Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK allowing to automatically inject [smart links](https://docs.kontent.ai/tutorials/develop-apps/build-strong-foundation/set-up-editing-from-preview#a-using-smart-links) to Kontent.ai according to manually specified [HTML data attri
Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK simplifies and enhances the process of editing and managing web content in Live Preview by embedding "smart links" into your web pages. These smart links, defined by specific HTML data attributes you set, create a direct bridge to the Kontent.ai CMS. This allows content creators and editors to quickly navigate from the preview website to the corresponding content in the Kontent.ai platform.
> [!WARNING] > Important note: Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK is a browser-only SDK. Make sure to always initialize the Smart Link SDK in a browser context.
Features
- ✏️ Edit Smart Links: Quickly navigate from your website's preview to the corresponding content in Kontent.ai. - ➕ Add Smart Links: Simplify the addition of modular content directly from your preview. - 🔄️ Automatic Reloads/Rebuilds: Set up the automatic webpages reloads when your content is ready in the Delivery Preview API, ensuring your preview always reflects the latest saved changes. - 👀 Live Preview: Experience real-time content changes even before they're saved.
You can install this library using npm or using global CDNs such as jsdelivr.
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`` npm i @kontent-ai/smart-link --save `
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When you include the UMD bundle of this library in the script tag of your HTML page, an SDK becomes available under the kontentSmartLink global variable.
> [!NOTE] > To prevent potential issues from arising due to breaking changes, it is recommended to replace @latest with a specific version number.
Quickstart
To integrate the Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK into your web project and enable smart link injection, follow these steps:
1. Include SDK: Add the SDK to your project. 2. Specify HTML data attributes: Define the HTML data attributes on your webpage elements where you want the smart links to appear. Detailed guidance on setting these attributes can be found here. `html
Title
` 3. Initialization: Initialize the SDK in your code to create the smart link to Kontent.ai. You can read more about SDK initialization here. `ts const instance = KontentSmartLink.initialize(); `
For more complex examples, check the Examples section.
Data attributes
The Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK relies on manually specified data attributes in your HTML markup. These attributes are essential for the SDK to identify where and how to integrate smart links into your content. They also enable the SDK to access necessary information, such as the Kontent.ai environment ID and element codenames.
> [!NOTE] > It's important to note that the SDK does not automatically insert these data attributes into your HTML. You are responsible for adding them manually.
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View complete data attributes reference
| Attribute | Value | Description | |-------------------------------------------|:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------:|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | data-kontent-environment-id | guid | Kontent.ai environment ID. | | data-kontent-language-codename | string | Kontent.ai language codename. | | data-kontent-item-id | guid | Content item ID. | | data-kontent-component-id | guid | Content component ID. | | data-kontent-element-codename | string | Content type element codename. | | data-kontent-add-button | - | Specifies that node should have add-button rendered near it. | | data-kontent-add-button-insert-position | start | before | after | end | Specifies the insert position of an item/content component added using add button. | | data-kontent-add-button-render-position | bottom-start | bottom | bottom-end | left-start | left | left-end | top-start | top | top-end | right-start | right | right-end | Specifies visual location of add button. | | data-kontent-disable-features | highlight | Specifies that the selected node should not have highlight (which includes edit smart links). Useful when there are too many smart links on your page. |
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The SDK processes data attributes in a hierarchical structure. While the SDK internally parses these attributes from the most nested (bottom) to the least nested (top), we recommend implementing them in your HTML from top to bottom. This means starting with the highest-level container elements and working your way down to the most specific elements. Here's how:
- Environment-Level Attributes: Begin by assigning the data-kontent-environment-id attribute to a high-level element, such as the
tag. Similarly, assign the data-kontent-language-codename alongside the environment id ID to establish the language context for all contained elements.
> [!NOTE] > The environment ID and language codename values can be configured during SDK initialization. See the Configuration section for details on setting these values programmatically.
- Content-Specific Attributes: After setting environment attributes, mark your content items and their elements: - Use
data-kontent-item-id on elements that represent entire content items - Use data-kontent-element-codename on elements that represent specific fields within those items - Use data-kontent-component-id on elements that represent content components within rich text elements
This mapping allows the SDK to connect your HTML elements directly to their corresponding content in Kontent.ai.
- Nested Content: For rich text or linked items containing additional content: - For linked items: Mark nested content with
data-kontent-item-id to represent each nested item - For rich text: Mark content components with data-kontent-component-id to represent reusable components within the rich text - Continue this pattern for any deeper nesting levels
> [!NOTE] > The Smart Link SDK provides helper functions to simplify the creation of data attributes. For more information, see the data attribute helper functions.
