A statically generated blog example using Next.js and Cosmic

This example showcases Next.js's Static Generation feature using Cosmic as the data source.

Demo

https://cosmic-next-blog.vercel.app/

Deploy your own

Once you have access to the environment variables you'll need, deploy the example using Vercel:

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• Blog Starter

How to use

Execute create-next-app with npm or Yarn to bootstrap the example:

npx create-next-app --example cms-cosmic cms-cosmic-app
# or
yarn create next-app --example cms-cosmic cms-cosmic-app

Configuration

Step 1. Create an account and a project on Cosmic

First, create an account on Cosmic.

Step 2. Install the Next.js Static Blog app

After creating an account, install the Next.js Static Blog app from the Cosmic App Marketplace.

Step 3. Set up environment variables

Go to the Settings menu at the sidebar and click Basic Settings.

Next, copy the .env.local.example file in this directory to .env.local (which will be ignored by Git):

cp .env.local.example .env.local

Then set each variable on .env.local:

• COSMIC_BUCKET_SLUG should be the Bucket slug key under Basic Settings.
• COSMIC_READ_KEY should be the Read Key under API Access.
• COSMIC_PREVIEW_SECRET can be any random string (but avoid spaces) - this is used for Preview Mode.

Your .env.local file should look like this:

COSMIC_BUCKET_SLUG=...
COSMIC_READ_KEY=...
COSMIC_PREVIEW_SECRET=...

Step 4. Run Next.js in development mode

npm install
npm run dev

# or

yarn install
yarn dev

Your blog should be up and running on http://localhost:3000! If it doesn't work, post on GitHub discussions.

Step 5. Try preview mode

To add the ability to preview content from your Cosmic dashboard go to Posts > Edit Settings and scroll down to the "Preview Link" section. (Screenshot below)

Add your live URL or localhost development URL which includes your chosen preview secret and [object_slug] shortcode. It should look like the following:

http://localhost:3000/api/preview?secret=<secret>&slug=[object_slug]

• <secret> is the string you entered for COSMIC_PREVIEW_SECRET.
• [object_slug] shortcode will automatically be converted to the post's slug attribute.

On Cosmic, go to one of the posts you've created and:

• Update the title. For example, you can add [Draft] in front of the title.
• Click Save Draft, but DO NOT click Publish. By doing this, the post will be in the draft state.

Now, if you go to the post page directly on localhost, you won't see the updated title. However, if you use the Preview Mode, you'll be able to see the change (Documentation).

Next, click the Preview Link button on the Post to see the updated title. (Screenshot below)

To exit preview mode, you can click on Click here to exit preview mode at the top.

Step 6. Deploy on Vercel

You can deploy this app to the cloud with Vercel (Documentation).

Deploy Your Local Project

To deploy your local project to Vercel, push it to GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket and import to Vercel.

Important: When you import your project on Vercel, make sure to click on Environment Variables and set them to match your .env.local file.

Deploy from Our Template

Alternatively, you can deploy using our template by clicking on the Deploy button below.