X Clone

Code for this tutorial

How to Build a Full Clone of Twitter (or X) with Next.js, Supabase, PostgreSQL, Tailwind, and Drizzle

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to build a fully-functional clone of Twitter (now X) from scratch using modern technologies like Next.js, Supabase, PostgreSQL, Tailwind CSS, and Drizzle ORM. It is an excellent project for developers looking to gain hands-on experience deploying a real-world, feature-rich application. If you're aiming to learn how to develop and deploy scalable web applications, this project serves as an excellent learning resource.

Overview of the Twitter/X Clone Features

The tutorial kicks off with an introduction to the Twitter clone's core features, which include a home feed, user authentication (sign-up and login), the ability to create posts (or tweets), like and comment on posts, follow other users, and search for trending hashtags. These are essential components that mimic the functionality of a real social media platform. This tutorial is ideal for anyone looking to build and deploy a production-grade web app using the latest in JavaScript frameworks and cloud databases.

App Architecture and Technology Stack

Next, the project walks through the app architecture, explaining how each part of the application interacts. The key technologies powering this project are:

  • Next.js: A popular React framework known for its server-side rendering (SSR) and static site generation (SSG) capabilities, perfect for building highly optimized, SEO-friendly applications.
  • Supabase: An open-source alternative to Firebase, providing backend services like authentication, real-time databases (PostgreSQL), and serverless functions.
  • PostgreSQL: A powerful open-source relational database management system that stores user data, posts, and likes.
  • Tailwind CSS: A utility-first CSS framework that simplifies styling and ensures a responsive and modern UI.
  • Drizzle ORM: A lightweight and intuitive Object-Relational Mapper (ORM) that simplifies database queries and migrations in a type-safe way.

The use of these technologies ensures that the application is highly scalable, secure, and optimized for performance, making it suitable for production environments.

Setting Up the Next.js Project and Installing Dependencies

This video provides a step-by-step guide to creating a new Next.js project, installing necessary dependencies, and configuring the project to integrate with Supabase and Tailwind CSS. For newcomers to these technologies, it is explained in detail how to initialize and set up the folder structure. This includes:

  • Setting up environment variables for Supabase integration.
  • Configuring Tailwind CSS for responsive and custom styling.
  • Installing additional tools like Drizzle ORM for managing database interactions.

By following these steps, viewers will have a solid foundation for building dynamic web applications with full CRUD functionality.

Creating and Managing Posts with Hashtags and Likes

In the section on how to create posts, which includes extracting and managing hashtags. The tutorial dives into:

  • How to extract hashtags from post content.
  • Inserting those hashtags into the PostgreSQL database and linking them to relevant posts.
  • Implementing revalidation paths in Next.js to ensure real-time data updates.
  • Building like/comment features using Supabase, which supports real-time synchronization between the frontend and backend.

It also also demonstrates how to perform SQL joins to fetch user likes from the database, efficiently displaying which users liked specific posts. This is crucial for handling social media interactions at scale.

Final Deployment and Fixing Issues

The project covers how to deploy the app to a production environment, ensuring it’s accessible and performant for real users. This includes:

  • Fixing scrolling issues common in long feed-style applications.
  • Ensuring the app is responsive and works smoothly across devices using Tailwind CSS.
  • Deploying updates to the production server and managing version control, allowing for seamless feature releases and bug fixes.

The deployment process includes steps for Supabase hosting, ensuring the backend remains robust and scalable as the user base grows.

Why This Tutorial is a Must-Watch for Full-Stack Developers

This tutorial is packed with valuable insights for anyone looking to build a full-stack web application using modern tools. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced developer, the clear explanations and hands-on approach make it easy to follow along. You'll not only gain practical knowledge about building a Twitter-like app but also improve your skills in Next.js, PostgreSQL, Supabase, Tailwind CSS, and Drizzle ORM—technologies that are highly sought after in today's web development landscape.

I highly recommend this video for developers who are keen on building scalable, production-ready applications with server-side rendering, real-time databases, and responsive designs. By the end of the tutorial, you'll have a deeper understanding of how to deploy a feature-rich social media clone that can be expanded and customized for real-world use.