Introduction

Building a comment section for your React project can be a daunting task, especially if you want it to look polished, function smoothly, and integrate seamlessly with your backend. That’s where Replyke comes in. Replyke is a powerful yet easy-to-use library that allows you to add a fully-featured comment section to your React application in minutes.

In this article, we’ll explore the latest version of Replyke, which introduces several exciting new features designed to make the process even simpler and more versatile. Whether you’re a first-time user or have been following Replyke since its initial release, this guide will help you get up to speed with the latest updates.

Here’s what’s new:

Social Style: A fresh, modern comment section design inspired by popular social networks, making your project more engaging and familiar to users.
useReplyke Hook: A powerful new hook that provides essential information about the articles or items your comment section is attached to, allowing for greater customization and control.
Simplified Backend Setup: Gone are the days of manually configuring your backend. With the new Express library, you can now implement the entire backend with just one line of code.
React Native Support: Now, you can bring the Social style comment section to your mobile applications with the new Replyke React Native library, ensuring a seamless and consistent user experience across both web and mobile platforms.

In the following sections, we’ll dive deeper into these features and show you how to get started with the updated Replyke. Whether you’re building a blog, a product review site, or any other platform that benefits from user interaction, Replyke has you covered.

Ready to enhance your project with an intuitive, stylish, and easy-to-implement comment section? Let’s get started!

* If you'd like to show your support, I've just launched (Aug 14) V3 on ProductHunt and would appreciate your support!

Installation Instructions

To integrate Replyke into your React application, start by installing the library.

npm install replyke
--- or ---
yarn add replyke

To integrate Replyke into your React Native application, install the React Native library instead.

npm install replyke-rn
--- or ---
yarn add replyke-rn

Implementation steps are the same for both React & React Native libraries.

Importing and Initializing Replyke

Social Style

The social style component is broken down into two main required components (CommentsFeed & NewCommentForm) and two optional components (SocialActionsBar & SortByButton), to allow for more flexible UI implementation.
All four components need to be wrapped by the SocialContextProvider.

To implement, first import the Provider and all components from Replyke at the top of your React component file:

import {
  ReplykeSocialProvider,
  CommentsFeed,
  NewCommentForm,
  SocialActionsBar,
  SortByButton,
} from "replyke";

Then, place them as you wish. A basic implementation would look something like this (example uses Tailwind and Shadcn) :

<ReplykeSocialProvider
  apiBaseUrl="your-server-url"
  articleId="unique-article-id"
  callbacks={{* object with callbacks *}}
  currentUser={* the current user or undefined *}
>
  <div className="flex p-6 items-center gap-1">
    <h4 className="font-semibold text-base flex-1">Comments</h4>
    <SortByButton
      priority="popular"
      activeView={
        <div className="bg-black py-1 px-2 rounded-md text-white text-xs">
          Popular
        </div>
      }
      nonActiveView={
        <div className="bg-gray-200 py-1 px-2 rounded-md text-xs">Popular</div>
      }
    />
    <SortByButton
      priority="newest"
      activeView={
        <div className="bg-black py-1 px-2 rounded-md text-white text-xs">
          Newest
        </div>
      }
      nonActiveView={
        <div className="bg-gray-200 py-1 px-2 rounded-md text-xs">Newest</div>
      }
    />
  </div>
  <div className="flex-1 flex flex-col overflow-hidden">
    <ScrollArea className="flex-1 px-4">
      <CommentsFeed />
      <div className="w-full h-4" />
    </ScrollArea>
    <div className="border-y p-4">
      <SocialActionsBar />
    </div>
    <div>
      <NewCommentForm />
    </div>
  </div>
</ReplykeSocialProvider>

Blog Style

Import the BlogCommentSection component from Replyke at the top of your React component file:

import { BlogCommentSection } from "replyke";

Then, implement the component in your application:

<BlogCommentSection
  apiBaseUrl="your-server-url"
  articleId="unique-article-id"
  callbacks={{* object with callbacks *}}
  currentUser={* the current user or undefined *}
 />

Replace "unique-article-id" with a unique identifier for the article or content where you want to display comments.
We'll dive deeper on how to use articleId and other props below.

