Quickstart - Get started with adding realtime avatar and cursor presence using Liveblocks and Next.js

Liveblocks is a realtime collaboration infrastructure for building performant collaborative experiences. Follow the following steps to start adding collaboration to your Next.js /app directory application using the hooks from the @liveblocks/react package.

Quickstart

  1. Install Liveblocks

Every package should use the same version.

Terminal

npm install @liveblocks/client @liveblocks/react @liveblocks/react-ui

  1. Initialize the liveblocks.config.ts file

We can use this file later to define types for our application.

Terminal

npx create-liveblocks-app@latest --init --framework react

  1. Import default styles

The default components come with default styles, you can import them into the root layout of your app or directly into a CSS file with @import.

   import "@liveblocks/react-ui/styles.css";

  1. Create a Liveblocks room

Liveblocks uses the concept of rooms, separate virtual spaces where people collaborate, and to create a realtime experience, multiple users must be connected to the same room. When using Next.js’ /app router, we recommend creating your room in a Room.tsx file in the same directory as your current route.

Set up a Liveblocks client with LiveblocksProvider, join a room with RoomProvider, and use ClientSideSuspense to add a loading spinner to your app.

   "use client";
   import { ReactNode } from "react";
   import {  LiveblocksProvider,  RoomProvider,  ClientSideSuspense } from "@liveblocks/react/suspense";
   export function Room({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {  return (    <LiveblocksProvider publicApiKey={"pk_prod_xxxxxxxxxx…xxxxxxxxpk_prod_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"}>      <RoomProvider id="my-room">        <ClientSideSuspense fallback={<div>Loading…</div>}>          {children}        </ClientSideSuspense>      </RoomProvider>    </LiveblocksProvider>  );}

  1. Use the Liveblocks hooks

Next, create CollaborativeApp.tsx and add our AvatarStack and Cursors components. These are pre-built components that are great starting points before diving into Liveblocks hooks such as useOthers and useMyPresence.

   "use client";
   import { AvatarStack, Cursors } from "@liveblocks/react-ui";
   export function CollaborativeApp() {  return (    <div>      <AvatarStack max={3} size={36} />      <Cursors />    </div>  );}

  1. Add the components to your page

After creating your presence components, it’s time to add them to your app. Import your multiplayer room into your page.tsx file, and place your collaborative app components inside it.

   import { Room } from "./Room";
   import { CollaborativeApp } from "./CollaborativeApp";
   export default function Page() {  return (    <Room>      <CollaborativeApp />    </Room>  );}

  1. Next: add user information

You've set up cursors and avatars, and they'll update live as users join and leave the room, but each user is still anonymous. To add user information, you'll need to set up authentication and add each user's name and avatar.

Set up authentication and add user information

Congratulations! You now have set up the foundation to start building collaborative experiences for your React application.

Examples using Next.js

  • Collaborative To-do List
    Next.js](/content/examples/collaborative-todo-list/nextjs-todo-list/index.html)
  • Live Avatar Stack
    Next.js](/content/examples/live-avatar-stack/nextjs-live-avatars/index.html)
  • Collaborative SpreadsheetAdvanced
    Next.js](/content/examples/collaborative-spreadsheet-advanced/nextjs-spreadsheet-advanced/index.html)
  • Collaborative WhiteboardAdvanced
    Next.js](/content/examples/collaborative-whiteboard-advanced/nextjs-whiteboard-advanced/index.html)