Nick Taylor hosts Dom and Anthony Campolo from the RedwoodJS core team to discuss the new features in RedwoodJS 4, including custom authentication and Vite integration.
Episode Summary
In this episode, Nick Taylor hosts Dom and Anthony Campolo from the RedwoodJS core team to discuss the new features in RedwoodJS 4. They dive deep into the new custom authentication API, demonstrating how to implement a basic login flow from scratch. The discussion covers the flexibility of the new auth system, allowing developers to integrate any auth provider. They also explore the experimental Vite integration, showcasing its quick setup process and potential performance benefits. Other topics include GraphQL security improvements, the power of RedwoodJS’s CLI for rapid development, and the framework’s goal of providing a complete, opinionated stack for building full-stack JavaScript applications.
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction and Overview
Dom and Anthony Campolo from the RedwoodJS core team join Nick Taylor to discuss the latest updates in RedwoodJS 4. They introduce themselves and their roles within the RedwoodJS project. Dom explains his involvement in releases and general maintenance, while Anthony discusses his role as a developer advocate. The conversation sets the stage for exploring the new features and improvements in the latest version of RedwoodJS.
02:56 - Deep Dive into RedwoodJS 4 Features
The discussion delves into the key features of RedwoodJS 4, focusing on three main areas: the new authentication API, GraphQL security improvements, and experimental Vite support. Dom explains how the new auth API provides more flexibility for developers to integrate custom authentication solutions or third-party providers. They touch on the improved GraphQL security measures, which help prevent potential abuse of nested queries and token limits. The conversation then shifts to the experimental Vite integration, highlighting its potential for faster development and build times.
15:42 - Setting Up a RedwoodJS Project
Nick begins setting up a new RedwoodJS project to demonstrate some of the new features. They walk through the CLI commands for creating a new project, discussing the options for TypeScript support and the underlying technology choices. The team explains the project structure and the purpose of various generated files, giving insights into RedwoodJS’s opinionated approach to full-stack development.
31:26 - Implementing Custom Authentication
The bulk of the episode focuses on implementing a custom authentication system using RedwoodJS’s new auth API. They create a basic login form, set up an API route for authentication, and integrate it with the front-end using RedwoodJS’s hooks and components. This hands-on demonstration showcases the flexibility of the new auth system and provides viewers with a practical understanding of how to implement custom authentication in a RedwoodJS application.
79:04 - Exploring Vite Integration
In the final segment, the team demonstrates the quick and easy process of setting up Vite in a RedwoodJS project. They discuss the benefits of Vite, such as faster development server startup and improved build times. The conversation touches on the potential for server-side rendering (SSR) support in future RedwoodJS versions, enabled by the Vite integration.
85:09 - Conclusion and Future Outlook
The episode concludes with a brief discussion on GraphQL security improvements in RedwoodJS 4. They talk about limiting nested queries and token usage to prevent potential abuse. The hosts reflect on the comprehensive nature of RedwoodJS as a full-stack solution and its goal of providing developers with a complete, opinionated stack for building web applications. They wrap up by encouraging viewers to explore RedwoodJS and its new features.