Building a Custom Gemini Clone Chat App with ReactJS, TailwindCSS, and Gemini API

Want to create a feature-rich chat application inspired by Gemini? In this comprehensive tutorial, you’ll learn how to build a responsive chat app from scratch using ReactJS, TailwindCSS, and the Gemini API. We’ll also use ReactMarkdown to render markdown content with code highlighting and add smooth animations for a polished user experience. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to enhance your React skills, this guide has everything you need to get started.

What You’ll Learn

• Setting up a ReactJS project with Tailwind CSS
• Integrating the Gemini API for chat features
• Rendering markdown and highlighting code with ReactMarkdown
• Implementing animations for a dynamic user experience
• Building a fully responsive application from the ground up

Step 1: Setting Up Your ReactJS Project

To kick off the project, set up your environment for React and Tailwind CSS. Follow these steps:

Installing Dependencies

Run the following commands in your terminal to create a new React app and install the necessary packages:

npx create-react-app gemini-chat
cd gemini-chat
npm install tailwindcss react-markdown react-transition-group

Configuring Tailwind CSS

Initialize Tailwind CSS and configure it for your project:

npx tailwindcss init

Add the following directives to your index.css file:

@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

Step 2: Integrating the Gemini API

The Gemini API powers the chat functionality. Here’s how to integrate it into your app:

Creating the API Integration

Create a file named api.js to handle API requests:

import axios from 'axios';

const API_URL = 'https://api.gemini.com/chat';

export const sendMessage = async (message) => {
    const response = await axios.post(API_URL, { message });
    return response.data;
};

Use this function in your chat component to send and receive messages in real time.

Step 3: Building the Chat Component

The chat component is the heart of your application. Here’s how to build it:

Creating the Chat UI

Use TailwindCSS for styling and ReactJS for logic. Add the following code to a new file named Chat.js:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { sendMessage } from './api';

const Chat = () => {
    const [messages, setMessages] = useState([]);
    const [input, setInput] = useState('');

    const handleSend = async () => {
        const response = await sendMessage(input);
        setMessages([...messages, { user: 'You', text: input }, { user: 'AI', text: response }]);
        setInput('');
    };

    return (

); }; export default Chat;

Step 4: Adding Markdown Rendering with ReactMarkdown

ReactMarkdown allows you to render markdown content with syntax highlighting. Add the following feature to render messages with markdown:

import ReactMarkdown from 'react-markdown';

const ChatMessage = ({ text }) => {
    return (

); };

Replace the message rendering logic in your Chat.js component to include ChatMessage:

{messages.map((msg, index) => (
    
))}

Step 5: Implementing Smooth Animations

To enhance the user experience, add smooth animations using the react-transition-group library:

import { CSSTransition, TransitionGroup } from 'react-transition-group';
import './animations.css';


    {messages.map((msg, index) => (

{msg.user}: {msg.text}

    ))}

Add the following CSS to your project for the animations:

.fade-enter {
    opacity: 0;
}
.fade-enter-active {
    opacity: 1;
    transition: opacity 300ms;
}
.fade-exit {
    opacity: 1;
}
.fade-exit-active {
    opacity: 0;
    transition: opacity 300ms;
}

Conclusion

By following this tutorial, you’ve successfully built a custom Gemini Clone chat app with ReactJS, TailwindCSS, Gemini API, and ReactMarkdown. You’ve implemented essential features like API integration, markdown rendering, and smooth animations, resulting in a polished and responsive application. Keep experimenting and enhancing your app to add more advanced features. Don’t forget to check out the TopNotch Programmer YouTube channel for more tutorials!