building-playhtml-elements

name	building-playhtml-elements
description	Use when building, creating, or implementing a playhtml element or component, whether in vanilla HTML or React. Triggers include requests to make interactive, collaborative, real-time, or multiplayer HTML elements.

Building playhtml Elements

playhtml makes HTML elements collaborative and real-time via Yjs CRDTs.

Before Implementing — Ask These Questions

If the user's request is ambiguous on ANY of these, stop and ask:

1. Persistence: Should data survive page refresh? (defaultData=yes, awareness=no)
2. Shared vs per-user: Should all users see the same state, or does each user have their own?
3. Vanilla HTML or React?

These determine which API and data type to use. Getting them wrong means a rewrite.

Data Types

Type	Persists?	Syncs?	Use for
defaultData	Yes	Yes	Positions, counts, messages, toggles
myDefaultAwareness	No	Yes	Who's online, typing, hover state
dispatchPlayEvent	No	One-shot	Confetti, notifications
localStorage	Yes	No	Per-user flags ("has reacted")

Critical Rules

• Every element MUST have a unique id attribute — without it, sync silently fails
• Vanilla HTML: Configure element properties BEFORE playhtml.init() (the #1 mistake)
• React: Wrap app in <PlayProvider>

Quick Reference — Vanilla HTML (can-play)

const el = document.getElementById("myElement");
el.defaultData = { count: 0 };                           // REQUIRED
el.updateElement = ({ element, data }) => { ... };        // REQUIRED
el.onClick = (e, { data, setData }) => { ... };
el.onDrag = (e, { data, setData, localData, setLocalData }) => { ... };
el.onDragStart = (e, { setLocalData }) => { ... };
el.onMount = ({ getData, setData, getElement }) => { ... };
el.resetShortcut = "shiftKey"; // "shiftKey"|"ctrlKey"|"altKey"|"metaKey"

// THEN import — ordering matters!
import { playhtml } from "https://unpkg.com/playhtml@latest";
playhtml.init();

Quick Reference — React (withSharedState)

import { PlayProvider, withSharedState, usePlayContext } from "@playhtml/react";

const Counter = withSharedState(
  { defaultData: { count: 0 } },
  ({ data, setData, ref }) => (
    <button
      ref={ref}
      onClick={() => {
        setData((draft) => {
          draft.count += 1;
        });
      }}
    >
      {data.count}
    </button>
  )
);

// Component receives: data, setData, awareness, setMyAwareness, ref
// For events: usePlayContext() → { dispatchPlayEvent, registerPlayEventListener }
// For cursors: usePlayContext() → { cursors, configureCursors }

setData — Two Forms

// Mutator form: edit the current shared draft.
// Use this for increments, arrays, nested fields, and keyed collections.
setData((draft) => { draft.count += 1; });
setData((draft) => { draft.items.push(newItem); });
setData((draft) => { draft.settings.theme = "dark"; });
setData((draft) => { draft.byUser[userId] = value; });

// Replacement form: replaces ALL data.
// Use only when intentionally replacing the whole stored value.
setData({ on: true });
setData({ x: e.clientX, y: e.clientY });

Avoid replacement writes that rebuild from rendered data:

// Bad for counters: can overwrite newer synced counts.
setData({ count: data.count + 1 });

// Bad for appends: concurrent appends compete over one replacement.
setData({ messages: [...data.messages, message] });

For bounded lists, push and cap in the same mutator:

setData((draft) => {
  draft.messages.push(message);
  if (draft.messages.length > 100) {
    draft.messages.splice(0, draft.messages.length - 100);
  }
});

NEVER write shared data from code that re-runs when that data changes

The most dangerous bug in playhtml. A React effect (or updateElement) that both reads shared data and writes it loops forever: the write changes the data → the dependency re-fires → it writes again. Because the data is a CRDT, concurrent writes from multiple readers append rather than overwrite, so the loop never converges to a value a guard can catch. This passes local testing and only blows up once several readers connect — one such bug grew a production room to 1.2M ops / 23 MB and crashed the room.

