--- title: "Walkthrough: Connecting a code-first JSS Next.js application to Sitecore" slug: "walkthrough--connecting-a-code-first-jss-next-js-application-to-sitecore" abstract: "Connect a JSS Next.js app created with the JSS initializer to Sitecore and perform an initial deployment of code-first artifacts" --- # Walkthrough: Connecting a code-first JSS Next.js application to Sitecore Every JSS application must at some point in its lifecycle transition from disconnected mode, to being deployed to a Sitecore environment. You can use the JSS CLI to deploy our app to Sitecore, which imports all of our disconnected content and components into Items that can then be edited. Once the app is connected to Sitecore you can run it in [connected mode](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/start-a-jss-app-in-connected-mode.html "Start a JSS app in connected mode") where you develop the app using live data from Sitecore and [advanced editors](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/walkthrough--connecting-a-next-js-jss-app-to-sitecore-editors.html "Walkthrough: Connecting a Next.js JSS app to Sitecore editors"). > [!important] > A JSS Next.js app created with a container-based template is already connected to the Sitecore instance inside the Docker container. The following steps only need to be performed for [JSS Next.js apps created with the NPM initializer](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/walkthrough--creating-a-jss-next-js-application-with-the-jss-initializer.html "Walkthrough: Creating a JSS Next.js application with the JSS initializer"). Connecting and deploying JSS applications to Sitecore requires that you have access to an instance with [Headless Services](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/sitecore-headless-services.html "Sitecore Headless Services"), you [installed the JSS CLI globally](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/install-the-jss-cli-globally.html "Install the JSS CLI globally") and [created an API Key](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/create-a-sitecore-services-client-api-key.html "Create a Sitecore services client API key"). This walkthrough describes how to: - Configure the site name and hostname for the JSS app. - Set up the connection information. - Deploy the app configuration to Sitecore. - Deploy a JSS Next.js app to Sitecore. ## Configure the site name and hostname for the JSS app Applications created based on JSS samples with the [JSS app initializer](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/the-jss-app-initializer.html "The JSS app initializer") include a [site definition](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/104/platform-administration-and-architecture/en/configure-multiple-managed-websites.html) in a [configuration patch](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/104/platform-administration-and-architecture/en/use-a-patch-file-to-customize-the-sitecore-configuration.html) created with the application. In the root folder of your JSS application, open the file containing the configuration patch `/sitecore/config/.config` and confirm that the `hostName` attribute matches a host header that the server must respond to. If you are deploying a JSS app that is to become the default site for the Sitecore installation, you can remove the `hostName` attribute so that the JSS app responds to any host. > [!note] > Provide a top-level domain (TLD) for the development hostname. The browser Microsoft Edge does not resolve hostnames without a TLD. For example, the browser can resolve `http://jss.sitecore` but not `http://sitecore`. The following is a site configuration example for setting the site name and the hostname: ```xml ``` If you are using a local instance, you must map the desired hostname to your localhost in a `hosts` file entry. To map a hostname to your localhost in a `hosts` file entry on Windows: 1. Open a code editor as an administrator. 2. In the editor, open the hosts file `C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts`. 3. Add the mapping. For example: ```text 127.0.0.1 myapp.siteco.re ``` 4. Save and close the file. After adding the hostname entry, add it as a binding on your IIS instance as well: ![IIS Bindings](https://doc.sitecore.com/api/markdown-image/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/images/iis-bindings.png) If you plan to deploy multiple JSS applications, you must configure the different hosts and hostname bindings in IIS for Sitecore to resolve the correct site. ## Set up the connection information To configure the connection: - In a terminal, run the JSS command `jss setup` and follow the prompts. Follow the prompts to supply the following pieces of information: - Website folder: This is the root physical path to the Sitecore instance, used to deploy config files. File share paths are fine for remote instances. For example: `c:\inetpub\wwwroot\MySitecore\Website`. If you do not have access to the website folder directly, answer *no* when asked if your instance is remote. - Sitecore hostname: This is the *hostname of your JSS app* previously configured in the Sitecore configuration