Mastering Nextjs Code Block with Customization and MDX

Nextjs code block is a powerful tool that allows you to write and display code snippets in a clean and readable format.

By using the code block feature, you can add code examples to your Nextjs pages and make them more interactive and engaging for your users.

With MDX, you can take your code blocks to the next level by adding customizations such as syntax highlighting, line numbers, and even animations.

You can also use MDX to add interactive elements to your code blocks, such as collapsible sections and tooltips.

In Next.js, Prism customization is made possible through the use of the `prism` object in the `next.config.js` file. This object allows you to configure various aspects of the code highlighting feature.

You can customize the theme by specifying a theme name, such as 'prism', 'dark', or 'nightly'. For example, `prism: { theme: 'prism' }` sets the theme to 'prism'.

Prism can also be customized to support specific languages by adding them to the `languages` array. For instance, `prism: { languages: ['javascript', 'css', 'html'] }` enables support for JavaScript, CSS, and HTML languages.

The `prism` object also allows you to specify a custom CSS file for the code highlighting feature. This can be done by setting the `css` property to a string value, such as `prism: { css: './styles/prism.css' }`.

You can also customize the code highlighting feature by specifying a custom lexer for a specific language. For example, `prism: { languages: { 'javascript': 'javascript' } }` sets the lexer for the JavaScript language to 'javascript'.

MDX is a superset of Markdown that lets you write JSX in your Markdown files, offering more powerful capabilities.

You can still write simple Markdown in these files if you prefer, but MDX support is a better choice.

To add MDX support, start by installing @next/mdx.

You'll also need to create a config file named mdx-components.tsx in the root of your application.

This file is required for @next/mdx to work with the App Router.

You can add components to it that you want to support in your MDX files.

Since we'll be using a plugin that requires ESM, you'll have to enable ESM support by renaming the next.config.js file to next.config.mjs.

Update its contents to the following code to enable ESM support.

You can add custom fonts to your Next.js project by using the next/font package. This package allows you to import and use fonts in your application.

To apply a font to a specific component, you can use the next/font package and assign the font as a variable. This is shown in the Tailwind CSS section of the article.

To apply a Google font globally, you need to complete three steps: import the font, configure the font object, and attach the font to your JSX code.

The next/font package makes this process easy. Importing a font is the first step, where you can choose from a wide range of Google fonts.

To configure the font object, you'll need to use the className prop to attach the font to your HTML element. This will make all of its children elements inherit the font.

Here are the three steps to apply a Google font globally:

By following these steps, you can easily apply a Google font globally to your project.

To apply a font to a specific component, you'll need to use the next/font utility.

You can do this by creating a new component and using the font variable you've already set up.

The next/font utility allows you to apply a font to a specific component.

This is done by adding the font as a variable, as shown in the Tailwind CSS section.

You can then use this variable to apply the font to your new component.

For example, if you want to apply the Roboto Mono font to a custom component, you can use the next/font utility to make it happen.

By following these steps, you can easily apply a font to a specific component and enhance the overall look and feel of your application.

To highlight code in your Next.js blog, you'll need to use a library like Highlight.js to parse and tokenize the code. This is where rehype-highlight comes in, a plugin for MDX that uses Highlight.js to handle code blocks.

Rehype-highlight will add classes to the tokens in your code block, allowing you to style them with a stylesheet. You can inspect the HTML of your app to see the classes applied to each token.

To add a stylesheet, you'll need to import a theme from a library like tailwind-highlightjs, which provides default Highlight.js themes. In your Tailwind config file, add the plugin, a theme, and hljs to the safelist so the styles won't be purged.

With the stylesheet in place, hljs classes will produce a highlighted code block, making your code look much more stylish.

To render MDX from an external source, you'll need to fetch it from a headless CMS or another location. This is known as Remote MDX.

First, you should follow the Remote MDX guide in the Next.js documentation. This guide will walk you through the process of setting up Remote MDX.

To parse code blocks in your remote MDX content, you'll need to add rehype-highlight to the Rehype plugins of the package you use to fetch and render the content.

Next.js code blocks are made up of several key components that work together to enable dynamic rendering and server-side rendering.

The `pages` directory is a fundamental component of Next.js, where you define your application's routes and pages.

Next.js uses a file system-based routing system, which means that routes are automatically detected based on the directory structure of your project.

Pages in Next.js are essentially functions that return React elements, allowing for dynamic rendering and server-side rendering capabilities.

The `getStaticProps` function is a key component of Next.js, which allows you to pre-render pages at build time and improve performance.

Next.js also supports server-side rendering (SSR) through the `getServerSideProps` function, which allows you to render pages on the server for improved performance.

The `useRouter` hook in Next.js provides a way to access the router object, which allows you to navigate between pages and access route information.

Next.js also includes a built-in support for internationalization (i18n) through the `useLocale` hook, which allows you to easily support multiple languages in your application.

Next.js provides a flexible and scalable way to build server-rendered React applications, making it a popular choice for modern web development.