Get started – Get started with Liveblocks, CodeMirror, Yjs, and React

Liveblocks is a realtime collaboration infrastructure for building performant collaborative experiences. Follow the following steps to start adding collaboration to your React application using the APIs from the @liveblocks/yjs package.

Quickstart

1. Install Liveblocks, Yjs, and CodeMirror

   Every Liveblocks package should use the same version.

   $npm install @liveblocks/client @liveblocks/react @liveblocks/yjs yjs codemirror @codemirror/lang-javascript y-codemirror.next

2. Initialize the liveblocks.config.ts file

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

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

3. Set up the Liveblocks client

   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. Set up a Liveblocks client with LiveblocksProvider, and join a room with RoomProvider.

   App.tsx

   "use client";
   import {  LiveblocksProvider,  RoomProvider,} from "@liveblocks/react/suspense";import { Editor } from "./Editor";
   export default function App() {  return (    <LiveblocksProvider publicApiKey={"pk_prod_xxxx…xxxxxxpk_prod_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"}>      <RoomProvider id="my-room">        {/* ... */}      </RoomProvider>    </LiveblocksProvider>  );}

4. Join a Liveblocks room

   After setting up the room, you can add collaborative components inside it, using ClientSideSuspense to add loading spinners to your app.

   App.tsx

   "use client";
   import {  LiveblocksProvider,  RoomProvider,  ClientSideSuspense,} from "@liveblocks/react/suspense";import { Editor } from "./Editor";
   export default function App() {  return (    <LiveblocksProvider publicApiKey={"pk_prod_xxxx…xxxxxxpk_prod_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"}>      <RoomProvider id="my-room">        <ClientSideSuspense fallback={<div>Loading…</div>}>          <Editor />        </ClientSideSuspense>      </RoomProvider>    </LiveblocksProvider>  );}

5. Set up the collaborative CodeMirror editor

   Now that we set up Liveblocks, we can start integrating CodeMirror and Yjs in the Editor.tsx file. To make the editor collaborative, we can rely on the yCollab from y-codemirror.next.

   "use client";
   import * as Y from "yjs";import { yCollab } from "y-codemirror.next";import { EditorView, basicSetup } from "codemirror";import { EditorState } from "@codemirror/state";import { javascript } from "@codemirror/lang-javascript";import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";import { LiveblocksYjsProvider } from "@liveblocks/yjs";import { useRoom } from "@/liveblocks.config";import styles from "./Editor.module.css";
   export default function Editor() {  const room = useRoom();  const [element, setElement] = useState<HTMLElement>();
     const ref = useCallback((node: HTMLElement | null) => {    if (!node) return;
       setElement(node);  }, []);
     // Set up Liveblocks Yjs provider and attach CodeMirror editor  useEffect(() => {    let provider: LiveblocksProvider<any, any, any, any>;    let ydoc: Y.Doc;    let view: EditorView;
       if (!element || !room) {      return;    }
       // Create Yjs provider and document    ydoc = new Y.Doc();    provider = new LiveblocksYjsProvider(room as any, ydoc);    const ytext = ydoc.getText("codemirror");    const undoManager = new Y.UndoManager(ytext);
       // Set up CodeMirror and extensions    const state = EditorState.create({      doc: ytext.toString(),      extensions: [        basicSetup,        javascript(),        yCollab(ytext, provider.awareness, { undoManager }),      ],    });
       // Attach CodeMirror to element    view = new EditorView({      state,      parent: element,    });
       return () => {      ydoc?.destroy();      provider?.destroy();      view?.destroy();    };  }, [element, room]);
     return <div ref={ref} className={styles.editor} />;}

6. Next: set up authentication

   By default, Liveblocks is configured to work without an authentication endpoint where everyone automatically has access to rooms. This approach is great for prototyping and marketing pages where setting up your own security isn’t always required. If you want to limit access to a room for certain users, you’ll need to set up an authentication endpoint to enable permissions.

   Set up authentication

What to read next

Congratulations! You now have set up the foundation for your collaborative CodeMirror editor inside your React application.

• Yjs and CodeMirror guides
• How to create a collaborative code editor with CodeMirror, Yjs, Next.js, and Liveblocks
• @liveblocks/yjs API Reference
• CodeMirror website

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Examples using CodeMirror

• 

  Collaborative Code Editor

  Next.js