This package provides a simple, Provider + Hook architecture to integrate Sammy's interactive walkthroughs into your React (or Next.js) application. It manages global state, highlights elements on the page, and guides the user step-by-step through a sequence of interactions.
Key features include:
-
Global
WalkthroughProvider
to manage authentication tokens, driver instances, and global config. -
React Hook
useWalkthrough
to start, stop, or control walkthroughs anywhere in your app. - Utility methods for fetching and transforming walkthrough data (from pre-fetched).
- Highly configurable overlay, popover, animations, and interaction settings.
- Installation
- Core Concepts
- Quick Start
- Usage Examples
- API Reference
- Advanced Usage and Tips
- Advanced Features
- FAQ
- License
Install the package via npm or yarn:
npm install @sammy-labs/walkthroughs
# or
yarn add @sammy-labs/walkthroughs
This will give you access to:
-
WalkthroughProvider
(the React provider) -
useWalkthrough
(the React hook) - Various type definitions (e.g.,
FlowError
,WalkthroughResponse
, etc.)
Ensure you also import the CSS file when needed:
@import "@sammy-labs/walkthroughs/dist/index.css";
Or in a Next.js / Plasmo environment:
import "@sammy-labs/walkthroughs/dist/index.css";
-
<WalkthroughProvider>
- A React provider that stores all global state for the walkthroughs:
- The auth token (JWT) for the Sammy API (optional, but needed if you want to fetch walkthrough data from the Sammy hosted API).
- The driver instance for highlighting elements and showing popovers.
- Global configuration for controlling debug mode, fallback behaviors, screenshots, etc.
- Must wrap any part of your application that uses the library.
- A React provider that stores all global state for the walkthroughs:
-
useWalkthrough
Hook- Gives you intuitive methods to start or stop a walkthrough:
-
startWithId(flowId)
to fetch from the Sammy API by flow ID. -
startWithData(yourFlowObject)
to start from pre-fetched or user-provided data. -
stop()
to terminate any running walkthrough. - Also provides status checks (e.g.,
isActive()
).
-
- Gives you intuitive methods to start or stop a walkthrough:
-
Driver & Global Configuration
- Driver Config: e.g. overlay color, popover offset, show next/prev buttons, animations, etc.
- Global Config: e.g. wait times, fallback settings, custom API base URLs, debug mode.
-
Walkthrough Data
- The library expects data in a certain shape (
WalkthroughResponse
) which it will parse into a series of steps. Each step references an element (or set of elements) to highlight and the text to display to the user.
- The library expects data in a certain shape (
Below is a minimal usage example:
-
Wrap your application:
import React from "react"; import { WalkthroughProvider } from "@sammy-labs/walkthroughs"; import "@sammy-labs/walkthroughs/dist/index.css"; function MyApp({ Component, pageProps }) { const sammyToken = "YOUR_JWT_TOKEN"; // typically fetched from your server return ( <WalkthroughProvider token={sammyToken} baseUrl="https://api.sammylabs.com" driverConfig={{ overlayOpacity: 0.7 }} config={{ debug: true }} > <Component {...pageProps} /> </WalkthroughProvider> ); } export default MyApp;
-
Use the Hook in any component:
import React from "react"; import { useWalkthrough } from "@sammy-labs/walkthroughs"; export function StartButton() { const { startWithId, isActive, stop } = useWalkthrough(); const handleStart = async () => { // Start a walkthrough by ID from the Sammy hosted API const success = await startWithId("12345"); if (!success) { alert("Failed to start Sammy walkthrough."); } }; return ( <div> <button onClick={handleStart}>Start Walkthrough #12345</button> {isActive() && <button onClick={stop}>Stop Walkthrough</button>} </div> ); }
That's enough to get you started! The library will automatically fetch data for that flow ID, highlight elements, show popovers, and proceed step by step.
Below is a typical Next.js integration, referencing your environment variables to generate the Sammy token.
