Guided Tours with TutorialMixin¶

TutorialMixin is djust's declarative state machine for guided tours, onboarding flows, and wizards where the server drives the UI through a sequence of highlighted steps. Apps describe the tour as a list of TutorialStep dataclasses and mix in TutorialMixin — the framework handles step progression, highlight/narrate push commands, cleanup on advance, skip/cancel handling, and per-step timeouts.

It's built on top of push_commands (Phase 1a) and wait_for_event (Phase 1b), but you don't need to use those primitives directly unless you want to customize beyond what the mixin supports.

The simplest possible example¶

from djust import LiveView
from djust.tutorials import TutorialMixin, TutorialStep


class OnboardingView(TutorialMixin, LiveView):
    template_name = "onboarding.html"

    tutorial_steps = [
        TutorialStep(
            target="#nav-dashboard",
            message="This is your dashboard — your home base.",
            timeout=4.0,
        ),
        TutorialStep(
            target="#btn-new-project",
            message="Click here to create your first project.",
            wait_for="create_project",
        ),
        TutorialStep(
            target="#project-form [name=title]",
            message="Give it a title — anything works.",
            wait_for="form_input_title",
        ),
        TutorialStep(
            target="#btn-save",
            message="Save your project to continue.",
            wait_for="form_saved",
        ),
    ]

<!-- onboarding.html -->
{% load djust_tutorials %}

<div dj-root dj-view="myapp.views.OnboardingView">
    <button dj-click="start_tutorial">Take the tour</button>

    <nav id="nav-dashboard">...</nav>
    <button id="btn-new-project">New project</button>
    <form id="project-form">...</form>
</div>

<!-- Bubble MUST be outside dj-root (see Bubble Placement below) -->
{% tutorial_bubble %}

That's the entire tour. Click "Take the tour" and the framework:

1. Highlights #nav-dashboard, shows "This is your dashboard — your home base." in the bubble for 4 seconds
2. Highlights #btn-new-project, shows "Click here to create your first project.", waits until the user's click fires a create_project event handler
3. Highlights the title input, shows the next message, waits for form_input_title
4. Highlights the save button, shows the final message, waits for form_saved
5. Cleans up all highlights and exits

Zero custom JavaScript. Zero client-side state.

MRO ordering: TutorialMixin must come first¶

Always list TutorialMixin before LiveView in your class bases:

# Correct
class MyView(TutorialMixin, LiveView):
    ...

# Wrong — TutorialMixin.__init__ is never called
class MyView(LiveView, TutorialMixin):
    ...

Django's View.__init__ does not call super().__init__(), so any mixin listed after a View-derived class never gets initialised. If you get the order wrong, the djust.V010 system check will catch it at startup with a clear error message.

How it works¶

The state machine¶

TutorialMixin runs as a @background task, one step at a time:

for step in tutorial_steps:
    1. Push "setup" chain (add highlight class, dispatch tour:narrate, focus target)
    2. If step.on_enter is set, push that chain too
    3. Wait for the step's completion condition:
       - If step.wait_for is set: await self.wait_for_event(wait_for, timeout=step.timeout)
       - If only step.timeout is set: asyncio.sleep(timeout) (auto-advance)
       - If neither: no wait, advance immediately
    4. If step.on_exit is set, push that chain
    5. Push "cleanup" chain (remove highlight class)

while waiting:
    - skip_tutorial() unblocks the current step and advances to the next
    - cancel_tutorial() unblocks the current step and exits the loop
    - view disconnect cancels the background task entirely

Every push happens via self.push_commands(JSChain), which ships the chain through the djust:exec auto-executor (Phase 1a). The narration event is dispatched at the step's target element with bubbles: true, so the framework-provided {% tutorial_bubble %} template tag catches it at document level and renders the message.

