Convex Quickstart

Convex Quickstart

Get a production-ready Convex backend set up in minutes. This skill guides you through initializing Convex, creating your schema, setting up auth, and building your first CRUD operations.

When to Use

• Starting a brand new project with Convex
• Adding Convex to an existing React/Next.js app
• Prototyping a new feature with real-time data
• Converting from another backend to Convex
• Teaching someone Convex for the first time

Prerequisites Check

Before starting, verify:

node --version  # v18 or higher
npm --version   # v8 or higher

Quick Start Flow

Step 1: Install and Initialize

# Install Convex
npm install convex

# Initialize (creates convex/ directory)
npx convex dev

This command:

• Creates convex/ directory
• Sets up authentication
• Starts development server
• Generates TypeScript types

Step 2: Create Schema

Create convex/schema.ts:

import { defineSchema, defineTable } from "convex/server";
import { v } from "convex/values";

export default defineSchema({
  users: defineTable({
    tokenIdentifier: v.string(),
    name: v.string(),
    email: v.string(),
  }).index("by_token", ["tokenIdentifier"]),

  // Add your tables here
  // Example: Tasks table
  tasks: defineTable({
    userId: v.id("users"),
    title: v.string(),
    completed: v.boolean(),
    createdAt: v.number(),
  })
    .index("by_user", ["userId"])
    .index("by_user_and_completed", ["userId", "completed"]),
});

Step 3: Set Up Authentication

We'll use WorkOS AuthKit, which provides a complete auth solution with minimal setup.

npm install @workos-inc/authkit-react

For React/Vite Apps:

// src/main.tsx
import { AuthKitProvider, useAuth } from "@workos-inc/authkit-react";
import { ConvexReactClient } from "convex/react";
import { ConvexProvider } from "convex/react";

const convex = new ConvexReactClient(import.meta.env.VITE_CONVEX_URL);

// Configure Convex to use WorkOS auth
convex.setAuth(useAuth);

function App() {
  return (
    <AuthKitProvider clientId={import.meta.env.VITE_WORKOS_CLIENT_ID}>
      <ConvexProvider client={convex}>
        <YourApp />
      </ConvexProvider>
    </AuthKitProvider>
  );
}

For Next.js Apps:

npm install @workos-inc/authkit-nextjs

// app/layout.tsx
import { AuthKitProvider } from "@workos-inc/authkit-nextjs";
import { ConvexClientProvider } from "./ConvexClientProvider";

export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <html>
      <body>
        <AuthKitProvider>
          <ConvexClientProvider>
            {children}
          </ConvexClientProvider>
        </AuthKitProvider>
      </body>
    </html>
  );
}

// app/ConvexClientProvider.tsx
"use client";

import { ConvexReactClient } from "convex/react";
import { ConvexProvider } from "convex/react";
import { useAuth } from "@workos-inc/authkit-nextjs";

const convex = new ConvexReactClient(process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_URL!);

export function ConvexClientProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const { getToken } = useAuth();

  convex.setAuth(async () => {
    return await getToken();
  });

  return <ConvexProvider client={convex}>{children}</ConvexProvider>;
}

Environment Variables:

# .env.local
VITE_CONVEX_URL=https://your-deployment.convex.cloud
VITE_WORKOS_CLIENT_ID=your_workos_client_id

# For Next.js:
NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_URL=https://your-deployment.convex.cloud
NEXT_PUBLIC_WORKOS_CLIENT_ID=your_workos_client_id
WORKOS_API_KEY=your_workos_api_key
WORKOS_COOKIE_PASSWORD=generate_a_random_32_character_string

Alternative auth providers: If you need to use a different provider (Clerk, Auth0, custom JWT), see the Convex auth documentation.

