Contentful Developer newsletter: Rich Text rendering, a new Next.js course and tags for GraphQL
Tags: contentful
Published: 2021-05-18 15:19:56

---
title: Contentful Developer newsletter: Rich Text rendering, a new Next.js course and tags for GraphQL
published: true
description: May 2021's developer newsletter: a new tutorial about Rich Text rendering, how to get started with Next.js and new releases.
tags: contentful
cover_image: https://images.ctfassets.net/fo9twyrwpveg/5UEeBkRXD0GtwSBgVtDhEr/991d571753cb562d489e5dc5391451b3/2021-05_Rich_text_rendering__Graph_QL_tags_and_a_Nest_JS_course.png?q=90&w=1028
canonical_url: https://www.contentful.com/blog/2021/05/11/developer-newsletter-may-2021/
---

# Howdy friends and happy May, Contentful Community!

As spring approaches in Berlin, I’ve had time to think outside and came up with some interesting nuggets I wanted to share. This month’s newsletter is full of resources about the popular JavaScript framework Next.js, Rich Text rendering and new features!

I’m also interested in what you are building and would love to have you share it with us. Tweet [@contentful](https://twitter.com/contentful) what you’ve built using #BuiltWithContentful.

Let’s get to it!

-----

## [We code live on YouTube and Twitch!](https://www.twitch.tv/contentfuldevs)

Last month we hosted several guests to talk about a wide range of topics.

![Screenshots of Contentful live coding sessions](https://images.ctfassets.net/fo9twyrwpveg/3OwNFbs3bxgXBJ28aVGaOE/6ae3cccce74f9c43009f902336ce5b1a/pasted_image_0__3_.png?fm=webp)

You can find the recordings on YouTube:

* [The Ultimate SEO tutorial with Andrew Kumar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx4OQ9QWf94)
    
* [ContentModel.io with Ante Šepić](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwc_LnJSQNw&t=5387s)
    
* [Tags and Permissions with Olubukola Makinwa](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFDQIdkfyHc)
    

What’s next? Salma and Shy will spend **a whole month building a Jamstack ecommerce site**. Watch the space and follow us on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/contentfulinc) or [Twitch](https://www.twitch.tv/contentfuldevs) to get notified!

-----

## Exciting things from the internet

### [Dotfiles for your inspiration](https://dotfiles.github.io/inspiration/)

Dotfiles projects are repositories that include hidden configuration dotfiles (starting with a `.`). Once you have figured out a setup that works for you, you can automatically set up a new machine. Don’t know where to start? I got you. This resource lists over 50 approaches to inspire you – happy automating!

### [Emoji under the hood](https://tonsky.me/blog/emoji/)

I love using emojis (🙈). I’m also fascinated by the technical Unicode concept. “Emoji under the hood” is an excellent article if you want to understand how Emojis work.

### [lofi.cafe – beautiful beats with soothing backgrounds](https://lofi.cafe/)

I just found out about lofi.cafe. It’s a beautiful site that plays chill music that’s perfect for coding. The best thing is that it comes with beautiful videos you can put on your second monitor.

-----

## Contentful corner

### [Adjust how your references look in Contentful: building a custom reference app](https://www.contentful.com/blog/2021/04/22/app-framework-tutorial-custom-reference-app/)

Did you ever wonder how to change the reference view in the Contentful web app? David wrote a tutorial explaining how to render a custom reference field using the App Framework.

### [Rendering linked assets and entries in the Contentful Rich Text field](https://www.contentful.com/blog/2021/04/14/rendering-linked-assets-entries-in-contentful/)

One of my favorite features of Contentful’s Rich Text is that you place other entries right next to your headlines and paragraphs. People asked us what’s the best way to render linked references. Salma explains how to render Rich Text references using our REST and GraphQL API on our blog.

If you prefer video, Salma and I implemented a custom reference-rendering in a ridiculously “designed” React site. [Watch the recording](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2emRgzXTzw&t=4218s).

### [Learn Next.js with this new Contentful course](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9mNsYJbkNg&list=PL4cUxeGkcC9jClk8wl1yJcN3Zlrr8YSA1&index=2)

![Illustration of the Next.js and Contentful intro and setup session](https://images.ctfassets.net/fo9twyrwpveg/6nPYckuNfQd8gD3b4GbvZw/164c26eaf586501093b844a0078eb3dd/pasted_image_0__4_.png?fm=webp&q=1)

There’s a new Contentful course on YouTube. The Net Ninja published a new and free series. If you want to get started with Next.js, this course is for you!

### [Building apps with Next.js](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAEn4vRMJx8)

![Screenshot of a next.js app building session stream](https://images.ctfassets.net/fo9twyrwpveg/72t5Dn6TglmzVxdI6UoePL/3ea5529d693bff65c3b3a6bb330d3a66/Screenshot_2021-05-05_at_12.21.47.png?fm=webp&q=1)

Our friend [Adrian Payne](https://twitter.com/dazulu?lang=en) from [Evernest](https://www.evernest.com/de/) gave an insightful session about the App Framework. He explained how they extend the Contentful UI using Next.js. I love seeing real-life examples like this!

### Contentful tip

![Screenshot with a Contentful tip](https://images.ctfassets.net/fo9twyrwpveg/63V4Zm977zGXhYvderSlRh/17fbf0de0b2b56bb906175bf96d3b5b0/pasted_image_0__5_.png?fm=webp&q=1)

You might have noticed the red circle in your Contentful spaces. The Contentful changelog is now visible in our web app!

-----

## [Changelog](https://www.contentful.com/developers/changelog/)

#### [Tags for GraphQL and apps](https://www.contentful.com/developers/changelog/#tags-for-graphql-and-apps)

We have released new features for tags in the GraphQL Content API. They allow you to query assets and entries across content types that share a common tag.

#### [Change timezone for the Launch calendar](https://www.contentful.com/developers/changelog/#change-timezone-on-the-launch-calendar)

We have updated the calendar page in Launch to change the timezone of the content calendar.

#### [Tasks for app identities](https://www.contentful.com/developers/changelog/#tasks-for-app-identities)

App identities can now access `Task`. Apps are now equipped with an app access token that can read, create and update tasks.

-----

### **Stay safe, and talk with you next month!**

That’s it for May! Visit [our developer portal to stay up to date](https://www.contentful.com/developers/). It includes developer blog posts, videos and tutorials. Let us know via [Slack](https://www.contentful.com/slack/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/contentful) how we can continue to help you make awesome things. And don’t forget to show us what you’ve built on Twitter with #BuiltWithContentful!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, [sign up to receive the next one in your inbox](https://www.contentful.com/resources/dev-newsletter/)!