"use client";
import React, { useState, useEffect } from "react";
import { WalkthroughProvider } from "@sammy-labs/walkthroughs";
export default function SammyWalkthroughProvider({ children }) {
const [token, setToken] = useState<string | null>(null);
useEffect(() => {
// Example: fetch or generate a token from your server
async function fetchToken() {
const resp = await fetch("/api/sammy-auth");
const data = await resp.json();
setToken(data.token);
}
fetchToken();
}, []);
if (!token) {
return <div>Loading walkthrough token...</div>;
}
return (
<WalkthroughProvider
token={token}
baseUrl={process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SAMMY_BASE_URL}
onTokenExpired={() => {
console.log("Sammy token expired, re-fetching");
}}
onError={(err) => console.warn("Walkthrough error:", err)}
driverConfig={{ overlayOpacity: 0.6 }}
config={{ debug: false, askInput: true }}
>
{children}
</WalkthroughProvider>
);
}
// app/layout.tsx or pages/_app.tsx
import SammyWalkthroughProvider from "./providers/SammyWalkthroughProvider";
export default function RootLayout({ children }) {
return (
<html>
<body>
<SammyWalkthroughProvider>{children}</SammyWalkthroughProvider>
</body>
</html>
);
}
"use client";
import React from "react";
import { useWalkthrough } from "@sammy-labs/walkthroughs";
export default function Dashboard() {
const { startWithId, stop, isActive } = useWalkthrough();
return (
<div>
<button onClick={() => startWithId("8750")}>Show Onboarding Tips</button>
{isActive() && <button onClick={stop}>Stop</button>}
</div>
);
}
A React provider that must wrap any area that uses the library.
Props
Prop | Type | Default | Description |
---|---|---|---|
token |
string | null |
null |
A short-lived JWT token used to fetch data from the Sammy API. If omitted, only local flows (startWithData() ) will work. |
baseUrl |
string |
"http://localhost:8000" |
The base URL for Sammy's endpoints. |
onTokenExpired |
() => void |
none | Called when a 401 occurs, letting you re-fetch a new token. |
onError |
(error: FlowError) => void |
none | Called when any error occurs (element not found, API failure, etc.). |
driverConfig |
Partial<DriverConfig> |
{ ... } |
Fine-grained driver settings (overlay color, popover offsets, etc.) |
config |
Partial<WalkthroughConfig> |
{ ... } |
Global config options (debug, domain override, fallback settings, etc.). |
logoUrl |
string |
"" |
An optional logo to display in the popovers. |
children |
ReactNode |
required | Your app or subtree. |
Example:
<WalkthroughProvider
token="..."
baseUrl="https://api.sammylabs.com"
onTokenExpired={() => console.log("Token expired, re-auth!")}
onError={(e) => console.error("Walkthrough error:", e)}
driverConfig={{ overlayOpacity: 0.7 }}
config={{ debug: true, askInput: false }}
>
<App />
</WalkthroughProvider>
Hook that returns convenience methods and the current walkthrough state.
Signature:
function useWalkthrough(options?: {
checkQueryOnMount?: boolean;
onError?: (error: FlowError) => void;
waitTime?: number;
driverConfig?: Partial<DriverConfig>;
config?: Partial<WalkthroughConfig>;
disableRedirects?: boolean;
autoStartPendingWalkthrough?: boolean;
fallbackTimeout?: number;
}): {
startWithId(flowId: string | number): Promise<boolean>;
startWithData(
data: WalkthroughResponse | WalkthroughSearchResult | any
): Promise<boolean>;
stop(): boolean;
isActive(): boolean;
configure(driverConfig: Partial<DriverConfig>): void;
configureGlobal(globalConfig: Partial<WalkthroughConfig>): void;
state: {
isTokenValid: boolean;
isLoading: boolean;
error: FlowError | null;
token: string | null;
baseUrl: string;
isActive: boolean;
config: WalkthroughConfig;
};
};
-
checkQueryOnMount?: boolean
Iftrue
, automatically checks the URL query parameters (default keysammy_flow_id
) on mount to see if a walkthrough should be started. -
onError?: (error: FlowError) => void
Local error handler specifically for this hook usage. Merged with or overrides the provider-levelonError
. -
waitTime?: number
Milliseconds to wait before automatically starting a walkthrough from query parameters. -
driverConfig?: Partial<DriverConfig>
Additional driver config merges on top of the provider config. -
config?: Partial<WalkthroughConfig>
Additional global config merges on top of the provider config. -
disableRedirects?: boolean
Iftrue
, will not auto-redirect the user if the recorded URL in the walkthrough data doesn't match the current page. -
autoStartPendingWalkthrough?: boolean
Iftrue
, automatically attempts to start any pending walkthrough data that was stored from a previous page (useful in multi-page flows). -
fallbackTimeout?: number
Maximum time in milliseconds to wait for DOM elements to be found before using fallback elements. Defaults to 10000 (10s). This is deliberately separate from the main config object to avoid React re-render issues when used within effects.