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Smart links create clickable overlays on your content that connect directly to Kontent.ai's editing interface. Think of them as "edit buttons" or "add buttons" that appear when you hover over content elements.
| Smart Link Type | Purpose | Works Outside Live Preview? | Key Attributes | |----------------|---------|---------------------------|---------------| | Element Edit | Edit specific content elements | ✅ Yes |
data-kontent-element-codename | | Item Edit | Edit content items | ✅ Yes | data-kontent-item-id | | Component Edit | Edit content components | ❌ Live Preview only | data-kontent-component-id | | Add Content | Add new content/components | ❌ Live Preview only | data-kontent-add-button |
What happens when clicked: - Outside Live Preview: Redirects to Kontent.ai item editor - Inside Live Preview: Opens in-context editor for that specific field
---
#### Smart Links Guide
1. Set up your page context Every smart link needs to know which project and language it's working with:
`html
data-kontent-language-codename='default'>
`
2. Make a text field editable The most common use case - clicking text to edit it:
`html data-kontent-language-codename='default'>
How to Use Smart Links
Smart links make editing content incredibly easy...
`
#### Content Components
Content components are reusable pieces within rich text. Each needs its own ID:
> [!NOTE] > For a demonstration of Smart Link buttons, check out the samples/smartlink.html file in this repository which showcases different button types and positions.
SDK initialization
To activate the Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK on your website, you need to initialize it after setting up all required data attributes. The SDK offers two methods for initialization:
-
initialize: Instantly initializes the SDK, making it ready to use. This method is ideal when your webpage is fully loaded or when SDK initialization occurs after the document's DOMContentLoaded event. `ts const instance = KontentSmartLink.initialize({ queryParam: "preview" }); ` - initializeOnLoad: Delays SDK initialization until the entire page has loaded. This approach is particularly useful for including the SDK in the of your webpage, ensuring that all page elements are fully loaded before initialization begins. `ts KontentSmartLink.initializeOnLoad().then(instance => { // SDK is fully initialized and ready to use }); `
Both methods return an SDK instance, with
initializeOnLoad returning a promise that resolves to an instance. It is important to manage this instance appropriately:
- Accessing the SDK instance: Store the returned instance if you need to access SDK methods after initialization.
- Resource management: The SDK leverages event listeners, timeouts, and observers to function properly. To prevent memory leaks or unintended behavior always invoke the
.destroy() method on the SDK instance before re-initializing the SDK. `ts useEffect(() => { const instance = KontentSmartLink.initialize(); return () => instance.destroy(); }) `
The Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK adapts its behavior based on where it's running to provide the optimal content management experience:
#### Outside Live Preview
When used outside of Live Preview, the SDK leverages URL query parameters to manage the activation of smart links. By default, it looks for the
ksl-enabled parameter in the webpage URL. However, this parameter can be customized using the queryParam option during SDK initialization. The features that could be used outside of Live Preview are limited.
#### Inside Live Preview
If the SDK detects that it is run inside an iframe, it attempts to connect to Live Preview through iframe messages early during initialization. Upon successful communication with Live Preview, the SDK disables query parameter reliance and activates additional functionalities designed for in-context editing and preview.
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Customize how the SDK operate on your preview website with optional configuration arguments passed during initialization. Configuration can be adjusted post-initialization using the
setConfiguration method.
View all configuration options
| Attribute | Default | Description | |-----------------------|:-----------------------------------------------------------:|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | debug | false | Set to
true to enable detailed logging, aiding in development and troubleshooting. | defaultDataAttributes | `{ environmentId: undefined, languageCodename: undefined }` | Define default values for essential data attributes to streamline setup. | | queryParam | ksl-enabled | Name of the query parameter that must be present in the URL to turn the smart link injection on. Only the presence of this query parameter is checked. Query parameter is only used outside Live Preview. |
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Maintaining an up-to-date preview is essential when editing content in Live Preview using the in-context editor. The Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK introduces a preview autorefresh feature from version 2.2.0 onwards, ensuring your preview automatically updates after your changes are saved without manual refreshes.
#### Prerequisites for autorefresh
To enable autorefresh in your preview web app, ensure:
1. SDK Version: Your application is using version 2.2.0 or higher of the Smart Link SDK. 2. API Header: The
X-KC-Wait-For-Loading-New-Content header is set to true for requests to the Delivery Preview API.