patch `/sitecore/config/.config`. For example: `http://jssreactweb` - Sitecore import service URL: This is the *import service URL of your JSS app*, by default it will сonsist of the *hostname of your JSS app* plus `/sitecore/api/jss/import`: `http://jssreactweb/sitecore/api/jss/import`. You can leave this blank to use the default value or provide your custom URL. - Sitecore API key: provide the Item ID of the [API key](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/create-a-sitecore-services-client-api-key.html "Create a Sitecore services client API key") for this JSS app. - Deployment secret: This is a shared secret that enables authentication to deploy your app items to Sitecore. We recommend you use the random key generated by the setup process. If you choose your own key, the secret must be a randomly generated string 32 or more characters long. > [!important] > Do not commit the secret to source control; use a unique secret for each environment and limit access to production secrets. For CI environments, `jss setup` accepts parameters (`--help`) that can be used to pass the secret and other parameters from variables. By default, the secret is stored in `/scjssconfig.json` and `/sitecore/config/AppName.deploysecret.config` - both of which are automatically ignored if you are using Git for source control. The `jss setup` process generates the `/scjssconfig.json` file containing the connection strings for your JSS application. > [!tip] > To build an environment-agnostic JSS app bundle for production environments that always use the current hostname for API requests, in the `scjssconfig.json` set the `layoutServiceHost` setting to blank. This can be useful when you wish to commit one set of build artifacts and deploy them to a [headless proxy](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/walkthrough--rendering-a-jss-app-server-side-using-the-headless-jss-proxy.html "Walkthrough: Rendering a JSS app server-side using the headless JSS proxy"). This technique is incompatible with [connected GraphQL](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/connected-graphql-in-jss-apps.html "Connected GraphQL in JSS apps"). ## Deploy the app configuration to Sitecore The JSS app is registered with Sitecore using configuration patches that are deployed to the Sitecore server. When setting up the server, you already edited one of these patches when [setting the hostName attribute](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/walkthrough--connecting-a-code-first-jss-next-js-application-to-sitecore.html#UUID-dccdafb5-b4c9-20c0-e5ef-ceaa505ea241_section-idm1403269105894518 "Configure the site name and hostname for the JSS app"). Before the configuration patch can take effect on the server, you need to deploy it. You can deploy configurations automatically (recommended) or manually. Automatic deployment deploys the config patches directly from the JSS app using the JSS CLI. To automatically deploy the configuration patches: - In a terminal, within your JSS app, run the command: ```text jss deploy config ``` The script copies the config patch files from the `sitecore/config` folder to the Sitecore `App_Config/Include/zzz` folder. The automatic configuration deployment configured the JSS app within Sitecore, creates a site for it, and enables live mode without the need to publish. Developers should review the patch file carefully to ensure that all the settings are correct for the environment. In production, for example, the application should not run in live mode. > [!note] > Ensure that the user account you use to run the command has the permissions to write to the Sitecore website folder configured in `/scjssconfig.json`. On Windows, this can involve UAC elevation. If the JSS app config is to be deployed by a dedicated Sitecore developer (or DevOps), or when you're working with a remote instance, the JSS app config may need to be deployed manually. Acquire the `sitecore/config/*.config` patches from the JSS application, and deploy them to your `App_Config/Include` folder in a location of your liking such as a `zzz` folder. Ensure you review the config patches for content before deploying them. ## Deploy a JSS Next.js app to Sitecore Applications built with JSS for Next.js are deployed differently than apps built with JSS for React, Angular, and Vue.js because of the [particularities of Next.js](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/sitecore-javascript-rendering-sdk--jss--for-next-js.html "Sitecore JavaScript Rendering SDK (JSS) for Next.js"). Essentially, because of the Next.js server, a JSS Next.js app uses the [HTTP rendering engine](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/hd/23/sitecore-headless-development/http-rendering-engine.html "HTTP rendering engine"). To deploy a JSS Next.js app to a Sitecore installation: 1. Open a command prompt/terminal within your JSS app. 2. Run the command: ```text jss deploy items --includeContent --includeDictionary ``` > [!important] > Do not use `jss deploy app` or `jss deploy files` when working with Next.js. > > You do not have to configure a `sitecoreDistPath` in the `package.json` file of a Next.js JSS app.