This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Aaron K Saunders
Payload Chat
Payload is the open-source, fullstack Next.js framework, giving you instant backend superpowers. Get a full TypeScript backend and admin panel instantly. Use Payload as a headless CMS or for building powerful applications.
Payload on the backend with a custom endpoint using (Server-Sent Events) SSE to send updates to the client, The client listens for updates using the EventSource API.
This was just an exercise to see what interesting things can be done when using Payload as a platform for building applications, not just as a CMS
Video
This code is a companion to the video below and there is a link to the full source code at the end of this blog post
Project Structure
-
client/- React frontend built with Vite -
server/- Payload backend Server
Main Components of Solution
Server: Messages Collection Setup
I won't be covering the specifics of setting up a payload application, that is cover in the documention. But to get things started run the following command, and when prompted about your database select sqlite.
npx create-payload-app@latest -t blank
Create a new file called Messages.ts and add it to the payload project folder src/collections.
Messages Collection
export const Messages: CollectionConfig = {
slug: "messages",
// not focused on access in this example
access: {
create: () => true,
read: () => true,
update: () => true,
delete: () => true,
},
endpoints: [SSEMessages], // <-- ADDED CUSTOM ENDPOINT api/messages/sse
fields: [
{
name: "sender",
type: "relationship",
relationTo: "users",
required: true,
},
{
name: "receiver",
type: "relationship",
relationTo: "users",
required: true,
},
{
name: "content",
type: "text",
required: true,
},
{
name: "timestamp",
type: "date",
required: true,
defaultValue: () => new Date().toISOString(),
},
],
};
Open the file src/payload-config.ts add a new import.
import { Messages } from './collections/Messages'
further down in the same file in the buildConfig section there is a property called collections, add Messages
collections: [Users, Media, Messages],
Finally lets set the cors property so we can be certain our vite app can access the Payload server
cors: ['*', 'http://localhost:3000', 'http://localhost:5173'],
Server: Custom Endpoint for SSE Added to Collection
The code below is accessed by the client to get a stream of updates from the server.
The bulk of the code is setup for the connection except for the function pollMessages which queries the messages collection for updated messages based on previous timestamp, and sends them as a payload to the listeners connection.
This code goes into a file src/endpoints/SSEMessages.ts
import type { Endpoint } from "payload";
/**
* Server-Sent Events (SSE) endpoint for Messages collection using TransformStream
* Implements a polling mechanism to check for new messages and stream them to clients
*/
export const SSEMessages: Endpoint = {
path: "/sse",
method: "get",
handler: async (req) => {
try {
// Create abort controller to handle connection termination
const abortController = new AbortController();
const { signal } = abortController;
// Set up streaming infrastructure
const stream = new TransformStream();
const writer = stream.writable.getWriter();
const encoder = new TextEncoder();
// Initialize timestamp to fetch all messages from the beginning
let lastTimestamp = new Date(0).toISOString();
// Send keep-alive messages every 30 seconds to maintain connection
const keepAlive = setInterval(async () => {
if (!signal.aborted) {
await writer.write(
encoder.encode("event: ping\ndata: keep-alive\n\n")
);
}
}, 30000);
/**
* Polls for new messages and sends them to connected clients
* - Queries messages newer than the last received message
* - Updates lastTimestamp to the newest message's timestamp
* - Streams messages to client using SSE format
*/
const pollMessages = async () => {
if (!signal.aborted) {
// Query for new messages since last update
const messages = await req.payload.find({
collection: "messages",
where: {
updatedAt: { greater_than: lastTimestamp },
},
sort: "-updatedAt",
limit: 10,
depth: 1,
populate: {
users: {
email: true,
},
},
});
if (messages.docs.length > 0) {
// Update timestamp to latest message for next poll
lastTimestamp = messages.docs[0].updatedAt;
// Send messages to client in SSE format
await writer.write(
encoder.encode(
`event: message\ndata: ${JSON.stringify(messages.docs)}\n\n`
)
);
}
}
};
// Poll for new messages every second
const messageInterval = setInterval(pollMessages, 1000);
// Clean up intervals and close writer when connection is aborted
signal.addEventListener("abort", () => {
clearInterval(keepAlive);
clearInterval(messageInterval);
writer.close();
});
// Return SSE response with appropriate headers
return new Response(stream.readable, {
headers: {
"Content-Type": "text/event-stream",
"Cache-Control": "no-cache",
Connection: "keep-alive",
"X-Accel-Buffering": "no", // Prevents nginx from buffering the response
"Access-Control-Allow-Origin": "*", // CORS header for cross-origin requests
"Access-Control-Allow-Methods": "GET, OPTIONS",
"Access-Control-Allow-Headers": "Content-Type",
},
});
} catch (error) {
console.log(error);
return new Response("Error occurred", { status: 500 });
}
},
};
Client
The client application is a react application created with the vite cli.
The endpoint = [payload server]/api/messages/sse
We connect to the endpoint and then listen for responses.
How we connect to the server for the SSE
useEffect(() => {
// Create EventSource connection
const eventSource = new EventSource(
`${import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL}${endpoint}`
);
// Handle incoming messages
eventSource.onmessage = (event) => {
const data = JSON.parse(event.data);
setMessages((prev) => [...prev, data]);
};
// Handle connection open
eventSource.onopen = () => {
console.log("SSE Connection Established");
};
// Handle errors
eventSource.onerror = (error) => {
console.error("SSE Error:", error);
eventSource.close();
};
// Cleanup on component unmount
return () => {
eventSource.close();
};
}, [endpoint]);
Full Source Code
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Aaron K Saunders
Aaron K Saunders | Sciencx (2025-01-04T00:46:23+00:00) Building a Simple Real-Time Chat App with Payload CMS. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/01/04/building-a-simple-real-time-chat-app-with-payload-cms/
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