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Configure a Realm - React Native SDK

On this page

  • Prerequisites
  • Configure a Realm Without Sync
  • Configuration Options
  • Configure an In-Memory Realm
  • Encrypt a Realm
  • Configure a Synced Realm
  • Expose More Than One Realm
  • Create Separate Context Objects
  • Extract Providers and Hooks
  • Use Namespaced Providers and Hooks
  • Access a Realm Without Providing a Schema
  • @realm/react Providers and Hooks

The Realm React Native SDK and @realm/react package provide many configuration options for your realm.

How you configure your realm determines the capabilities of your realm and how you work with your data. This page contains information about how to configure your realm in various ways.

Before you configure a realm in a React Native application:

  1. Install the Realm React Native SDK

  2. Install the @realm/react package

RealmProvider is a wrapper that exposes a realm to its child components. You configure your realm by passing props to RealmProvider.

When RealmProvider is rendered, it opens the realm. This means that the child components can't access the realm if rendering fails.

To configure a non-synced realm:

  1. Import RealmProvider from @realm/react.

  2. Pass your object models to the schema prop.

  3. Add other Configuration object properties as props to RealmProvider to configure your realm.

import React from 'react';
import {RealmProvider} from '@realm/react';
function AppWrapperLocal() {
return (
<RealmProvider schema={[YourObjectModel]}>
<RestOfApp />
</RealmProvider>
);
}

For a list of providers and hooks used in non-synced realm, check out @realm/react Providers and Hooks.

You can configure RealmProvider by setting props that match the properties of a Configuration object. You can also set fallback and realmRef props.

  • realmRef
    Used with useRef to expose the configured realm to processes outside of RealmProvider. This can be useful for things like a client reset fallback.
  • fallback
    Rendered while waiting for the realm to open. Local realms usually open fast enough that the fallback prop isn't needed.

To create a realm that runs entirely in memory without being written to a file, pass true to the inMemory prop on your RealmProvider:

import React from 'react';
import {Realm, RealmProvider} from '@realm/react';
function AppWrapperLocal() {
return (
<RealmProvider inMemory={true}>
<RestOfApp />
</RealmProvider>
);
}

In-memory realms may use disk space if memory is running low, but files created by an in-memory realm are deleted when you close the realm.

To encrypt a realm file on disk, refer to Encrypt a Realm.

To open a realm that synchronizes data with Atlas using Device Sync, refer to Open a Synced Realm.

The @realm/react package exposes realms in your application using React Context objects and Provider components. You can access realms with React hooks.

To expose more than one realm, consider the following:

  • Each realm needs its own Context object, created with createRealmContext().

  • The providers and hooks within each context should be namespaced so that it's easy to reason about the realm you're working with.

  • If you import RealmProvider directly from @realm/react, it is a separate Context object. That object's providers and hooks can't be unsynced with Context objects created using createRealmContext.

You can open more than one realm at a time by creating additional Context objects using createRealmContext().

You need to extract providers and hooks from each Context object. You should namespace the providers and hooks using destructuring. This makes it easier to reason about the realm you're working with.

Refer to Non-Synced RealmProvider Hooks to see which hooks are available for a RealmProvider that isn't using Device Sync.

// Namespace the Shared Document context's providers and hooks.
const {
RealmProvider: SharedDocumentRealmProvider,
useRealm: useSharedDocumentRealm,
} = SharedRealmContext;
// Namespace the Local Document context's providers and hooks.
const {
RealmProvider: LocalDocumentRealmProvider,
useRealm: useLocalDocumentRealm,
} = LocalRealmContext;

After extracting a Context object's providers and hooks, you can use them in your app's components. Child components inside of extracted providers have access to extracted hooks.

function TwoRealmsWrapper() {
return (
<View>
<AppProvider id={APP_ID}>
<UserProvider fallback={LogIn}>
{/* This is a Flexible Sync realm. */}
<SharedDocumentRealmProvider sync={{flexible: true}}>
<AppSectionOne />
</SharedDocumentRealmProvider>
</UserProvider>
</AppProvider>
{/* This is a separate local-only realm. */}
<LocalDocumentRealmProvider>
<AppSectionTwo />
</LocalDocumentRealmProvider>
</View>
);
}
function AppSectionOne() {
const realm = useSharedDocumentRealm();
// Work with shared documents...
}
function AppSectionTwo() {
const realm = useLocalDocumentRealm();
// Work with local documents...
}

After a realm has been created on a device, you don't need to always pass in a schema to access the realm. Instead, you can use RealmProvider without passing any object models to its schema property. The realm's schema is derived from the existing realm file at Realm.defaultPath.

Accessing a realm without providing a schema only works for local realms. You must always pass a schema when using a Synced realm.

import React from 'react';
import {RealmProvider} from '@realm/react';
function AppWrapper() {
return (
// To access a realm at the default path, do not pass any configuration.
// Requires a realm that has already been created.
<RealmProvider>
<RestOfApp />
</RealmProvider>
);
}

@realm/react has providers and hooks that simplify working with your non-sync realm and its data.

Provider/Hook
Description
Example
RealmProvider
A wrapper that exposes a realm to its child components, which have access to hooks that let you read, write, and update data.
Returns the instance of the Realm opened by the RealmProvider.
const realm = useRealm();
Returns an object (Realm.Object<T>) from a given type and value of primary key. Updates on any changes to the returned object. Returns null if the object either doesn't exists or has been deleted.
const myTask = useObject(Task, _id);
Returns a collection of objects (Realm.Results<T & Realm.Object T>) from a given type. Updates on any changes to any object in the collection. Returns an empty array if the collection is empty.
const tasks = useQuery(Task);
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