Install Prismic
This article explains how to install and configure Prismic in a Next.js project. By the end of this page, you will have Prismic utilities installed in your app.
Versions
This guide uses Next.js v13, @prismicio/client
v7, @prismicio/react
v2, @prismicio/next
v1, and slice-machine-ui
v1.
If you already have a project that uses older packages, see the @prismicio/client
v7 Migration Guide, @prismicio/client
v6 Migration Guide, @prismicio/react
v2 Migration Guide, next-slicezone
Deprecation Guide, and slice-machine-ui
v1 Migration Guide.
To start with a preconfigured project, go to prismic.io/dashboard and select Next.js.
This guide assumes basic knowledge of React and Next.js. If you are new to development with either, see the official introductions for React and Next.js.
Before proceeding, you will need a Next.js project. You can quickly create a brand new project using the following create-next-app
command. (Read the official documentation to learn more):
- npx
- npm
- Yarn
npx create-next-app@latest
npm create next-app
yarn create next-app
This command will prompt an option to name your project. After that you'll be able to open your newly created Next.js app.
Once it's finished, you'll have a brand new Next.js project where you can install Slice Machine.
npx @slicemachine/init@latest
What happens when you run @slicemachine/init
The command executes the following actions in your codebase:
- Creates a new Prismic repository (or lets you specify an existing one).
- Adds a
start-slicemachine
script topackage.json
. - Creates a
slicemachine.config.json
configuration file containing the name of your Prismic repository and the location of your slice library. - Creates a
prismicio.js|ts
file at the root of your project to configure Prismic. - Adds routes at
/api/preview
and/api/exit-preview
to enable previewing (learn how these routes work in the @prismicio/next Technical Reference). - Detects your framework (Next.js).
- Installs dependencies:
@prismicio/client
,@prismicio/react
,@prismicio/next
,slice-machine-ui
, and@slicemachine/adapter-next
. - Creates an
[app|pages]/slice-simulator.js|jsx|tsx
file to simulate slices.
That might seem like a lot of dependencies. Don't worry, they each perform an important function:
@prismicio/client
is responsible for fetching data from the Prismic API@prismicio/react
renders data from Prismic as React components@prismicio/next
enables previewing draftsslice-machine-ui
is a local development tool for building slices@slicemachine/adapter-next
is the Next.js adapter for Slice Machine
We also mentioned that the init command creates a slice-simulator.js
file. What does that file do? The slice simulator is a mini-app that simulates what your slices will look like in production. The slice simulator uses an iframe
, which runs locally, to simulate your slices. The mock data is provided by Slice Machine and is customizable (see What Is Slice Machine? for more information).
The init
script creates a file called prismicio.js
at the root of your project. This file contains configurations for your project.
The most important configuration is the routes array, which is your route resolver. Update the route resolver to match the routing structure of your Next.js app. To learn more about how to add configurations, see the documentation for the route resolver and @prismicio/client.
The prismicio.js
file is prefilled with an example routes
array:
const routes = [
{
type: 'homepage',
path: '/',
},
{
type: 'page',
path: '/:uid',
},
]
In prismicio.js
, customize the routes
array to match the routing of your project. For each page type, add an object that describes the route for that page. Learn more about how the route resolver works.
- App Router
- Pages Router
import { PrismicPreview } from '@prismicio/next'
import { repositoryName } from '@/prismicio'
export default function RootLayout({ children }) {
return (
<html lang="en">
<body>
{children}
<PrismicPreview repositoryName={repositoryName} />
</body>
</html>
)
}
import { PrismicPreview } from '@prismicio/next'
import { repositoryName } from '@/prismicio'
export default function App({ Component, pageProps }) {
return (
<>
<Component {...pageProps} />
<PrismicPreview repositoryName={repositoryName} />
</>
)
}
Finish setting up previews by configuring your Prismic repository:
- In your Prismic repository, go to Settings > Previews
- Ignore the step about including the Prismic Toolbar (
<PrismicPreview>
adds the toolbar for you) - Click Create Preview
- You’ll be prompted to input a site name, a domain for your application, and an optional preview route. Fill out the fields with the following information:
Domain:http://localhost:3000
Preview Route:/api/preview
You now have Prismic utilities available throughout your project, and your project is set up to handle previews.
Now you can start creating slices and custom types to model your project.
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