/loader, @mdx-js/react, and gray-matter.

npx create-next-app pressblog
cd pressblog
npm install @mdx-js/loader @mdx-js/react gray-matter

Configuring Next.js

Update your next.config.js file to configure MDX support. This will allow you to use.mdx files as pages in your Next.js app.

module.exports = {
  //...
  mdx: true,
};

Creating Pages with MDX

Create a new file called about.mdx in the pages directory. Write your Markdown content, and use JSX syntax to add interactive elements.

---
title: About Us
---

# About Us

This is our about page. It's interactive!

<MyInteractiveComponent />

Organizing Your App

Decide how to structure your app, including where to place your MDX files and how to organize your components.

Using CSS for Styling

Use CSS to style your app, including your Markdown content. Create separate stylesheets for your components and Markdown files.

Creating a Layout

Create a layout component to wrap your pages, including a header and footer.

import Header from '../components/Header';
import Footer from '../components/Footer';

function Layout({ children }) {
  return (
    <div>
      <Header />
      {children}
      <Footer />
    </div>
  );
}

Adding Articles

Create multiple articles using MDX files, and display them on the home page.

Adding Pagination

Implement pagination to load more articles on demand, using a “Load more” button.

import { useState, useEffect } from 'eact';

function ArticleList() {
  const [articles, setArticles] = useState([]);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    // Load articles from API or database
  }, []);

  const handleLoadMore = () => {
    // Load more articles and update state
  };

  return (
    <div>
      {articles.map((article) => (
        <Article key={article.id} article={article} />
      ))}
      {loading? (
        <p>Loading...</p>
      ) : (
        <button onClick={handleLoadMore}>Load more</button>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}