#### Implementing a custom refresh handler
There are scenarios where a full page refresh may not be ideal, such as when using a static site generator or when aiming to update only a portion of the page. To accommodate diverse needs, the Smart Link SDK offers the capability to define a custom refresh handler.
This custom handler overrides the default refresh behavior, allowing for tailored refresh logic based on your specific requirements. Implement it as follows:
`ts import KontentSmartLink, { IRefreshMessageData } from '@kontent-ai/smart-link';
const sdk = KontentSmartLink.initialize();
sdk.on(KontentSmartLinkEvent.Refresh, (data, metadata, originalRefresh) => { // Implement your custom refresh logic here });
`
You can then unregister the custom handler using the
.off method.
For more complex example, check the Examples section.
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As of version 3.2.0, the Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK introduces support for live reload within Live Preview. This feature enhances the content editing experience by providing real-time updates within your preview environment through iframe communication immediately after edits are made in the in-context editor.
> [!NOTE] > The live reload requires manual integration to function. Your preview website will not automatically update with changes; it is your responsibility to implement how these updates are processed and displayed in your application.
#### Implementing live reload in your application
To set up live reload, listen for update events from the SDK. These events are triggered after content is edited in Kontent.ai, providing you with the updated data. In a typical SPA, you would fetch the data from the Delivery API and store them in memory. When the SDK triggers an update event, you would then update the stored items in memory to display the latest content. To easily apply the updates on you items, SDKs provide you wtih helper functions: -
applyUpdateOnItem - A function that applies the update data directly to a content item, modifying its elements, content components, and existing linked items according to the changes made in the editor.
-
applyUpdateOnItemAndLoadLinkedItems - A function that applies updates to the content item and attempts to load newly added linked items using the provided callback function. The callback function should handle loading the items from the Delivery API, including any polling logic needed since newly added items may not be immediately available.`ts import KontentSmartLink, { KontentSmartLinkEvent, applyUpdateOnItem, applyUpdateOnItemAndLoadLinkedItems } from '@kontent-ai/smart-link';
// Listen for updates and apply them to your application sdk.on(KontentSmartLinkEvent.Update, (data: IUpdateMessageData) => { // Use this data to update your application state or UI as needed e.g.: setItems((items) => items.map(item => applyUpdateOnItem(item, data))); // or Promise.all(items.map(item => applyUpdateOnItemAndLoadLinkedItems(item, data, fetchItemsFromDeliveryApi))) .then(setItems); });
`
For more complex example, check the Examples section.
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While autorefresh ensures that content updates are accurately reflected post-save, live reload offers the advantage of immediate visual feedback before changes are saved. To maximize content management efficiency, we recommend using live reload for instant editing feedback and relying on autorefresh to confirm that all changes are correctly saved and displayed. This combination provides a seamless editing experience, allowing content editors to preview changes in real-time and ensuring that the final content displayed is up-to-date with the Delivery Preview API.
#### Customization
The following custom CSS properties can be used to customize the visuals of the SDK output.
rgba(255, 255, 255, 1) | Default background color used in toolbar and popover. | | --ksl-color-background-default-disabled | rgba(223, 223, 223, 1) | Disabled background color for buttons inside toolbar and popover. | | --ksl-color-background-default-hover | rgba(21, 21, 21, 0.1) | Hover background color for buttons inside toolbar and popover. | | --ksl-color-background-default-selected | rgba(255, 240, 239, 1) | Selected background color for buttons inside toolbar and popover. | | --ksl-color-background-secondary | rgba(20, 22, 25, 1) | Secondary background color used in tooltips. | | --ksl-color-primary | rgba(219, 60, 0, 1) | Primary color used as a hover border color in highlights and as a background color in add buttons. | | --ksl-color-primary-hover | rgba(149, 48, 0, 1) | Primary color used as a hover background color in add buttons. | | --ksl-color-primary-transparent | rgba(219, 60, 0, 0.5) | Primary color with transparency used as a default border color in highlights. | | --ksl-color-text-default | rgba(255, 255, 255, 1) | Text color used on a default background (buttons inside toolbar and popover). | | --ksl-color-text-default-disabled | rgba(140, 140, 140, 1) | Disabled text color used on a default background. | | --ksl-color-text-secondary | rgba(21, 21, 21, 1) | Text color used inside tooltips and add buttons. | | --ksl-shadow-default | 0 8px 32px rgba(16, 33, 60, 0.24), 0 0 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03) | Default shadow for toolbar. | | --ksl-shadow-primary | 0 8px 10px rgba(219, 60, 0, 0.2), 0 6px 20px rgba(219, 60, 0, 0.12), 0 8px 14px rgba(219, 60, 0, 0.14) | Shadow for add buttons. | | --ksl-z-index | 9000 | Base value of z-index used for calculation of individual values for each ksl-element type |
These styles can be applied globally using the :root selector or scoped to specific elements for more precise theming.
