Enhance UI with Conform's React utilities for end-to-end type safety. Leverage progressive enhancement for a fabulous development experience.

Eliminate custom code for better UX. Seamlessly manage form submission and client-side validation with Conform, ensuring robust server-side validation

Simplifying Form Handling with Conform and Schema Validation

[00:00] All right, let's delete a lot of code. So starting from our UI right here, we can delete the use hydrated hook because that's handled for us by Conform. We no longer need the form ref, that's also handled by Conform.

[00:17] The form ID, also handled by Conform. We can delete everything between here and there, my goodness, all handled by Conform. So the errors, the hydrated state, the error IDs, the use focus invalid, that use effect hook that we did, was packaged up by Kelly and put into a little hook.

[00:36] We can delete that as well. All of that is gone. Yeah, Conform does a lot for us, it's awesome. So let's make our Conform config with use form, that's gonna come from Conform to React. And then we've got a couple of options right here. So a couple of things that we need to configure

[00:56] as part of this is, first of all, the ID. Now the ID is actually optional, but you do want to specify it. And you can generate it from use ID. We're gonna call this, it actually doesn't matter as long as it's unique. So, and we only render one of these on the page at a time, so no editor is fine.

[01:16] And then we also want to configure the constraint. So this is what controls the attributes, the HTML standard attributes on our form field. So because we are gonna provide Conform our schema, it will know, oh, I need required, I need a max length.

[01:34] And so, but we need to convert our schema into those attributes. So that is done using this constraint option. And you have this get field set constraint, and you pass your note editor schema. So that turns the schema into those constraints. So then our fields will have those attributes on them.

[01:54] Then we also want to specify our last submission. So as we're making submissions, this is how Conform gets our latest submission that has all the errors on it. And so we pass that submission there. Then on validate, so when Conform thinks it's time to validate our stuff,

[02:13] we need to tell it what to do. And in our case, we're gonna take that form data object that it gives us, and we'll return a call to parse. This is again, coming from Conform to Zod. And we'll pass our form data, and our schema will be that note editor schema. So what this is gonna do for us

[02:32] is it allows us to do client side validation of all of our stuff. So we don't even have to hit the network to do that validation. Now, sometimes, and we will eventually have some validation logic that happens server side only, and we don't want to have happen on the client.

[02:50] And there is a nice mechanism to control that. But this comes with the benefit of not only giving a nice user experience for doing validation on the client, but also gives us the protection on the server because we're still parsing on the server. So that validation is gonna happen for us automatically.

[03:09] The last thing is the default value. And so default value is just gonna be an object of all the default values we want. And that's gonna come from our note. So the note title and content. So that way, those can be prefilled. Now, with all of that, we are going to get a tuple of values.

[03:29] We're gonna get our form and our fields. And the form is going to have the props that we want to have applied to the form. So let's get rid of all this stuff right here, and get rid of all this stuff right here, because all that's gonna be handled for us by Conform. So we just spread form.props,

[03:48] and Conform will take care of all of the things that we need applied to our form. Awesome. And then instead of having the hard-coded ID for our note title, we can use fields.title.id. And then we can get rid of all this stuff. Holy smokes.

[04:06] And now we're going to use Conform's utility for taking our field config and turning it into props appropriate for an input. So let's bring in Conform to React and bring in the Conform utility there. And so we say, hey, take that config for this title, turn that into props for our input.

[04:26] And then we're going to get the error ID from our field config. So fields.title.errorid. And then we get our errors from fields.title.errors. And that all is gonna resemble what we've done so far.

[04:45] So we're just using this library that kind of was made to reduce the amount of boilerplate that we have and enhance the experience even further than what we had done already. Okay, so we'll continue with this. Apply the same idea. So this is fields.content.id.

[05:05] And then all of this stuff can go away and we can replace it with the Conform utility for our field for content. And then right here as well, whoops, we've got our fields.content.errorid. And then for our errors,

[05:24] this is gonna be fields.content.errors. And then we are so close. We're almost there. Now it's our form.id. And this is gonna be our form.errors. That's for our form errors. And then for the button, remember this div is outside of the form.