-
startWithId(flowId)
Fetches a walkthrough from the Sammy API usingflowId
and starts it.
Returnstrue
if successful,false
if not. -
startWithData(data)
Starts a walkthrough using pre-fetched or user-provided data.- Accepts a
WalkthroughResponse
, or older shapes like search results. - Returns
true
if success,false
otherwise.
- Accepts a
-
stop()
Stops any active walkthrough, removing highlights/overlays. -
isActive()
Returnstrue
if a walkthrough is currently in progress. -
configure(driverConfig)
Dynamically update the driver config. -
configureGlobal(globalConfig)
Dynamically update the global config.
-
isTokenValid: boolean
Whether token is valid from last check (internal usage). -
isLoading: boolean
Whether the library is currently fetching data. -
error: FlowError \| null
Error from the last attempt. -
token: string \| null
The token being used from the provider. -
baseUrl: string
The base API URL in use. -
isActive: boolean
Shortcut forisActive()
. -
config: WalkthroughConfig
The merged global config object.
export type WalkthroughConfig = {
// Query parameter key for auto-starting flow, default "sammy_flow_id"
flowIdQueryParam: string;
// Wait time before automatically starting a flow from query param
waitTimeAfterLoadMs: number;
// Maximum number of attempts to find a DOM element
maxElementFindAttempts: number;
// Timeout for each attempt to find an element, in ms
elementFindTimeoutMs: number;
// How long the DOM must remain stable before searching for elements
domStabilityMs: number;
// Max total time to wait for DOM to be stable
maxDomStabilityWaitMs: number;
// Enables debug logging
debug: boolean;
// Default base URL for the Sammy API
apiBaseUrl: string;
// Optional logo URL for popovers
logoUrl: string;
// Base URL for screenshot images
imageBaseUrl: string;
// Domain override used to rewrite step URLs if different from environment
overrideDomainUrl: string;
// Whether to show an "Ask a question" input in the popover
askInput: boolean;
// Whether to log events to Sammy
enableLogging: boolean;
};
Common fields:
-
debug
: set totrue
to see console logs about fallback elements, element searches, etc. -
overrideDomainUrl
: if the recorded steps have different domain references than your current domain, you can override them.
Example:
<WalkthroughProvider
config={{
debug: true,
maxElementFindAttempts: 3,
elementFindTimeoutMs: 10000,
overrideDomainUrl: "https://demo.deel.com",
}}
>
<App />
</WalkthroughProvider>
Example with fallbackTimeout:
// Using the hook with fallbackTimeout
function WalkthroughButton() {
const { startWithId } = useWalkthrough({
// Separate from config to avoid re-render issues in effects
fallbackTimeout: 15000, // Wait up to 15 seconds for elements to be found
config: {
debug: true,
overrideDomainUrl: "https://demo.deel.com",
},
});
return (
<button onClick={() => startWithId("12345")}>Start Walkthrough</button>
);
}
These are more about the highlight overlay and popover.