In scenarios where your content is displayed within nested iframes (e.g. to simulate different device resolutions, or to handle redirects to the right preview website based on the item), the SDK's initialization messages may not reach the top-level Live Preview iframe directly, affecting functionality. To address this, follow the guidance provided in this issue.
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Next.js developers may encounter an issue with
SameSite cookies not being set correctly. This can be solved by utilizing the code snippet below in your API route handling preview file to replace SameSite=Lax to SameSite=None; Secure; right after res.setPreviewData call.`js const setCookieSameSite = (res, value) => { const cookies = res.getHeader("Set-Cookie"); const updatedCookies = cookies?.map((cookie) => cookie.replace( "SameSite=Lax", SameSite=${value}; Secure; ) ) res.setHeader( "Set-Cookie", updatedCookies ); };
export default function handler(req, res) { // ... res.setPreviewData({})
// THIS NEEDED TO BE ADDED setCookieSameSite(res, "None"); // ... }
`
Examples
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View HTML/CDN implementation example
This example demonstrates how to quickly integrate the Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK into a webpage using a CDN. It's ideal for static sites or projects without a build process, allowing you to enhance your preview with smart link capabilities using straightforward HTML and JavaScript.
In a React application, we recommend utilizing React's Context API to create a centralized store for the SDK instance, ensuring easy access and management of smart links within your component tree. This advanced example demonstrates setting up a SmartLinkContext to provide a Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK instance throughout your React application.
#### Creating the SmartLink context
`tsx // src/contexts/SmartLink.tsx import React, { type PropsWithChildren, useContext, useState, useMemo, useEffect, createContext } from 'react'; import KontentSmartLink, { KontentSmartLinkEvent } from '@kontent-ai/smart-link'; import KontentSmartLink, { KontentSmartLinkEvent, type IRefreshMessageData, type IRefreshMessageMetadata, type IUpdateMessageData, } from '@kontent-ai/smart-link';
type SmartLinkContextValue = { readonly smartLink?: KontentSmartLink | null; }
`tsx // src/App.tsx import React from 'react'; import { SmartLinkProvider } from './contexts/SmartLink';
const App: React.FC = () => { return ( {/ Your app components go here, now with smart link support /}
); };
`
#### Optimizing content updates in React with custom refresh logic
Using the custom refresh handler and the
useCustomRefresh hook we defined in the previous example. It is possible to only update a small portion of the UI without reloading the entire page when your changes are available on Delivery Preview API.
The following example showcases an efficient approach to handling such content updates within a React application.
`tsx import React, { useState, useCallback } from 'react'; import { useCustomRefresh } from '../context/SmartLink'; // Ensure correct import path import type { IRefreshMessageData, IRefreshMessageMetadata } from '@kontent-ai/smart-link';
const YourComponent: React.FC = () => { const [data, setData] = useState(null); const fetchData = useCallback((environmentId, languageCodename, itemCodename) => { // Your data fetching logic here using a delivery-sdk or request to Delivery API endpoint }, []);
// Define the custom refresh logic. const onRefresh = useCallback((data: IRefreshMessageData, metadata: IRefreshMessageMetadata, originalRefresh: () => void) => { // Check if the refresh was triggered manually and perform a full refresh if so. if (metadata.manualRefresh) { originalRefresh(); } else { // For automatic refreshes, refetch data for the updated item only. const { environmentId, languageCodename, updatedItemCodename } = data; fetchData(environmentId, languageCodename, updatedItemCodename); } }, [fetchData]);
// Use the custom refresh hook with the defined logic. useCustomRefresh(onRefresh);
return
{data}
; }; ` f #### Live Preview in Your Application
Using the
useLivePreview hook we defined in the previous example, you can enhance your application with real-time content updates during the editing process. This hook listens for live update messages from the Kontent.ai Smart Link SDK and applies those updates directly to the content item being displayed.