[05:44] And so these buttons need to be associated to that form. And so we had this form.id. We just need to swap that with form.id. And now we have successfully refactored everything that we had before to Conform, removing a lot of custom code

[06:00] and getting ourselves just an enormous amount of benefit. So also, yeah, clearly getting rid of a couple of other things. So we could actually also delete this. We're not using that anymore. So let's save that. Let's make sure that things are still working. So I get that required stuff. Yeah, let's do that.

[06:22] Boom. And we get our autofocus. So that is all still working. I'm still associating my inputs just like I was before. So it's still nice and accessible. We can still customize the error messages using the Zod schema. All of that will continue to work as it was before. And on top of this,

[06:41] if we take a look at our network tab now, and I do my submission right here, you'll notice there was no network request made because the content is required. And all of this parsing and validating was happening on the client side. So that's awesome.

[07:00] But we still have the validation happening server-side as well. So we're sharing this validation logic, which is pretty stellar, I must say. And again, all of this, like the default value is showing up and giving us our proper values. We can take a look at our input

[07:19] and see that the attributes are all getting set properly. So we have our ID, we have the name, the form required, max length, and all of that. So everything is working the way that it should as far as that is concerned. And then our developer experience is just phenomenal. Check this out. Now, instead of content,

[07:37] I want this to be the value. I don't know, that'd be kind of a weird name, but I changed that. And now all of a sudden I get a type error on my server-side code and a type error on my client-side code as well, my UI code. So, so cool.

[07:55] So now that we have moved everything into schema validation and then we're using utilities that take advantage of that schema, we are just like the, we are masters of the universe. It's amazing. It's really, really cool that we have this capability using schema validation and tools that take advantage of it like Conform.

Type Safety with Conform

[00:00] Now that we've got Conform working on our server side, we can use some of Conform's React utilities to work in our UI, and it can apply some really awesome progressive enhancement pieces, and on top of that, it makes it so that we can have complete type safety from the UI all the way to the backend and back again.

[00:19] It's really fabulous. So there are a couple of things that you need to know about that I've left in information in the instructions. Take a look at that, and then get onto this exercise and we'll see you when you're done.

Forms are the primary mechanism for interactivity on the web.

But for all of their importance, forms can be incredibly frustrating for developers and users alike.

There are a lot of moving parts to consider: 

You need to validate user input and handle complex data structures, while being secure from bots and data-stealing attacks. The UI should inform users of any issues as quickly as possible, and be accessible for all.

The Professional Web Forms Workshop will equip you with the tools to handle all of these challenges and more.

## Form Validation

HTML has several attributes built-in that help with form element validation. Unfortunately, they're not enough on their own. On the client-side, bad actors can bypass checks by manually adding the `novalidate` attribute or making requests directly. On the server side, there's no standard way to respond to validation errors other than a generic 400 status code.

In this section, you'll implement a base level of form validation:

- Essential HTML attributes for validation
- Server-side validation with JSON responses
- Displaying errors with the `useActionData` hook
- Disabling default browser validation messages with `useHydrated`

## Accessibility

Accessibility is often an afterthought, but should be a priority. While forms are just one part of the accessibility equation, they're a big one. In this section, you'll learn how to make sure your forms accessible and usable by all of your application's users:

- Properly associating labels with input fields
- Adding appropriate ARIA attributes when necessary
- Manage keyboard focus in response to errors and user interactions
- Creating and using a `useFocus` hook to direct the user’s focus
- Considerations for accessibility testing

## Schema-Based Validation

Manually writing conditional checks for every field in every form is tedious and error-prone: *Is there content in the field? Is it the right type? Is it within the acceptable range? There must be a better way!*

Fortunately, the combination of the Zod and Conform libraries makes it easy to define reusable declarative schemas to validate form data on the client and server:

- Safely replace HTML validation attributes with schemas
- Zod error handling & message customization
- Progressively enhanced validation with Conform
- Share type-safe validation logic between client and server

## File Uploads

Forms need to support more than just text. Images, videos, audio files, and other documents need a different type of input. Depending on the size of the file, you'll have considerations for how and where it is uploaded. In this section, you'll learn how to handle file uploads in a secure and efficient way:

- Uploading images from an `ImageChooser` component
- Handling file uploads on the server
- Schema validation for file uploads with Zod

## Complex Data Structures

The `FormData` API does not support representing objects or arrays– only key/value pairs. It also won't allow you to nest forms within each other. This makes representing complex data structures difficult without jumping through some hoops. Luckily for us, Conform has a great solution when your forms get complex. Here you'll practice:

