Skill 05 · Sanity Best Practices
Subchapter 5.2
references/app-sdk.mdMarkdown12 KBView on GitHub
Build custom React applications that interact with Sanity content in real-time.
@sanity/sdk, @sanity/sdk-react@sanity/ui, styled-components# Basic quickstart
npx sanity@latest init --template app-quickstart --organization <your-org-id> --output-path . --typescript --skip-mcp
# With Sanity UI components
npx sanity@latest init --template app-sanity-ui --organization <your-org-id> --output-path . --typescript --skip-mcp
# Start development server
npm run dev
# Deploy to Sanity
npx sanity@latest deploy
# Install Sanity UI
npm install @sanity/ui styled-componentsmy-app/
├── sanity.cli.ts # CLI config (org ID, entry point)
├── src/
│ ├── App.tsx # Root component with SanityApp provider
│ ├── App.css # Global styles
│ └── components/ # Your components
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json<Suspense>, use documentId as React key, read/write directly to Content Lake (not local state)useDocuments for lists, useDocumentProjection for display, useDocument + useEditDocument for editinguseQuery with raw GROQ (prefer useDocuments + useDocumentProjection)useState for form values that should sync with Content Lakekey for document lists (breaks real-time updates)fallback prop on <SanityApp> and <Suspense> boundariesapp.visibility: 'disabled' on an SDK app — it makes the app unreachable (hidden from the sidebar and 404 on the direct link). Use 'unlisted' to hide it while keeping the link openable.import { defineCliConfig } from 'sanity/cli'
export default defineCliConfig({
app: {
organizationId: 'your-org-id',
entry: './src/App.tsx',
},
})app.visibility controls whether the app appears in the Dashboard sidebar. Applied on deploy; change it and redeploy to update. Requires the sanity package v6.6.0+.
export default defineCliConfig({
app: {
organizationId: 'your-org-id',
entry: './src/App.tsx',
visibility: 'unlisted', // 'default' | 'unlisted'
},
})default — listed in the Dashboard sidebar (the default when omitted).unlisted — hidden from the sidebar, but still opens via a direct link. Not private: anyone with the link can open it.sanity.cli.ts is the source of truth: a redeploy re-applies app.visibility, so change it in config and redeploy rather than patching the deployed app out of band.
import { SanityApp, type SanityConfig } from '@sanity/sdk-react'
export default function App() {
const config: SanityConfig[] = [
{
projectId: 'your-project-id',
dataset: 'production',
},
]
return (
<SanityApp config={config} fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
<YourComponents />
</SanityApp>
)
}import { SanityApp, type SanityConfig } from '@sanity/sdk-react'
import { ThemeProvider } from '@sanity/ui'
import { buildTheme } from '@sanity/ui/theme'
const theme = buildTheme()
export default function App() {
const config: SanityConfig[] = [
{ projectId: 'your-project-id', dataset: 'production' },
]
return (
<ThemeProvider theme={theme}>
<SanityApp config={config} fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
<YourComponents />
</SanityApp>
</ThemeProvider>
)
}Prefix with SANITY_APP_ for automatic bundling:
SANITY_APP_PROJECT_ID=abc123
SANITY_APP_DATASET=productionAccess: process.env.SANITY_APP_PROJECT_ID
Lightweight references to documents. Fetch handles first, then load content as needed.
interface DocumentHandle {
documentId: string
documentType: string
projectId?: string
dataset?: string
}// Best: From useDocuments hook
const { data: handles } = useDocuments({ documentType: 'article' })
// Good: With helper (preserves literal types for TypeGen)
import { createDocumentHandle } from '@sanity/sdk'
const handle = createDocumentHandle({
documentId: 'my-doc-id',
documentType: 'article',
})
// Good: With as const (preserves literal types)
const handle = {
documentId: 'my-doc-id',
documentType: 'article',
} as const| Hook | Use Case | Returns |
|---|---|---|
useDocuments | List of documents (infinite scroll) | Document handles |
usePaginatedDocuments | Paginated lists with page controls | Document handles |
useDocument | Single document, real-time editing | Full document or field |
useDocumentProjection | Specific fields, display only | Projected data |
useQuery | Complex GROQ queries (use sparingly) | Raw query results |
// Good: Fetch handles, render items with Suspense
import { Suspense } from 'react'
import { useDocuments } from '@sanity/sdk-react'
function ArticleList() {
const { data, hasMore, loadMore, isPending } = useDocuments({
documentType: 'article',
batchSize: 10,
orderings: [{ field: '_updatedAt', direction: 'desc' }],
})
return (
<>
<ul>
{data.map((handle) => (