Step 4: Create Auth Helpers

Create convex/lib/auth.ts:

import { QueryCtx, MutationCtx } from "../_generated/server";
import { Doc } from "../_generated/dataModel";

export async function getCurrentUser(
  ctx: QueryCtx | MutationCtx
): Promise<Doc<"users">> {
  const identity = await ctx.auth.getUserIdentity();
  if (!identity) {
    throw new Error("Not authenticated");
  }

  const user = await ctx.db
    .query("users")
    .withIndex("by_token", q =>
      q.eq("tokenIdentifier", identity.tokenIdentifier)
    )
    .unique();

  if (!user) {
    throw new Error("User not found");
  }

  return user;
}

Create convex/users.ts:

import { mutation } from "./_generated/server";

export const store = mutation({
  args: {},
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const identity = await ctx.auth.getUserIdentity();
    if (!identity) throw new Error("Not authenticated");

    const existing = await ctx.db
      .query("users")
      .withIndex("by_token", q =>
        q.eq("tokenIdentifier", identity.tokenIdentifier)
      )
      .unique();

    if (existing) return existing._id;

    return await ctx.db.insert("users", {
      tokenIdentifier: identity.tokenIdentifier,
      name: identity.name ?? "Anonymous",
      email: identity.email ?? "",
    });
  },
});

Step 5: Create Your First CRUD Operations

Create convex/tasks.ts:

import { query, mutation } from "./_generated/server";
import { v } from "convex/values";
import { getCurrentUser } from "./lib/auth";

// List all tasks for current user
export const list = query({
  args: {},
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const user = await getCurrentUser(ctx);
    return await ctx.db
      .query("tasks")
      .withIndex("by_user", q => q.eq("userId", user._id))
      .order("desc")
      .collect();
  },
});

// Get a single task
export const get = query({
  args: { taskId: v.id("tasks") },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    const user = await getCurrentUser(ctx);
    const task = await ctx.db.get(args.taskId);

    if (!task) throw new Error("Task not found");
    if (task.userId !== user._id) throw new Error("Unauthorized");

    return task;
  },
});

// Create a task
export const create = mutation({
  args: { title: v.string() },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    const user = await getCurrentUser(ctx);
    return await ctx.db.insert("tasks", {
      userId: user._id,
      title: args.title,
      completed: false,
      createdAt: Date.now(),
    });
  },
});

// Update a task
export const update = mutation({
  args: {
    taskId: v.id("tasks"),
    title: v.optional(v.string()),
    completed: v.optional(v.boolean()),
  },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    const user = await getCurrentUser(ctx);
    const task = await ctx.db.get(args.taskId);

    if (!task) throw new Error("Task not found");
    if (task.userId !== user._id) throw new Error("Unauthorized");

    const updates: any = {};
    if (args.title !== undefined) updates.title = args.title;
    if (args.completed !== undefined) updates.completed = args.completed;

    await ctx.db.patch(args.taskId, updates);
  },
});

// Delete a task
export const remove = mutation({
  args: { taskId: v.id("tasks") },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    const user = await getCurrentUser(ctx);
    const task = await ctx.db.get(args.taskId);

    if (!task) throw new Error("Task not found");
    if (task.userId !== user._id) throw new Error("Unauthorized");

    await ctx.db.delete(args.taskId);
  },
});

Step 6: Use in Your React App

// app/tasks/page.tsx
"use client";

import { useQuery, useMutation } from "convex/react";
import { api } from "../../convex/_generated/api";

export default function TasksPage() {
  const tasks = useQuery(api.tasks.list);
  const create = useMutation(api.tasks.create);
  const update = useMutation(api.tasks.update);
  const remove = useMutation(api.tasks.remove);

  if (!tasks) return <div>Loading...</div>;

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Tasks</h1>

      {/* Create task */}
      <form => {
        e.preventDefault();
        const formData = new FormData(e.target as HTMLFormElement);
        create({ title: formData.get("title") as string });
        (e.target as HTMLFormElement).reset();
      }}>
        <input name="title" placeholder="New task" required />
        <button type="submit">Add</button>
      </form>

