Building a Full-Stack App with Next.js and Strapi
Getting Started with Next.js
To create a full-stack application, we’ll begin by setting up a Next.js app. The easiest way to do this is by using the create-next-app package. Open your terminal and run npx create-next-app next-app, replacing next-app with your preferred project name. This will generate a folder with the same name. Navigate into the folder and run npm run dev to start the application. You can now access your app at localhost:3000.
Setting Up Strapi
Similar to Next.js, Strapi has an npm package that makes it easy to start a project. Run npx create-strapi-app strapi-app to create a Strapi project. Choose the Quickstart option when prompted. Once the installation is complete, navigate to the strapi-app folder and run npm run dev. You can now access your Strapi control panel at localhost:1337.
Registering Users in Strapi
In the Strapi control panel, navigate to Collection Types and click on Users. This is where you can manually create users and view existing ones. By default, Strapi’s API provides endpoints to create, fetch, and authenticate users. To register a user, we’ll send a request to the /auth/local/register endpoint with the username, email, and password.
Creating the Registration Component
Let’s create a registration component that sends a request to the /api/register endpoint. This component will return a basic form where the user enters their username, email, and password. We’ll use the axios package to make the API call, so make sure to install it as a dependency.
Creating the Registration Endpoint
Next, we’ll create the /api/register endpoint. This endpoint will handle the registration request and send a response back to the client. We’ll use the nookies package to set a cookie with the JWT token returned from Strapi.
Creating the Profile Page
Once a user is registered, we’ll create a profile page that displays their username and email. To authenticate the user, we’ll use the JWT token stored in the cookie. We’ll use the getServerSideProps function to fetch the user data from Strapi and pass it as props to the page.
Logging In Users
Finally, we’ll create a login component that sends a request to the /api/login endpoint. This endpoint will authenticate the user and set a cookie with the JWT token. We’ll also use the getServerSideProps function to fetch the user data and redirect the user to the profile page if they’re logged in.
Persisting User Sessions
To persist user sessions, we’ll set and fetch cookies on the server-side using the nookies package. This will ensure that users remain logged in even after closing their browser.
Debugging Your Next.js App
Debugging Next.js applications can be challenging, especially when users experience issues that are difficult to reproduce. That’s why we recommend using LogRocket, a powerful tool that provides full visibility into your production Next.js apps. With LogRocket, you can monitor and track state, automatically surface JavaScript errors, and track slow network requests and component load time. Try LogRocket today and take your debugging skills to the next level!