Real-time Chat App with Next.js and Pusher: A Step-by-Step Guide

In today's fast-paced digital world, real-time communication is crucial for engaging user experiences. Whether you're creating a messaging platform, a customer support system, or a collaborative workspace, building a real-time chat app is a powerful solution.

In this guide, we'll explore how to create a dynamic chat application using Next.js, a popular React framework, and Pusher, a real-time communication service.

Why Next.js and Pusher?

Next.js offers server-side rendering, automatic code splitting, and simple client-side routing, making it an excellent choice for building interactive web applications. Pusher provides easy-to-use APIs and libraries for adding real-time functionality to your applications, allowing users to communicate instantly without refreshing the page.

Getting Started

First, ensure you have Node.js and npm installed on your system. Then, create a new Next.js project by running:

npx create-next-app my-chat-app
cd my-chat-app  
  

Next, install the Pusher package:

npm install pusher-js  
  

Setting Up Pusher

Sign up for a free Pusher account at pusher.com and create a new app. Note down your app credentials, including the app ID, key, secret, and cluster.

In your Next.js project, create a file named `.env.local` in the root directory and add your Pusher credentials:

PUSHER_APP_ID=your_app_id
PUSHER_KEY=your_key
PUSHER_SECRET=your_secret
PUSHER_CLUSTER=your_cluster  
  

Creating the Chat Component

Now, let's create the chat component. In the `pages` directory, create a new file named `chat.js`. This will represent our chat page.

// pages/chat.js
import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import Pusher from 'pusher-js';

const Chat = () => {
  const [messages, setMessages] = useState([]);
  const [newMessage, setNewMessage] = useState('');

  useEffect(() => {
    const pusher = new Pusher(process.env.PUSHER_KEY, {
      cluster: process.env.PUSHER_CLUSTER,
      encrypted: true,
    });

    const channel = pusher.subscribe('chat-channel');
    channel.bind('new-message', (data) => {
      setMessages((prevMessages) => [...prevMessages, data.message]);
    });

    return () => {
      pusher.unsubscribe('chat-channel');
    };
  }, []);

  const handleMessageChange = (e) => {
    setNewMessage(e.target.value);
  };

  const sendMessage = () => {
    // Send message logic here (e.g., via an API)
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Real-time Chat</h1>
      <div>
        {messages.map((msg, index) => (
          <div key={index}>{msg}</div>
        ))}
      </div>
      <input type="text" value={newMessage} onChange={handleMessageChange} />
      <button onClick={sendMessage}>Send</button>
    </div>
  );
};

export default Chat;  
  

Configuring Pusher Channels

In your Pusher dashboard, create a new channel named `chat-channel`.

Handling Messages

Implement the `sendMessage` function to send messages to Pusher and update the state accordingly.

Testing

Start your Next.js development server by running:

npm run dev  
  

Visit `http://localhost:3000/chat` in your browser to see the chat application in action. Open multiple tabs to test real-time messaging.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've successfully built a real-time chat application using Next.js and Pusher. With this foundation, you can further enhance the app by adding features like user authentication, message persistence, and multimedia support.

Real-time communication has never been easier to implement, thanks to the power of Next.js and Pusher. Happy coding!