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Getting Started with Next.js and TypeScript

Published on July 15, 2023 • 5 min read

Next.js combined with TypeScript provides an excellent developer experience for building modern web applications. In this post, we'll walk through setting up a project from scratch.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following installed:

  • Node.js (version 14 or later)
  • npm or yarn
  • A code editor (VS Code recommended)

Creating a New Project

Let's start by creating a new Next.js project with TypeScript support:

npx create-next-app@latest my-app --typescript
# or
yarn create next-app my-app --typescript

This command sets up a new Next.js project with TypeScript configuration out of the box.

Project Structure

Once the setup completes, you'll have a directory structure like this:

my-app/
├── node_modules/
├── public/
├── pages/
├── styles/
├── .gitignore
├── next.config.js
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md

Adding a Custom Component

Let's create a simple TypeScript component:

// components/Greeting.tsx
interface GreetingProps {
  name: string;
}

const Greeting: React.FC<GreetingProps> = ({ name }) => {
  return <h2>Hello, {name}!</h2>;
};

export default Greeting;

Using Environment Variables

Next.js makes it easy to work with environment variables:

// .env.local
API_URL=https://api.example.com

Access them in your code:

// pages/index.tsx
export default function Home() {
  const apiUrl = process.env.API_URL;
  return <div>API URL: {apiUrl}</div>;
}

Conclusion

This is just the beginning of what you can do with Next.js and TypeScript. The combination provides type safety and an excellent development experience while maintaining the powerful features that Next.js is known for.

In future posts, we'll explore more advanced topics like:

  1. API routes
  2. Server-side rendering
  3. Static site generation
  4. Authentication
  5. Deployment strategies

Until then, happy coding!