- Infer field types with Zod
- Nesting objects as a form
- Represent arrays of fields with the `useFieldList` utility
- Add and remove items with Conform's `intent` buttons

## Spam Prevention with Honeypots

Spam bots are constantly crawling the web, looking for forms to submit junk data to boost their client’s search engine rankings and find holes in your security. This can strain server resources, contaminate databases, and cause other unforeseen consequences. One way to combat this is by using a "honeypot", which will prevent a form from being submitted by a bot. This section will teach you how to:

- Create a simple hidden-field validation
- Add a configurable honeypot instance to an action
- Prevent form submissions that are too fast
- Use environment variables for encryption seeds

## CSRF Protection

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks are a type of malicious exploit where a user is tricked into performing an action they did not intend to. This is usually done by embedding a link or form in a page that the user is already authenticated to. Think of a user logged into their bank account clicking a link that transfers money from their bank account to the attacker's. To prevent this type of attack, you'll want to:

- Create a signed cookie in the user's browser
- Include unique user tokens in forms
- Validate tokens on the server via request headers

## Rate Limiting

You definitely want to prevent bad actors from making tons of requests to try to brute-force their way into your app or cause general chaos. However, malicious intent and spam aren't the only reasons you need to protect your site. Even too many legitimate requests can cause problems. Rate limiting is a way to prevent users from overloading your server with requests. Here you'll learn:

- Considerations for different limits for `GET` vs. `POST` requests
- Implementing basic rate limiting with Express middleware
- Tiered rate limiting depending on which form is being submitted

The Professional Web Forms Workshop will equip you for building complex, fully accessible forms that handle validation and file uploads while preventing spam.

Professional Web Forms

Kent C. Dodds

Full Stack Vol 1

Intro to Professional Web Forms Workshop

Introduction to Workshop

Intro to Form Validation 

Discover the importance of validation in web apps. Learn to implement required field validation for data integrity and UX enhancement.

Leverage HTML attributes for form validation, enhancing UX and accessibility. Explore browser validation and screen reader integration for user guidance.

Form Validation for Accessibility

Required Field Validation for User Input

Implement server-side validation to enhance security and user assistance, preventing client-side bypass. Customize error messages for a seamless design.

Master server-side form validation for data integrity and user-friendly error messages. Enhance UX by securely validating input before server processing.

Server-Side Form Validation and Error Handling

Server-side Validation and Custom Error Messages

Prevent incorrect form submissions pre-JavaScript with novalidate attribute using useHydrated hook. Elevate UX, maintain data integrity.

Optimize form validation with 'useHydrated' hook for client-side hydration. Enhance UX with browser-built and server-side validation synergy.

Form Validation with Client-Side Hydration

Dynamic Error Validation with Hooks

Dad Joke Break From Validation

Form Validation

Intro to Accessibility

Learn how to troubleshoot and fix issues with a non-functioning reset button and accessibility problems in a web form.

Learn how to properly associate buttons and form elements, such as the reset button, with their respective forms for improved functionality and accessibility.

Improving Accessibility and Form Associations

Fixing Form Reset Button and Accessibility Issues

Associate error messages with input fields via ARIA attributes for precise screen reader notifications. Learn about semantic HTML and ARIA for accessibility.

Use ARIA attributes like ARIA invalid & describedby. Link error messages to inputs for improved screen reader support, aiding assistive tech users.

Accessible Forms with ARIA Attributes

Error Messages and Accessibility with ARIA Attributes

Enhance app accessibility & UX with focus management: auto-focus error fields, programmable forms, & better editing. Create an inclusive, user-friendly app.

Enhance React app accessibility and UX: auto-focus form inputs and navigate to error messages for improved handling of form errors.

Managing Focus for Form Errors

Focus Management for Better User Experience

Dad Break Joke Accessibility

Accessibility

Intro to Schema Validation

Optimize development with Zod schema validation. Boost efficiency and code robustness, replacing custom logic for an enhanced developer experience. 

Learn how to implement schema validation using Zod in a note editor application. Discover how to define and enforce data

Schema Validation with Zod 

Schema Validation 

Data parsing with Conform's Conform utility. Apply server-side logic and streamline development with additional UI utilities for efficient form handling.

