`window` used directly in library breaks SSR environments

Hey,

https://github.com/contentful/ui-extensions-sdk/blob/5dfb775ac0e708136ac7fcff839b639552668e06/lib/index.ts#L13

By using window “on root level” developers that build extension with some SSR framework (nextjs, nuxt, Gatsby, etc) have troubles. It’s because on server-part window is not available and there are errors because of that.

Solution: there should be simple condition that takes into account that window might be undefined. It’s gonna make lives of a lot of devs easier 😃

This issue is example of this: https://github.com/contentful/ui-extensions-sdk/issues/344 - the solution works, but it makes extension load slower and hence user experience is worse and developers must build complex workarounds with lazy loading contentful SDK into their apps which is completely unnecessary.

[r00dY]

@Jwhiles sorry for silence.

It’s very simple. I have ecommerce in next.js and want to quickly create custom Contentful extension. The easiest way for me to do this is to create new page in my next app (/__contentful-field-extension) - this page will be Contentful extension. Setting up totally separate environment only for the purpose of small Contentful extension is annoying.

Frameworks like next.js are “SSR-first” and you can’t prevent next from doing SSR. And it doesn’t apply only to next, it applies to most modern next-like frameworks (Gatsby, nuxt).

The fix is super simple, you must assume that window can be undefined and let the app build. If window is undefined you can assume you’re on the server and you can do “nothing”. It would help a lot.

[petergray-maker]

@andipaetzold @Jwhiles I too am hitting the same issue and I feel that it should be fixed on contentfuls side and not force the break of SSR. Otherwise you’re forcing the issue over to developers to apply the same work around again and again, when it could be simply fixed where the problem actually arises.

As @r00dY points out, it would really help out a lot! Many thanks