// DANGER — infinite write loop
useEffect(() => {
  setData({ entries: [...data.entries, me] }); // writes entries…
}, [data.entries]);                            // …re-runs because entries changed

Strongest fix — model unique collections as a keyed map and upsert in place with the mutator form. A keyed write is idempotent (same id overwrites, never appends) and merge-safe (maps are last-write-wins per key), so even if the effect loops it cannot grow the doc:

// entries is keyed by id, not an array
const ref = useRef(data.entries); ref.current = data.entries;
useEffect(() => {
  if (ref.current[me.id]?.name === me.name) return;       // already correct
  setData((draft) => { draft.entries[me.id] = me; });      // keyed, idempotent, merge-safe
}, [me.id, me.name]); // local identity only — NOT data.entries

Two reinforcing rules: (1) prefer keyed-map + mutator upsert over array + replacement rewrite; (2) read the data through a ref so the effect depends on local identity, not the shared collection. If you truly need an array, you must both read via ref AND dedupe-by-id into a Map before writing — but a keyed map is almost always the right shape.

Rule of thumb: write shared data from explicit user events, not from reactive callbacks. If you must write from a callback, prove it converges. Full explanation: https://playhtml.fun/docs/data/data-essentials/#7-never-write-shared-data-from-code-that-re-runs-when-that-data-changes

Changing the SHAPE of already-live persisted data → migrate or clear (and flag it)

defaultData only seeds brand-new elements. A room that already has persisted data loads it as-is — so if you change the data's shape (array→map, rename a field, add a required field) for something already deployed, existing rooms hydrate the OLD shape into your NEW code. That mismatch crashes the page: e.g. a keyed write data.entries[pid] = … against a room whose entries is still a legacy Y.Array throws and blanks the page; reads of a field that doesn't exist yet are undefined and throw.

If you are changing the shape of data that is already live, STOP and flag it to the user, then pick one (in order of preference):

1. Write to a NEW field name, abandon the old one. No migration, writes are always clean. (Best.)
2. Handle both shapes defensively at read AND write — null-safe reads, initialize-if-absent, in-place migrate. Fragile; test against real legacy data.
3. Clear the room's persisted data (delete the documents row).

Only applies to already-live / persisted data — brand-new features have no old data. And note: the load/soak tests will NOT catch this — they bypass page code and start from empty rooms. A shape change must be verified by loading the real page against a room pre-seeded with the old shape.

Built-in Capabilities

Use instead of can-play when they fit: can-move, can-toggle, can-spin, can-grow, can-duplicate, can-mirror. See packages/common/src/index.ts for implementations.

Cursors (optional)

playhtml.init({ cursors: { enabled: true, room: "page" } }); // "page"|"domain"|"section"
window.cursors.allColors.length; // user count

See https://playhtml.fun/docs/data/presence/cursors/ for full API.

Common Mistakes

1. Config after init (vanilla): Properties set after playhtml.init() are ignored. Configure FIRST.
2. Missing id: No id = no sync. Silent failure.
3. Wrong data type: Awareness for persistent data (disappears on disconnect) or defaultData for ephemeral presence (leaves stale data). Refer to the Data Types table.
4. Bad array mutations: In mutator form, the draft is a Yjs CRDT proxy. Use push()/splice() only — shift(), pop(), and items[i] = x don't sync correctly.
5. Replacement form loses fields: setData({ x: 5 }) erases y. Use replacement only for whole-value writes, or use mutator form for field-level changes.
6. Deep nesting: CRDTs work best with flat data. Avoid deeply nested objects.
7. High-frequency updates: Don't setData on every mousemove. Debounce, or use setLocalData/awareness.
   • Worst case — self-triggering write loop: a callback that writes shared data AND re-runs when that data changes. See the "NEVER write shared data…" section above. This crashed a production room; treat it as a hard rule.
8. Computed values in state: Don't store what you can calculate. Compute in updateElement/render.
9. Missing PlayProvider (React): withSharedState silently fails without it.