Welcome to your journey of building high-performance websites using Next.js, React, and GraphQL! This starter kit is not just a comprehensive solution, but rather a framework to introduce you to the unmistakable power of these technologies. In this guide, we will walk through the steps to set up your environment, install dependencies, configure security, and ensure optimal performance.

Getting Started

To kick things off, you’ll need to clone the starter kit repository. You can do this using the following command:

git clone git@github.com:atherosainext-react-graphql-apollo-hooks.git

Once the repository is cloned, it’s recommended to preserve secure dependencies in the package-lock.json file. For that, you will use:

npm ci

Setting Up Node.js

While the kit is compatible with older versions of Node.js, it is advisable to use the latest Long Term Support (LTS) version. This will maximize stability and ensure you are using the most updated features. The version specifications are clearly defined in the package.json file:

{
  "engines": {
    "node": "10.0.0",
    "npm": "6"
  }
}

Technologies Utilized

The starter kit incorporates various cutting-edge technologies to enhance your development experience:

• Next.js
• React
• GraphQL (Apollo server)
• Apollo client
• React Apollo Hooks
• Node.js
• TypeScript
• GraphQL Code Generator
• Jest

Optimizing for Production

To achieve the best performance for your applications, ensure that HTTP/2 is enabled and that compression is activated in your reverse proxy (like nginx). Keeping your Node.js server up to date is also of vital importance for optimal performance.

Configuring the Environment

Managing environment variables is made simple with the help of the dotenv library. You need to focus on two essential environment variables:

• NODE_ENV: can be set as either development or production.
• CUSTOM_ENV: defines the environment specifics, such as staging, production, local, or build server.

These variables will determine which .env file to use from the secrets folder. For example, to define configurations for a staging environment, create the file secrets/production-staging.env and populate it with your environment variables like so:

NODE_ENV=development
CUSTOM_ENV=local
PORT=3000
API_URL=http://localhost:3000/graphql
HOST=http://localhost:3000

Security and Auditing

Ensuring the security of your application is critical. You can conduct a security audit on your dependencies using:

npm audit

Be sure to always utilize package-lock.json for reliable results.

Troubleshooting Tips

• If you encounter issues during the setup, ensure that your Node.js version matches the recommendations in the package.json file.
• In case of environment variable confusion, double-check the secrets folder for the correct .env file.
• For compilation or dependency problems, consider deleting the node_modules folder and running npm install again.

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Conclusion

By following this guide, you will lay a strong foundation for building high-performance web applications using Next.js, React, and GraphQL. Remember, while this starter kit serves as a springboard, the possibilities of what you can create are endless. Happy coding!