MTechZilla | Blog | Leveraging AWS Amplify with Next.js: A Comprehensive Tutorial on Full-Stack Development

The combination of AWS Amplify and Next.js offers developers an excellent platform for creating full-stack web applications with ease. AWS Amplify is a powerful suite of tools and services that simplifies the development and deployment process, while Next.js is a popular framework built on top of React.js that offers server-side rendering and static site generation. By leveraging these technologies together, you can create modern, scalable, and performant web applications.

In this article, we will provide a comprehensive tutorial on full-stack development using AWS Amplify and Next.js, with Node.js 18 as the runtime and the latest versions of all required packages.

‍

Setting Up Your Development Environment
Create a New Next.js Project
Initialise AWS Amplify
Add Authentication
Integrate AWS Amplify into Your Next.js Application
Implement Authentication UI
Add API and Data Layer
Integrate the API into Your Application
Deploy Your Application
Conclusion

‍

Setting Up Your Development Environment

Before starting, ensure that your development environment is set up with the necessary tools and services:

Install Node.js (version 18): https://nodejs.org/en/download/
Set up an AWS account: https://aws.amazon.com/
Install the AWS Amplify CLI: https://docs.amplify.aws/cli/start/install

‍

Create a New Next.js Project

To create a new Next.js project, run the following command:

npx create-next-app my-amplify-nextjs-app

Replace my-amplify-nextjs-app with your desired project name. Once the project is created, navigate to the project directory:

cd my-amplify-nextjs-app

‍

Initialise AWS Amplify

In the project directory, initialize AWS Amplify by running the following command:

Resources:
  MyWebSocketFunction:
    Type: AWS::Serverless::Function
    Properties:
      CodeUri: .
      Handler: app.handler
      Runtime: nodejs18.x
      Events:
        Connect:
          Type: Api
          Properties:
            Path: /connect
            Method: ANY
            RestApiId: !Ref MyWebSocketApi
        Disconnect:
          Type: Api
          Properties:
            Path: /disconnect
            Method: ANY
            RestApiId: !Ref MyWebSocketApi
        Default:
          Type: Api
          Properties:
            Path: /default
            Method: ANY
            RestApiId: !Ref MyWebSocketApi

  MyWebSocketApi:
    Type: AWS::Serverless::Api
    Properties:
      StageName: Prod
      DefinitionBody:
        swagger: '2.0'
        info:
          title: My WebSocket API
        schemes:
          - wss
        basePath: /
        paths:
          /connect:
            x-amazon-apigateway-any-method:
              responses: {}
          /disconnect:
            x-amazon-apigateway-any-method:
              responses: {}
          /default:
            x-amazon-apigateway-any-method:
              responses: {}
  ConnectionsTable:
    Type: AWS::DynamoDB::Table
    Properties:
      TableName: your_table_name
      AttributeDefinitions:
        - AttributeName: connectionId
          AttributeType: S
      KeySchema:
        - AttributeName: connectionId
          KeyType: HASH
      ProvisionedThroughput:
        ReadCapacityUnits: 1
        WriteCapacityUnits: 1

Follow the prompts to set up your Amplify project, choosing your preferred text editor, AWS profile, and default configurations.

‍

Add Authentication

To add authentication to your Next.js application, use the Amplify CLI:

const { DynamoDBClient, PutItemCommand, DeleteItemCommand } = require('@aws-sdk/client-dynamodb');
const { marshall, unmarshall } = require('@aws-sdk/util-dynamodb');

const REGION = 'your_region';
const TABLE_NAME = 'your_table_name';
const dynamoDbClient = new DynamoDBClient({ region: REGION });

exports.handler = async (event) => {
  const connectionId = event.requestContext.connectionId;
  const eventType = event.requestContext.eventType;

  if (eventType === 'CONNECT') {
    await addConnection(connectionId);
  } else if (eventType === 'DISCONNECT') {
    await deleteConnection(connectionId);
  } else {
    // Handle default event
  }
  
  return {
    statusCode: 200,
  };
};

async function addConnection(connectionId) {
  const params = {
    TableName: TABLE_NAME,
    Item: marshall({ connectionId }),
  };
  await dynamoDbClient.send(new PutItemCommand(params));
}

async function deleteConnection(connectionId) {
  const params = {
    TableName: TABLE_NAME,
    Key: marshall({ connectionId }),
  };
  await dynamoDbClient.send(new DeleteItemCommand(params));
}

Choose the authentication provider and configure it as per your requirements. After setting up authentication, deploy the changes using:

amplify push

‍

Integrate AWS Amplify into Your Next.js Application

Install the necessary AWS Amplify packages for your Next.js application:

npm install aws-amplify @aws-amplify/ui-react

In your Next.js application, open _app.js and import the required Amplify packages. Configure Amplify by adding the following code:

import Amplify from 'aws-amplify';
import config from '../aws-exports';
import '../styles/globals.css';

Amplify.configure(config);

function MyApp({ Component, pageProps }) {
  return <Component {...pageProps} />;
}

export default MyApp;

Replace YourDataModel with the name of your data model from the API configuration.

‍

Deploy Your Application

To deploy your Next.js application with AWS Amplify, run the following command:

amplify add hosting

Choose your preferred hosting option (Amplify Console or S3 and CloudFront) and configure the deployment settings. Deploy your application using:

amplify publish

Your Next.js application will be deployed and accessible via the provided URL.

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Conclusion

In this article, we've demonstrated how to leverage AWS Amplify with Next.js for full-stack development. By combining these powerful tools, you can create modern web applications with server-side rendering, static site generation, authentication, and API integration. Embrace this technology stack to simplify your development process, improve performance, and deliver outstanding user experiences.

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Table of Contents

Setting Up Your Development Environment

Create a New Next.js Project

Initialise AWS Amplify

Add Authentication

Integrate AWS Amplify into Your Next.js Application

Deploy Your Application

Conclusion

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