Improve UX & enable progressive enhancement: Replace form validation & error handling with powerful Zod utility in your app

 Form Submission and Error Handling with Conform & Zod

Form Data Parsing with Conform

Dad Joke Break Schema Validation

Schema Validation

Intro to File Upload

Add file upload to edit page for user-friendly image & file attachments. Handle uploads in Remix, enforcing size limits. 

Integrate image upload with form data and memory handling. Use image chooser, manage existing images, set encoding, size limit, and specify alt text. 

Image Upload with Form Data and Memory Upload Handling

File Upload Functionality 

Improve code quality and address TypeScript errors for a robust application, making Lily the life jacket (and yourself) happy.

Update schema for image ID, alt text, and file uploads. Master file validation with Zod for size restrictions and error handling on client & server sides. 

Validating File Uploads with Zod Schema in a Web Application

TypeScript Integration

Dad Joke Break File Upload

File Upload

Intro to Complex Structures 

Address challenges in grouping properties into sub-objects in forms, especially for multiple image uploads. Satisfy Zod's requirements for seamless integration.

Learn to add image field set schema to Zod schema, update HTML elements, and integrate with Conform for type safety and form functionality. 

Implementing Image Field Set with Conform and TypeScript

Grouping and Managing Related Fields in Form Objects

Update your app's schema for multiple images, adapt actions/components, and enable seamless addition/removal of multiple images for an enhanced user experience.

Master dynamic image lists with Qualifax: add and remove images effortlessly. Update schema, implement field sets, and iterate through image choosers with ease.

Dynamic Image Lists with Field Sets 

Multiple Image Uploading 

Dynamic image addition and deletion with alt text functionality, progressive enhancements, and input submission using Conform utilities in web development

Master dynamic button generation for form accessibility using Conform utilities. Modify field sets with list functions, explore progressive enhancement.

Dynamically Delete and Add Buttons

 Interactive Image Management

Dad Joke Break Complex Structures 

Complex Structures

Intro to Honeypot

Add a hidden input field honeypot to deter spam bots, enhance deliverability, and prevent spam issues. Explore additional tips for form security.

Boost sign-up form security with invisible honeypot fields to catch spam bots. Discover effective techniques for handling bot submissions in your app.

Honeypot Fields in Sign Up Forms

Adding a Honeypot to Protect Against Spam Bots

Protect your website from spam bots with automatic updates to Honeypot configurations.

Enhance security with Remix Utils Honeypot fields. Customize divs, ARIA, and server-side validation to deter spam. Best practices for errors and HTTP codes.

Honeypot Fields for Form Security

Honeypot Protection with `remix-utils`

Efficiently implement Honeypot security on forms: Transfer server data to client for reliable bot protection.

Implement honeypot protection: Create provider, configure props, render components, prevent quick form submission, thwart automated bots.

Honeypot Protection

Honeypots for Form Security 

Ensure consistent Honeypot encryption secret across servers and regions for form data integrity and conflict avoidance

Securely add honeypot secret to server validation, configure in local .env for data protection.

Setting Up Honeypot Security for Server Environment Variables

Consistent Encryption with Honeypot Server

Dad Joke Break Honeypot

Honeypot

Intro to CSRF

Implement CSRF protection: Generate tokens, set secure cookies, associate with clients, and use environment variables.

Implement Node.js CSRF utility: Generate tokens, secure cookies, prevent cross-site request forgery attacks.  

Creating and Managing CSRF Tokens With Node.js

CSRF Protection with Cookies 

Protect user data with authenticity tokens: Render, verify, and enhance user experience.

Secure forms with Authenticity Token input and CSRF validation for protection against tampering. Improve security and error responses.

Security with Authenticity Token and CSRF Validation

Authenticity With Token Protection 

Dad Joke Break CSRF

Cross-Site Request Forgery

Intro to Rate Limit 

Learn how to implement rate limiting middleware in Express for efficient resource management in your server.

Safeguarding Your Server: Adding Rate Limit Configuration

Optimizing Your Express Server with Rate Limiting Middleware

Implement tiered rate limiting: Strong for sign-up/login, moderate for posts, and general defense. Custom middleware assigns tiers.

Professional Web Forms

Professional Web Forms

Transcript

Type Safety with Conform

Transcript