This section sets the foundation for integrating Replyke's dynamic comment system into your application. Follow these steps to start enhancing user interaction on your platform.

Understanding the props

Configure your server's address

The apiBaseUrl should be the root URL of your own application's API. This is where your application handles all backend processes.
It should look like https://yourapi.com.
This URL will be the base for the requests that Replyke sends to handle comment-related operations. Make sure it's correctly formatted, without a trailing slash at the end.

By specifying your API's base URL, Replyke integrates directly into your existing backend infrastructure. It uses this endpoint to send and retrieve comment data, ensuring a seamless blend with your current systems.

Understanding the articleId Property

The articleId is a crucial property in Replyke, acting as a unique identifier for each piece of content where a comment section is integrated. It links the comments specifically to the corresponding content, ensuring they are displayed in the right context.

Usage Examples

Static Content: For a static page like 'About Us', you can hardcode the articleId:

<SocialContextProvider articleId="about-page">
...
</SocialContextProvider>

Dynamic Content: If you implement Replyke in a page with dynamic content, for example, on a blog post page in a blog site, articleId should dynamically match the blog post ID:

<SocialContextProvider articleId={blogPost.id}>
...
</SocialContextProvider>

Best Practices

Ensure uniqueness: Each articleId must be unique across your application.
Consistency: Maintain the same articleId for a piece of content to keep the comments consistent and relevant.

By properly managing the articleId, you can effectively organize and display comments relevant to specific content, enhancing user engagement and interaction on your platform.

Managing Users

The user prop in Replyke is crucial for integrating the comment system with your website's user management. It ensures that the interaction within the comment section aligns with the user's identity on your platform.

Implementation Details

Passing User Data: Provide a user object with details to identify logged-in users. For the user object, the property "_id" is mandatory, "name" and "img" are optional.

  <SocialContextProvider
    currentUser={
      user
        ? { _id: "user-id", name: "User Name", img: "user-image-url" }
        : undefined
    }
  />

This integration maintains the authenticity of user interactions, as Replyke uses the existing user profiles on your platform.

Callbacks in Replyke - Why Callbacks are Essential

In Replyke, callbacks are essential for creating a cohesive user experience that seamlessly integrates with your website's existing user system. These callbacks ensure that interactions within the Replyke comment component feel like an integral part of your website, rather than an external addition.

Customization and Integration

User-Centric Design: Callbacks allow the comment system to work with your own user management, avoiding the need for users to create separate accounts for commenting.
Seamless Experience: By using these callbacks, the actions within the Replyke component are aligned with your site's user flow and authentication processes.

With these callbacks, Replyke adapts to your website's user interface and functionality, enhancing user engagement while maintaining the integrity and continuity of the user experience. Each comment section variation requires specific callbacks. Please refer to the documentation for your chosen comment section variation to view the required and optional callbacks.
For available callbacks in the social style section click here.
For available callbacks in the blog style section click here.

useReplyke Hook

The useRepyke hook is designed for projects with premium access to fetch essential article data without unnecessary details such as comments or rendering components. This hook is ideal for obtaining data that can be used to build custom UI components tailored to specific needs.

To use the useRepyke hook in your project, ensure that you have premium access to the replyke package.

Usage

The useRepyke hook requires a configuration object and returns various values and components that can be used to interact with and display article data.

Configuration Object

The configuration object passed to useRepyke should include the following properties:

accessKey: The project's unique premium access key.
apiBaseUrl: The server base URL.
articleId: The ID of the article to fetch data for.
currentUser: The current user object containing _id, name, and img, or undefined if no user is logged in.

Returned Values

The hook returns an object with the following properties:

userLikedArticle: A boolean that indicates whether the current user has liked the article (provided a user object is passed).
commentCount: A number that represents the total number of comments on the article.
likesCount: A number that represents the total number of likes on the article.
likeArticle: A function that adds a like to the article from the current user (provided a user object is passed).
unlikeArticle: A function that removes a like from the article by the current user (provided a user object is passed and they previously liked the article).
topComment: An object containing details about the top comment on the article, including content, likes, author (with _id, name, and img), and createdAt (the time the comment was created).

