Add Blitz.js to an Existing Next.js Project

If you have an existing Next.js project and would like to use some or all of Blitz Toolkit, this page will provide you with information on setting it up. A few steps are required, and we'll go through them one by one.

Adding required dependencies

yarn add blitz @blitzjs/next

# or

pnpm add blitz @blitzjs/next

# or

npm i blitz @blitzjs/next

Blitz server setup

If you want to use Blitz's server functionalities like auth, middlewares, rpc, you'd need to create a blitz-server.ts file somewhere in your project, e.g. in app/blitz-server.ts. We'll cover how to add plugins later.

import { setupBlitzServer } from "@blitzjs/next"

const {
  /* plugins' exports */
} = setupBlitzServer({
  plugins: [
    // plugins will go here
  ],
})

Blitz client setup

Now, if you want Blitz's client functionalities, you'll have to create a blitz-client.ts file. It can be next to the blitz-server.ts in app/blitz-client.ts.

import { setupBlitzClient } from "@blitzjs/next"

export const { withBlitz } = setupBlitzClient({
  plugins: [
    // plugins will go here
  ],
})

The withBlitz function will be needed to wrap your components with Blitz's client side functionality.

Use withBlitz in your App component

To use Blitz on the client, you also have to use the withBlitz function in your App component.

import { withBlitz } from "app/blitz-client"

function App({ Component, pageProps }: AppProps) {
  return <Component {...pageProps} />
}

export default withBlitz(App)

Modifying next.config.js file

Next.js requires you to manually type out page locations. Blitz comes with a Route Manifest, so you can do:

<Link href={Routes.ProductsPage({ productId: 123 })} />
// instead of
<Link href={`/products/${123}`} />

To enable it, you have to wrap your config with withBlitz in the next.config.js file:

const { withBlitz } = require("@blitzjs/next")

module.exports = withBlitz()

Adding plugins

Now that you're all set with the basic setup, you can add plugins that you want to use in your app. There are a few places to check out:

1. @blitzjs/auth — it covers how to setup auth plugin as well as how to use Blitz auth system.
2. @blitzjs/rpc — check it out to learn how to set up Blitz's Zero API Layer and to learn more about it.

Finally, you can check out more detailed information about the @blitzjs/next adapter to learn how to use Blitz functionalities inside of getServerSideProps, getStaticProps, Next API Routes, and other places.