export interface DriverConfig {
steps?: DriveStep[];
enableLogging?: boolean;
animate?: boolean;
overlayColor?: string; // default #000
overlayOpacity?: number; // default 0.7
smoothScroll?: boolean; // default false
allowClose?: boolean; // default true
overlayClickBehavior?: "close" | "nextStep";
stagePadding?: number; // default 8
stageRadius?: number; // default 12
disableActiveInteraction?: boolean; // default false
allowKeyboardControl?: boolean; // default true
popoverClass?: string;
popoverOffset?: number;
showButtons?: ("next" | "previous" | "close")[];
disableButtons?: ("next" | "previous" | "close")[];
showProgress?: boolean;
progressText?: string; // e.g. "{{current}} of {{total}}"
nextBtnText?: string;
prevBtnText?: string;
doneBtnText?: string;
logoUrl?: string;
// Lifecycle callbacks
onHighlightStarted?: DriverHook;
onHighlighted?: DriverHook;
onDeselected?: DriverHook;
onDestroyStarted?: DriverHook;
onDestroyed?: DriverHook;
onNextClick?: DriverHook;
onPrevClick?: DriverHook;
onCloseClick?: DriverHook;
}
Example:
// Overriding certain fields:
<WalkthroughProvider
driverConfig={{
overlayOpacity: 0.5,
animate: true,
showButtons: ["next", "previous"],
doneBtnText: "Done!",
}}
>
<App />
</WalkthroughProvider>
While normally you only need the Hook, there are some lower-level helpers if you want direct control:
-
executeApiFlow(flowId, orgId, token, baseUrl, onError)
Fetches the data from the Sammy hosted API and starts the flow. -
executeFlowWithData(data, onError, options)
Takes aWalkthroughResponse
(or older format) and starts it.
These are used internally by startWithId
and startWithData
.
Your token typically expires after a certain time. If the user is still going through a walkthrough and the token expires, the library calls onTokenExpired()
, giving you a chance to refresh it. Then you can pass the new token back to the provider (e.g., via React state).
<WalkthroughProvider
token={myToken}
onTokenExpired={() => {
// e.g., re-fetch new token and re-set the parent state
}}
>
...
</WalkthroughProvider>
If you already have the data for a flow (e.g., from server side rendering or some custom server endpoint), you can pass it directly to startWithData()
:
const { startWithData } = useWalkthrough();
// Suppose you have a big object "myWalkthrough" that matches WalkthroughResponse
await startWithData(myWalkthrough);
No additional fetch calls are needed in that scenario.
Currently, the library supports one active walkthrough at a time. If you try to start a new one while one is running, it will close the previous driver. If you want to queue multiple flows, you can do so sequentially:
const { startWithId, stop } = useWalkthrough();
// Example queue approach
await startWithId("flowA");
// After finishing or stopping, then
await startWithId("flowB");
The walkthrough package includes a built‐in logging mechanism that automatically sends events such as start, step, finish, redirect, and abandon to your Sammy API endpoint. These events are defined in the LogEventType
enum and encapsulate key information about the walkthrough's progress.
The default logging mechanism (to the Sammy hosted API) is handled by the logWalkthroughEvent()
function, located in packages/walkthroughs/src/lib/log.ts
. It performs two main tasks:
-
Invokes any user‐provided callback (
onWalkthroughEvent
) — letting you intercept logs locally. -
Sends a request to the Sammy hosted API (the configured
baseUrl
) to record that event.
You can customize logging in two major ways:
-
Providing an
onWalkthroughEvent
callback in your<WalkthroughProvider>
. -
Overriding or modifying
logWalkthroughEvent()
to change how the package logs to your server.
When you set up the Walkthrough Provider, you can attach a callback named onWalkthroughEvent
that fires immediately whenever the walkthrough emits an event. Example:
import React from "react";
import {
WalkthroughProvider,
type LogEvent,
LogEventType,
} from "@sammy-labs/walkthroughs";
function App() {
return (
<WalkthroughProvider
token="YOUR_JWT_TOKEN"
baseUrl="https://api.sammylabs.com"
onWalkthroughEvent={(event: LogEvent) => {
// Log it:
console.log("WalkthroughEvent Received:", event.event_type);
// Example switch on event type:
switch (event.event_type) {
case LogEventType.START:
// The user started the walkthrough
break;
case LogEventType.STEP:
// The user advanced to a new step
break;
case LogEventType.FINISH:
// The user completed the entire walkthrough
break;
// etc.
default:
break;
}
// Forward to your own analytics if you like
myAnalyticsService.track("sammy_walkthrough_event", event);
}}
>
{/* ...your app... */}
</WalkthroughProvider>
);
}
Common Use Cases:
- Forwarding events into your analytics (Segment, Mixpanel, GA, etc.).