<Suspense key={handle.documentId} fallback={<li>Loading...</li>}>
<ArticleItem {...handle} />
</Suspense>
))}
</ul>
{hasMore && (
<button onClick={loadMore} disabled={isPending}>
Load More
</button>
)}
</>
)
}// Bad: Over-fetching with raw GROQ, no pagination
function BadArticleList() {
const { data } = useQuery(`*[_type == "article"]`)
return data?.map((doc, i) => <li key={i}>{doc.title}</li>)
}// Good: Project only needed fields
import { useDocumentProjection, type DocumentHandle } from '@sanity/sdk-react'
function ArticleItem(handle: DocumentHandle) {
const { data } = useDocumentProjection({
...handle,
projection: `{
title,
"authorName": author->name,
"imageUrl": image.asset->url
}`,
})
if (!data) return null
return (
<li>
<h2>{data.title}</h2>
<p>By {data.authorName}</p>
</li>
)
}// Good: Read and write directly to Content Lake
import { useDocument, useEditDocument, type DocumentHandle } from '@sanity/sdk-react'
function TitleInput(handle: DocumentHandle) {
const { data: title } = useDocument({ ...handle, path: 'title' })
const editTitle = useEditDocument({ ...handle, path: 'title' })
return (
<input
type="text"
value={title ?? ''}
onChange={(e) => editTitle(e.currentTarget.value)}
/>
)
}// Bad: Local state with submit button - causes stale data
function BadTitleForm(handle: DocumentHandle) {
const [value, setValue] = useState('')
const editTitle = useEditDocument({ ...handle, path: 'title' })
function handleSubmit(e: FormEvent) {
e.preventDefault()
editTitle(value) // Only writes on submit!
}
return (
<form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
<input value={value} onChange={(e) => setValue(e.target.value)} />
<button type="submit">Save</button>
</form>
)
}import {
useApplyDocumentActions,
publishDocument,
unpublishDocument,
deleteDocument,
} from '@sanity/sdk-react'
function DocumentActions({ handle }: { handle: DocumentHandle }) {
const apply = useApplyDocumentActions()
return (
<div>
<button onClick={() => apply(publishDocument(handle))}>Publish</button>
<button onClick={() => apply(unpublishDocument(handle))}>Unpublish</button>
<button onClick={() => apply(deleteDocument(handle))}>Delete</button>
</div>
)
}The App SDK uses React Suspense. Every data-fetching component must be wrapped.
// Good: Separate fetchers into separate components
function EventsAndVenues() {
return (
<>
<Suspense fallback="Loading events...">
<EventsList />
</Suspense>
<Suspense fallback="Loading venues...">
<VenuesList />
</Suspense>
</>
)
}
function EventsList() {
const { data } = useDocuments({ documentType: 'event' })
return <List items={data} />
}
function VenuesList() {
const { data } = useDocuments({ documentType: 'venue' })
return <List items={data} />
}// Bad: Multiple fetchers in one component
function BadComponent() {
const { data: events } = useDocuments({ documentType: 'event' })
const { data: venues } = useDocuments({ documentType: 'venue' })
// Both trigger Suspense together, causing unnecessary re-renders
}// Good: Fallback matches final component dimensions
const BUTTON_TEXT = 'Open in Studio'
export function OpenInStudio({ handle }: { handle: DocumentHandle }) {
return (
<Suspense fallback={<Button text={BUTTON_TEXT} disabled />}>
<OpenInStudioButton handle={handle} />
</Suspense>
)
}
function OpenInStudioButton({ handle }: { handle: DocumentHandle }) {
const { navigateToStudioDocument } = useNavigateToStudioDocument(handle)
return <Button onClick={navigateToStudioDocument} text={BUTTON_TEXT} />
}import { useDocumentEvent, DocumentEvent } from '@sanity/sdk-react'
function DocumentWatcher(handle: DocumentHandle) {
useDocumentEvent({
...handle,
onEvent: (event) => {
switch (event.type) {
case 'edited':
console.log('Edited:', event.documentId)
break
case 'published':
console.log('Published:', event.documentId)
break
case 'deleted':
console.log('Deleted:', event.documentId)
break
}
},
})
return null
}const config: SanityConfig[] = [
{ projectId: 'project-1', dataset: 'production' },
{ projectId: 'project-2', dataset: 'staging' },
]
// Handles include project/dataset info
const handle: DocumentHandle = {
documentId: 'doc-123',
documentType: 'article',
projectId: 'project-1',
dataset: 'production',
}function LazyContent(handle: DocumentHandle) {
const ref = useRef(null)
const { data } = useDocumentProjection({
...handle,
ref, // Only loads when element enters viewport
projection: '{ title, body }',
})
return <div ref={ref}>{data?.title}</div>
}The App SDK provides hooks and data stores. You bring:
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Safari dev issues | Use Chrome or Firefox during development |
| Port 3333 in use | npm run dev -- --port 3334 |
| Auth errors | npx sanity@latest logout && npx sanity@latest login |