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Building a Real-Time Chat App with Remix and Supabase
When it comes to building performant web applications, Remix and Supabase are two powerful tools that can be used together to achieve remarkable results. Remix allows you to create the frontend of an application using a familiar React-based syntax, while Supabase provides a robust PostgreSQL database and real-time functionality, enabling users to see updates as they occur.
In this guide, we’ll explore how to use Remix and Supabase to build a real-time chat application from scratch. We’ll cover everything from setting up a new project and configuring Supabase to creating the frontend and integrating real-time functionality.
Setting Up the Remix Project
To get started, we’ll set up a new Remix project. Run the following command to create a new project:
npx create-remix@latest
Follow the prompts to specify the project name, deployment environment, and whether to include TypeScript or JavaScript in the project. We’ll also include several libraries, such as Tailwind CSS and Daisy UI, to help build the frontend and backend functionality.
Creating a New Supabase Project
Next, we’ll set up a new Supabase project and obtain the necessary credentials. Visit the Supabase website and sign up for an account if you don’t already have one. Once logged in, create a new project and provide a name for your project and select the region.
Creating a Message Table
To store messages sent by users in the chat application, we’ll create a new table called “messages” within our Supabase project. The messages table should have two columns: “content” and “userid”. The “content” column will hold the message content, and the “userid” column will associate each message with the corresponding user.
Integrating Supabase into the Remix Project
Now, let’s add the Supabase library to the Remix application to access tables and user data from the Supabase project. We’ll use the Supabase Remix Auth Helper package to simplify implementing server-side authentication with Supabase in Remix applications.
Server-Side Integration
To establish a connection with the Supabase instance, we’ll create a .env file in the project’s root folder and declare two environment variables: SUPABASE_URL and SUPABASE_PUBLIC_KEY. Then, we’ll use the createServerClient() function to create an authenticated Supabase client.
Client-Side Integration
Client-side integration with Supabase involves using the Supabase client for functionalities such as authentication and real-time subscriptions. We’ll use the createBrowserClient() function to create a singleton instance of the Supabase client on the browser that the components can share using the Outlet context.
Creating the Chat Component
Let’s now focus on building the core functionality of the chat app. We’ll implement all necessary components and logic to enable users to send and receive real-time messages within the application.
Adding Real-Time Functionality
To set up a real-time subscription in the Chat component, we’ll leverage Supabase’s channel functionality. We’ll listen for changes in the messages table by subscribing to the “postgres_changes” event with the specified schema and table filters.
Adding Profile Images to Messages
Finally, we’ll add profile images to messages by creating a “usermetadata” JSON column in the messages table. We’ll use a trigger to automatically update this column whenever a new message is added to the table.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve explored how to build a real-time chat application using Remix and Supabase. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ll be able to quickly build real-time applications with Remix and Supabase.