- Storing local logs in your own database.
- Displaying in-app notifications when specific events occur.
Under the hood, the library calls a helper function logWalkthroughEvent(event, token, baseUrl)
to record each event server‐side. It is located in packages/walkthroughs/src/lib/log.ts
.
export async function logWalkthroughEvent(
event: LogEvent,
token: string,
baseUrl: string
): Promise<LogResponse | void> {
// 1) If there's an `onWalkthroughEvent` callback in WalkthroughProvider, call it:
const globalContext = (window as any)?.__WALKTHROUGH_CONTEXT__;
if (globalContext && typeof globalContext.onWalkthroughEvent === "function") {
globalContext.onWalkthroughEvent(event);
}
// 2) Then send the event to the Sammy hosted API:
try {
const response = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/public/walkthrough/log`, {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Content-Type": "application/json",
Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
},
body: JSON.stringify({ event }),
});
if (!response.ok) {
throw new Error(`Failed to log event: ${response.statusText}`);
}
// The response typically returns { event_type, timestamp }
return await response.json();
} catch (err) {
console.error("logWalkthroughEvent error:", err);
}
}
Each event object includes fields to identify the status of the walkthrough. For reference, LogEvent
is a union type that may have:
-
event_type
— One of:start | step | finish | abandon | redirect | fallback
. -
user_replay_id
— A client-generated ID to group all events for one walkthrough session. -
user_replay_step_id
— A unique ID for each step event within a session. -
step_number
— (Optional) 1‐based step index (if relevant). -
flow_id
,flow_version_id
— Identifiers used inSTART
events. -
status
— A short code describing the step's status, e.g."clicked"
,"finished"
,"abandoned"
.
Using the onWalkthroughEvent
callback is generally simplest. For example, to POST each event to your own server:
<WalkthroughProvider
token={token}
baseUrl="https://api.sammylabs.com"
onWalkthroughEvent={(event) => {
// 1) Immediately forward to your analytics
fetch("https://myserver.com/internal-analytics", {
method: "POST",
headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
body: JSON.stringify({ event }),
});
}}
>
{/* app code */}
</WalkthroughProvider>
This ensures:
- Sammy logs remain intact (unless you override them).
- You also get immediate, client‐side event data for your own logs.
What are they?
- Steps that show a "corner popover" (no overlay) with informational content (optionally including a video), without blocking or restricting page interaction.
- Marked by
step_type?: "informational"
in bothHistoryStep
andDriveStep
. - They display the popover in the bottom‐left by default, allow normal clicking outside (no overlay), and can be "dragged" around.
Key Points
- Use
step_type: "informational"
in your API response or in a manual step definition to trigger corner popovers. - The code sets a body class (
.sammy-labs-informational-step
) to apply special styling. - You can still attach a
video_info
object to show a YouTube embed.
Example:
{
"step_num": 3,
"step_type": "informational",
"video_info": {
"youtube_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123&t=60"
},
"state": {
"url": "https://example.com/dashboard",
"interacted_element": []
},
"result": [],
"model_output": {
/* ... */
}
}
What are they?
- A secondary "watcher" element used in cases where the real interactive element may appear or change later in the DOM (e.g., hidden behind a dynamic menu).
- The walkthrough can attach a
MutationObserver
on theobserver_element
to wait until the realinteractiveElements
become visible or inserted.
Usage
- Add
observer_element?: InteractiveElement
in your step. - The code will try to highlight the
observer_element
first, and then watch for the real interactive element to appear. - If found, it replaces the highlight with the real element automatically.
Example:
{
"step_num": 2,
"observer_element": {
"xpath": "//div[@class='dynamic-menu']",
"attributes": { "class": "dynamic-menu" }
},
"interactiveElements": [
{
"xpath": "//button[text()='Add to Cart']",
"attributes": { "type": "button" }
}
]
}
Why?
- Many modern apps are Single-Page Applications (SPA) where route changes don't always trigger a full page refresh.
- The library can now detect location changes (via History API or polling) and re‐run logic, letting you maintain or remove highlights when a user navigates in an SPA.
