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Developer tools overview

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We provide a number of tools and packages to speed up development with Contensis.

Our React Base framework and React Starter application are designed to cut the time it takes to build React websites and web apps using Contensis by streamlining common development tasks and speeding up project initiation.

The Contensis CLI is a vital tool not only for developers, but also system administrators and other experienced users who want to interact with one or more Contensis environments or projects from the terminal.

If you're using the Contensis Forms builder, our Contensis Forms package allows you to render Contensis forms on any website. It’s WCAG 2.2 compliant, handles field and page validation out of the box, and can be customised to match your branding and design system.

We also provide several packages for working with Canvas field content, including packages to render Canvas JSON as HTML in your front-end projects and to generate Canvas content from HTML when importing existing content into Canvas fields.

Contensis React Base

Contensis React Base is a framework for building React applications that integrate with Contensis. It provides tools and components to streamline tasks such as routing, content rendering, and state management, allowing developers to focus on building features.

You can use Contensis React Base to:

  • Automatically handle routing and content loading using the Contensis Delivery API.
  • Set up server-side rendering (SSR) for improved performance and SEO.
  • Manage global application state with a pre-configured Redux store.
  • Integrate search, user authentication, and navigation features with built-in utilities.
  • Use TypeScript for type-safe development with ready-made models.

The framework is designed to reduce boilerplate and provide a consistent starting point for building React apps using Contensis, whether you're working on server-side or client-side rendering.

Contensis React Base should be considered a framework for working with React and Contensis, it provides no options for outputting a working application. For that purpose we provide our React Starter project.

Contensis React Starter

Contensis React Starter is a starter project for building React applications with Contensis CMS. It is a React application which relies on Contensis React Base as a dependency and allows developers to implement projects quickly and efficiently. It provides a pre-configured setup to simplify common development tasks and speed up project initiation.

Contensis React Starter is maintained and used extensively by our own services team and is used in some way by most websites and web applications powered by Contensis.

You can use React Starter to:

  • Connect to your Contensis CMS environment using .env files.
  • Build and debug React applications with pre-configured routing, state management, and server-side rendering.
  • Develop components in isolation using Storybook, with options to preview and deploy stories via Blocks.
  • Test your application in a Docker container to replicate deployment environments.
  • Use built-in utilities to work with the Contensis Delivery API and streamline development workflows.

React Starter is designed to help developers quickly create scalable, production-ready applications that integrate seamlessly with Contensis CMS.

Contensis CLI

The Contensis CLI is a command-line tool for managing Contensis projects directly from your local environment. It provides a range of commands to simplify tasks such as managing content types, syncing files, and automating processes.

You can use the CLI to:

  • Create, update, and validate content types and entries directly from the terminal.
  • Upload and download media files without relying on the CMS interface.
  • Sync your local files with your Contensis project to keep everything consistent across development and production.
  • Automate repetitive tasks using scripts to save time and reduce errors.
  • Integrate Contensis into wider development workflows, such as CI/CD pipelines.

The CLI is designed to support developers by providing an efficient way to manage and work with Contensis projects outside the CMS interface.

Contensis Forms package

The Contensis forms builder allows you to create forms, surveys and questionnaires using the same drag-and-drop experience you’re used to when building content types. To help you get up and running as quickly as possible, we’ve created  an NPM package that you can use to render Contensis forms on your websites.

It’s WCAG 2.2 compliant, handles field and page validation out of the box, and has built-in support for storing form data in local storage if you have autosave enabled on your form.

The package uses modern CSS, with easily overridable custom properties, making it easy for you to update themes to make your branding and design system.

You can use the package to embed Contensis forms in any web page by including the required <script> tag and <div> tag.

See the Contensis Form repository on GitHub for more information and a full release history.

Canvas packages

Canvas is our modern block-based editor for creating long-form structured content that can be delivered anywhere as clean JSON, making it easy for developers to style and render it as appropriate for any situation.

To make it easier to get your content out of Contensis, we’ve developed a set of packages to render Canvas JSON as HTML in your front-end projects. These provide a default rendering of clean semantic HTML while giving you the ability to customise that render. We also provide a package for generating Canvas content from HTML to make it easier for you to import existing content into Canvas fields.

We provide NPM packages for:

You can also find all links to all three packages along with a full release history and other information in the Contensis Canvas repository on GitHub.

Support for these tools

These tools and utilities are intended to make development with Contensis easier, but they are not part of the product itself, and as such and are not covered under the Contensis SLA.

They are all used by our own teams on a regular basis and are actively maintained and improved.

If you have a question about using any of these tools that isn't covered by the respective README or other documentation, the best place to ask is on Contensis Slack.

If you find a bug or issue with any of these tools please raise a Help Desk ticket. As these tools aren't covered by the Contensis SLA, we can't guarantee a resolution time unless the issue is affecting a website or app built for you by our services team. That said, we will generally endeavour to help even when the problem isn't covered by the SLA.

Still need help?

If you still need help after reading this article, don't hesitate to reach out to the Contensis community on Slack or raise a support ticket to get help from our team.
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