      {/* Task list */}
      {tasks.map(task => (
        <div key={task._id}>
          <input
            type="checkbox"
            checked={task.completed}
            => update({
              taskId: task._id,
              completed: e.target.checked
            })}
          />
          <span>{task.title}</span>
          <button => remove({ taskId: task._id })}>
            Delete
          </button>
        </div>
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

Step 7: Development vs Production

For Development (use this!):

# Start development server (NOT production!)
npx convex dev

# This runs locally and auto-reloads on changes
# Use this for all development work

For Production Deployment:

# ONLY use this when deploying to production!
npx convex deploy

# WARNING: This deploys to your production environment
# Don't use this during development

Important: Always use npx convex dev during development. Only use npx convex deploy when you're ready to ship to production.

Common Patterns

Paginated Queries

export const listPaginated = query({
  args: {
    cursor: v.optional(v.string()),
    limit: v.number(),
  },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    const user = await getCurrentUser(ctx);

    const results = await ctx.db
      .query("tasks")
      .withIndex("by_user", q => q.eq("userId", user._id))
      .order("desc")
      .paginate({ cursor: args.cursor, limit: args.limit });

    return results;
  },
});

Filtering by Status

export const listByStatus = query({
  args: {
    completed: v.boolean(),
  },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    const user = await getCurrentUser(ctx);

    return await ctx.db
      .query("tasks")
      .withIndex("by_user_and_completed", q =>
        q.eq("userId", user._id).eq("completed", args.completed)
      )
      .collect();
  },
});

Scheduled Jobs

// convex/crons.ts
import { cronJobs } from "convex/server";
import { internal } from "./_generated/api";

const crons = cronJobs();

crons.daily(
  "cleanup-old-tasks",
  { hourUTC: 0, minuteUTC: 0 },
  internal.tasks.cleanupOld
);

export default crons;

// convex/tasks.ts
export const cleanupOld = internalMutation({
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const thirtyDaysAgo = Date.now() - 30 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
    const oldTasks = await ctx.db
      .query("tasks")
      .filter(q =>
        q.and(
          q.eq(q.field("completed"), true),
          q.lt(q.field("createdAt"), thirtyDaysAgo)
        )
      )
      .collect();

    for (const task of oldTasks) {
      await ctx.db.delete(task._id);
    }
  },
});

Project Templates

React + Vite + Convex

npm create vite@latest my-app -- --template react-ts
cd my-app
npm install convex @workos-inc/authkit-react
npx convex dev

Next.js + Convex

npx create-next-app@latest my-app
cd my-app
npm install convex @workos-inc/authkit-nextjs
npx convex dev

Expo (React Native) + Convex

npx create-expo-app my-app
cd my-app
npm install convex
npx convex dev

Checklist

• npm install convex completed
• npx convex dev running (use this, NOT deploy!)
• Schema created with proper indexes
• Auth provider configured (WorkOS/custom)
• getCurrentUser helper implemented
• User storage mutation created
• CRUD operations with auth checks
• Frontend integrated with hooks
• Tested queries and mutations locally
• When ready for production, use npx convex deploy

Remember: Use npx convex dev for all development work. Only use npx convex deploy when deploying to production!

Next Steps

After quickstart:

1. Add more tables to schema
2. Implement relationships between tables
3. Add file storage (Convex supports file uploads)
4. Set up vector search for AI features
5. Add cron jobs for scheduled tasks
6. Configure production environment variables

Troubleshooting

"Not authenticated" errors

• Ensure auth provider is configured
• Call storeUser mutation on first sign-in
• Check getCurrentUser is imported correctly

Types not updating

• Run npx convex dev (regenerates types)
• Restart TypeScript server in editor

Slow queries

• Add indexes to schema
• Use .withIndex() instead of .filter()
• Check query patterns in dashboard

Learn More

• Convex Docs
• React Quickstart
• Next.js Quickstart
• Example Apps

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