This example demonstrates setting up a
useLivePreview hook within a React component to dynamically update content items as changes are made in the in-context editor.`tsx import { useState, useCallback, useEffect } from 'react'; import { useLivePreview } from '../contexts/SmartLinkContext'; // Adjust the import path as needed import { type IUpdateMessageData, applyUpdateOnItem, applyUpdateOnItemAndLoadLinkedItems } from "@kontent-ai/smart-link" import type { IContentItem } from '@kontent-ai/delivery-sdk/lib/models/item-models';
const useContentItem = (codename: string) => { const [item, setItem] = useState(null); // Assume useDeliveryClient is a custom hook to obtain a configured delivery client instance const deliveryClient = useDeliveryClient();
const handleLiveUpdate = useCallback((data: IUpdateMessageData) => { if (item) { setItem(applyUpdateOnItem(item, data)); // or use applyUpdateOnItemAndLoadLinkedItems to load added linked items applyUpdateOnItemAndLoadLinkedItems(item, data, codenamesToFetch => deliveryClient.items(codenamesToFetch).toAllPromise()) .then(setItem); } }, [codename, item]);
useEffect(() => { // Fetch the content item initially and upon codename changes deliveryClient.item(codename) .toPromise() .then(res => setItem(res.item)); }, [codename, deliveryClient]);
useLivePreview(handleLiveUpdate);
return item; };
// Example component using the useContentItem hook export const ContentItemComponent = ({ codename }) => { const item = useContentItem(codename);
// Render logic for the content item return (
{/ Render your content item here /}
{item?.elements.name}
{/ More render logic /}
); }; `
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View SSG rebuild implementation example
For websites built with static site generators, applying content updates typically requires triggering a rebuild of the site. The following example shows how you can initiate a rebuild with the custom refresh handler, ensuring that your site reflects the latest content changes.
This example uses Gatsby deployed to Netlify, but the solution for other SSG frameworks should be similar.
The following Netlify serverless function,
deploy-status, checks the status of the latest deployment, enabling your application to wait for a rebuild to complete before refreshing the content.`js // ./.netlify/functions/deploy-status.js import fetch from 'node-fetch';
// Environment variables for Netlify site ID and access token const siteId = process.env.NETLIFY_SITE_ID; const token = process.env.NETLIFY_TOKEN;
// Handler to check the status of the last deployment const handler = async event => { try { const endpoint =
https://api.netlify.com/api/v1/sites/${siteId}/deploys; const result = await fetch(endpoint, { headers: { Authorization: Bearer ${token} } }); const data = await result.json();
// Assuming the first entry is the latest deployment const deploy = { state: data[0].state };
We can then trigger the rebuild process inside our custom refresh handler and wait for the deployment process to finish. After that the page can be refreshed using the
originalRefresh callback.`tsx import React, { useCallback, useEffect } from 'react'; import { useCustomRefresh } from '../context/SmartLinkContext'; // Adjust the import path as needed
const triggerRebuildOnNetlifyAndWaitForDeploy = useCallback(() => { // Trigger the Netlify build hook fetch('https://api.netlify.com/build_hooks/YOUR_BUILD_HOOK_ID?trigger_title=autorefresh', { method: 'POST' }) .then(async () => { // Check the deployment status repeatedly until it's 'ready' const checkDeployStatus = async () => { const response = await fetch('/.netlify/functions/deploy-status'); const { state } = await response.json(); if (state !== 'ready') { setTimeout(checkDeployStatus, 3000); // Check again after 3 seconds } };
Since this SDK highly depends on browser APIs, the unit tests are run by Vitest Browser inside Chrome browser. To run all tests in a watch mode you can use the
npm run test:unit command. To run all tests only once you can use the npm run test:unit:ci command. All unit tests are located in the test-browser folder.
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Visual regression testing is implemented using Playwright Components. Pre-built components are available into which Smart-Link loads. After the component is mounted, Playwright performs a screenshot test of the component.
To run Visual Regression tests use
npm run test:visual command. Or you can use the npm run test:visual:ci to start tests in a UI mode.
> [!NOTE] > Visual regression tests use the built version of SDK, so before running them make sure you rebuild the SDK after the last changes you made.
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Rendering differences across operating systems can lead to variations in screenshots. In our GitHub Action workflow for visual tests, reference screenshots are generated using the
ubuntu-latest` environment. To ensure consistency, a dedicated workflow produces an artifact with the updated screenshots.
Follow these steps if you need to update the screenshots:
1. Navigate to the Actions tab in your GitHub repository. 2. Locate and select the Update Snapshots workflow. 3. Manually trigger the workflow on your branch. 4. Once the workflow completes, download the generated artifact containing the updated screenshots. 5. Copy the updated screenshots into the repository.