Components

The hook also returns several customizable icon components (iconSize, iconColor and onClick could be passed to the icons):

HeartButton: A heart icon component for liking/unliking the article. It is functional out of the box
CommentButton: A comment icon component.
ShareButton: A share icon component.
BookmarkButton: A bookmark icon component.

Example Usage

import { useRepyke } from "replyke";

const ArticleComponent = ({
  accessKey,
  apiBaseUrl,
  articleId,
  currentUser,
}) => {
  const {
    userLikedArticle,
    commentCount,
    likesCount,
    likeArticle, // we could use this instead of the heart button
    unlikeArticle, // we could use this instead of the heart button
    topComment,
    HeartButton,
    CommentButton,
    ShareButton,
    BookmarkButton,
  } = useRepyke({
    accessKey,
    apiBaseUrl,
    articleId,
    currentUser,
  });

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Article Details</h1>
      <p>Likes: {likesCount}</p>
      <p>Comments: {commentCount}</p>
      <p>Top Comment: {topComment?.content}</p>

      <HeartButton
        iconSize="24px"
        emptyColor="gray"
        fullColor="red" />
      <CommentButton
        iconSize="24px"
        iconColor="blue"
        onClick={() => console.log("Comment clicked")}
      />
      <ShareButton
        iconSize="24px"
        iconColor="green"
        onClick={() => console.log("Share clicked")}
      />
      <BookmarkButton
        iconSize="24px"
        iconColor="orange"
        onClick={() => console.log("Bookmark clicked")}
      />
    </div>
  );
};

Backend Integration

For easy integration with Node.js + Express + Mongoose applications, Replyke provides a library to simplify the process for you. Follow these simple steps to integrate Replyke's backend features seamlessly into your Express application.

Installation

First, install the replyke-express package via npm:

npm install replyke-express

Setup

To use the routes provided by replyke-express, import and configure them in your Express application.

Basic Setup

Import and Initialize: Start by importing the necessary modules and initializing your Express app.
Middleware Configuration: Use the JSON middleware and configure the Replyke routes.
Start the Server: Finally, start your Express server.

Example Integration

Below is a complete example of how to integrate replyke-express in an Express application, including MongoDB connection setup.

const express = require('express');
const mongoose = require('mongoose');
const { replykeRoutes } = require('replyke-express');

const app = express();

// Connect to MongoDB
mongoose.connect('your-mongodb-uri');

app.use(express.json());

// Use the Replyke routes
app.use(replykeRoutes);

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server is running on port ${PORT}`);
});

Collections

The documents will be stored in the following MongoDB collections:

replyke-articles: Stores articles along with their associated likes, comments, and replies.
replyke-comments: Stores comments related to articles.

Design Studio

Replyke Studio offers an intuitive interface for customizing the appearance of your comment section. Focusing on visual elements, it allows you to control:

Colors: Set the color scheme to match your site’s branding.
Font Sizes: Adjust text sizes for readability and emphasis.
Margins and Paddings: Fine-tune the spacing for a clean layout.
Borders and More: Add finishing touches with border styles and other design elements.

Implementing Studio Styles

Once your design is complete, you'll receive a unique style ID. Apply this to your Replyke component:

<BlogCommentSection styleId="your-generated-style-id" />

This approach makes it simple to align the comment section’s aesthetics with your application's design, enhancing user experience.

Closing note

In summary, the latest version of Replyke offers a range of powerful new features that make adding a comment section to your React projects easier and more versatile than ever.
With the introduction of the Social style, your comment sections can now have a modern, social network-inspired design.
The useReplyke hook provides crucial article information for greater control, and the new Express library simplifies backend setup to a single line of code. Additionally, with the new React Native library, you can bring these features to your mobile applications, ensuring a consistent and engaging user experience across all platforms.

Whether you're a seasoned developer or new to Replyke, these updates provide everything you need to create a seamless and stylish comment section in minutes.

If you've enjoyed this article and find Replyke useful - please make sure to follow me on X/Twitter (account: yantsab) where I'll be posting updates as I make Replyke even better.

Complete Comment Section for React: New and Improved Replyke V3