Configuration
-
In
WalkthroughProvider
, set:<WalkthroughProvider ... locationChangeEvents={true} locationChangePollInterval={500} // How often to poll for location changes locationChangeDebug={false} // Whether to log debug info ... >
-
Or set these in the global
config
object:config={{ enableLocationChangeEvents: true, locationChangePollInterval: 500, locationChangeDebug: false }}
Behavior
- Automatically dispatches
locationchange
events. - The driver listens and either re‐highlights or removes highlights if the new URL is incompatible with the step (especially for informational steps that specify a
url
field).
What & How
- A step can show a YouTube video in its popover by including
video_info
withyoutube_url
(and optionallystart_time
). - Only used if the step is informational (or if the fallback popover is forced).
- The code auto‐embeds an
<iframe>
into the popover.
Example:
{
"step_num": 4,
"step_type": "informational",
"video_info": {
"youtube_url": "https://youtu.be/VIDEOID?t=120"
}
...
}
Fallback
- If the driver can't locate the real DOM element, it falls back to a small, invisible dummy element for highlight.
- Shows a popover in the corner of the screen so the user knows a step is "missing."
Draggable
- Both fallback and informational popovers can be dragged around by the user.
- Implemented via a
mousedown
→mousemove
approach to let you reposition the popover if it obstructs something.
- Improved Debug Logging: Additional console logs if an element fails to match.
- Better Re‐Drive: If the user leaves the page or the DOM changes drastically, the code tries to re‐drive the same step to keep it consistent.
- Smoother Overlay: The overlay and highlight transitions are more robust.
Here is a complete example combining some of these features:
import {
WalkthroughProvider,
useWalkthrough,
type WalkthroughResponse,
} from "@sammy-labs/walkthroughs";
function App() {
return (
<WalkthroughProvider
token="..."
baseUrl="https://api.sammylabs.com"
locationChangeEvents={true}
locationChangePollInterval={500}
driverConfig={{
overlayOpacity: 0.5,
}}
config={{
debug: true,
overrideDomainUrl: "https://demo.yourapp.com",
askInput: false,
}}
>
<MyComponent />
</WalkthroughProvider>
);
}
function MyComponent() {
const { startWithData, stop, isActive } = useWalkthrough();
const runInformationalStep = async () => {
const sample: WalkthroughResponse = {
flow_id: "demo_flow",
history: [
{
step_num: 1,
step_type: "informational",
video_info: { youtube_url: "https://youtu.be/abc123" },
state: {
url: "https://demo.yourapp.com/page1",
interacted_element: [],
},
result: [],
model_output: {
action: [],
current_state: {
memory: "",
next_goal: "",
evaluation_previous_goal: "",
},
},
},
],
};
await startWithData(sample);
};
return (
<div>
<button onClick={runInformationalStep}>Start Informational Demo</button>
<button onClick={() => isActive() && stop()}>Stop Walkthrough</button>
</div>
);
}
-
"Why can't it find my element?"
- Ensure your selectors (like
xpath
or attributes) are stable. Turn ondebug: true
to see logs. If the element is in a lazy-loaded modal, you may need extra time or increaseelementFindTimeoutMs
.
- Ensure your selectors (like
-
"Can I override the domain in the steps?"
- Yes, use
overrideDomainUrl: "https://demo.deel.com"
in your config. The library will reconstruct the final URL for each step using that domain.
- Yes, use
-
"How do I customize how long the system waits for elements before creating fallbacks?"
- Use the
fallbackTimeout
parameter directly in theuseWalkthrough
hook options. For example:useWalkthrough({ fallbackTimeout: 15000 })
will wait 15 seconds before creating fallback elements. This parameter is separated from the main config object to avoid React re-render issues when used in effects.
- Use the
-
"How do I pass a custom popup style or embed a custom button?"
- For custom styling, pass a
popoverClass
or anonPopoverRender
callback indriverConfig
. For full control, you can modify the driver callbacks.
- For custom styling, pass a
-
"Does it work outside of React?"
- The library is React-based. If you need pure JS usage, you might adapt the underlying logic or run the code in a minimal React container.
@sammy-labs/walkthroughs
is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.
Happy Building with Sammy Walkthroughs!