The global Knack object provides programmatic access to your application through a clean, promise-based API with lazy loading and caching for optimal performance.
COMING SOON
What You'll Learn
This guide will teach you how to leverage the Knack object API to build powerful, responsive applications. You'll discover how to access your app's schema data, implement modern event-driven architecture, and tips on customizations using CSS-first approaches.
Key Concepts
Next-Gen Knack introduces a fundamentally different approach to customization:
- Promise-based API - All data access methods return promises for modern async/await patterns
- Event-driven architecture - Event system for business logic
- CSS-first customization - All visual changes handled through CSS, not DOM manipulation
- Official class names - Documented CSS classes for reliable styling
- Separation of concerns - JavaScript handles logic, CSS handles presentation
Core Components
The Knack Object API consists of several main areas:
Schema Access Methods
Get information about your application's structure including pages, tables, fields, and views.
Event System
Listen for application events to trigger business logic at the right moments.
External Resource Loading
Load JavaScript libraries and CSS files with built-in duplicate prevention.
CSS-First Customization
Style your application using official Next-Gen CSS classes and selectors.
Getting Started
All Knack Object API code should be wrapped in the Knack.ready() promise to ensure the application is fully loaded:
Knack.ready().then(async () => {
// Your code here
const user = await Knack.getUser();
console.log('Current user:', user);
});Differences from Classic Knack
If you're coming from Classic Knack, the most important change is moving from jQuery-based DOM manipulation for styling to a CSS-first approach:
- Classic:
$('#view_123 button').css('color', 'red') - Next-Gen: Use CSS selector
.scene_123_view_456 .kn-action-button { background-color: #e51010; }