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Get started with Liveblocks 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 hooks from the @liveblocks/react package.

Quickstart

  1. Install Liveblocks

    Every package should use the same version.

    Terminal
    npm install @liveblocks/client @liveblocks/react

  2. 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

  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 { Room } from "./Room";
    export default function App() {  return (    <LiveblocksProvider publicApiKey={""}>      <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 { Room } from "./Room";
    export default function App() {  return (    <LiveblocksProvider publicApiKey={""}>      <RoomProvider id="my-room">        <ClientSideSuspense fallback={<div>Loading…</div>}>          <Room />        </ClientSideSuspense>      </RoomProvider>    </LiveblocksProvider>  );}

  5. Create a multiplayer input

    From this point, you can use Liveblocks hooks to create your multiplayer app. For example, you can create a shared input that stays in sync across users. To set it up, first define your storage type in liveblocks.config.ts. An input LiveObject can store the text of the input.

    liveblocks.config.ts
    import { LiveObject } from "@liveblocks/client";
    declare global {  interface Liveblocks {    Storage: {      input: LiveObject<{ text: string }>;    };  }}
    export {};

    Next, set an initial value for input on RoomProvider, a new LiveObject with a text value.

    App.tsx
    "use client";
    import { LiveObject } from "@liveblocks/client";import {  LiveblocksProvider,  RoomProvider,  ClientSideSuspense,} from "@liveblocks/react/suspense";import { Room } from "./Room";
    export default function App() {  return (    <LiveblocksProvider publicApiKey={""}>      <RoomProvider        id="my-room"        initialStorage={{          input: new LiveObject({ text: "" }),        }}      >        <ClientSideSuspense fallback={<div>Loading…</div>}>          <Room />        </ClientSideSuspense>      </RoomProvider>    </LiveblocksProvider>  );}

    Now, use useStorage to read the value of input.text and useMutation to update it.

    Room.tsx
    "use client";
    import { useStorage, useMutation } from "@liveblocks/react/suspense";
    export function Room() {  const text = useStorage((root) => root.input.text);
      const updateText = useMutation(({ storage }, newText: string) => {    const input = storage.get("input");    input.set("text", newText);  }, []);
      return (    <input      value={text}      onChange={(e) => updateText(e.target.value)}      placeholder="Start typing…"    />  );}

    Open your app in two browser tabs to see the input update in realtime.

  6. Show custom presence

    useOthers allows you to access a list of users that are currently connected to the room. Build a simple avatar stack from the list of connected users.

    Avatars.tsx
    "use client";
    import { useOthers } from "@liveblocks/react/suspense";
    export function Avatars() {  const others = useOthers();
      return (    <div style={{ display: "flex", alignItems: "center" }}>      {others.map(({ connectionId }, index) => (        <img          key={connectionId}          src={`https://liveblocks.io/avatars/avatar-${connectionId % 30}.png`}          alt=""          width={28}          height={28}          style={{            borderRadius: "50%",            border: "2px solid white",            marginLeft: index === 0 ? 0 : -8,          }}        />      ))}    </div>  );}

    Open your app in two browser tabs to see avatars appear for each user.

  7. 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 to start building collaborative experiences for your React application.

Examples using React