State and events exposed by the mixin¶

class YourView(TutorialMixin, LiveView):
    # Three instance attributes the mixin manages for you:
    tutorial_running: bool          # True while a tour is active
    tutorial_current_step: int      # 0-based index, or -1 if not running
    tutorial_total_steps: int       # len(tutorial_steps)

And four event handlers you can wire to buttons, keyboard shortcuts, or call from other handlers:

<button dj-click="start_tutorial">Take the tour</button>
<button dj-click="skip_tutorial">Next</button>
<button dj-click="cancel_tutorial">Close</button>
<button dj-click="restart_tutorial">Start over</button>

The default {% tutorial_bubble %} template tag already binds skip_tutorial and cancel_tutorial to its own buttons — you only need to wire start_tutorial explicitly.

TutorialStep reference¶

@dataclass
class TutorialStep:
    target: str                               # CSS selector (required)
    message: str                              # Narration text (required, can be empty)
    position: Literal["top", "bottom", "left", "right"] = "bottom"
    wait_for: Optional[str] = None            # Event handler name to wait on
    timeout: Optional[float] = None           # Seconds
    on_enter: Optional[JSChain] = None        # Extra setup commands
    on_exit: Optional[JSChain] = None         # Extra cleanup commands
    highlight_class: str = "tour-highlight"   # CSS class applied during the step
    narrate_event: str = "tour:narrate"       # CustomEvent name

target and position¶

target is a CSS selector. The framework uses it for both the highlight class (added to the first matching element via JS.add_class(..., to=target)) and the bubble positioning (the client-side bubble script reads the element's bounding rect and places itself above/below/left/right per position).

position hints where the bubble renders relative to the target. One of "top", "bottom" (default), "left", "right".

wait_for and timeout¶

Four scenarios depending on how you set these:

Skipping or cancelling the tour always unblocks the current step immediately, regardless of wait_for/timeout.

on_enter and on_exit¶

Optional JSChain instances pushed in addition to the default setup/cleanup chains. Use them for per-step custom behavior:

from djust.js import JS

TutorialStep(
    target="#search-input",
    message="Try searching for 'hello'.",
    wait_for="search",
    on_enter=(
        JS.scroll_into_view("#search-input")
          .set_attr("placeholder", "try: hello", to="#search-input")
    ),
    on_exit=JS.remove_attr("placeholder", to="#search-input"),
)

on_enter runs after the default highlight/narrate/focus chain and before the wait. on_exit runs after the wait and before the default cleanup chain.

highlight_class and narrate_event¶

Override these per-step when you need different visual treatment or a different CustomEvent name. Most tours use the defaults.

TutorialStep(
    target="#danger-zone",
    message="This is where destructive actions live.",
    highlight_class="tour-highlight-danger",  # app-defined CSS class
    timeout=5.0,
)

The {% tutorial_bubble %} template tag¶

Renders a floating bubble container that listens for tour:narrate events and displays the current step's message. The bubble is absolutely positioned next to the target element per the step's position hint, shows step N / total progress, and includes "Skip" and "Close" buttons bound to skip_tutorial and cancel_tutorial.

{% load djust_tutorials %}

<!-- Default: class="dj-tutorial-bubble", bottom position -->
{% tutorial_bubble %}

<!-- Custom CSS class for app-level theming -->
{% tutorial_bubble css_class="my-app-tour-bubble" %}

<!-- Different default position when the step doesn't specify -->
{% tutorial_bubble position="top" %}

<!-- Listen for a different event name (if you changed narrate_event on steps) -->
{% tutorial_bubble event="my:narrate" %}

The bubble is marked dj-update="ignore" so morphdom won't clobber its live content during VDOM patches.

Styling the bubble¶

The framework doesn't ship CSS — styling is the app's responsibility. Here's a minimal starter:

.dj-tutorial-bubble {
    position: absolute;
    padding: 12px 16px;
    background: #1e293b;
    color: white;
    border-radius: 8px;
    max-width: 320px;
    box-shadow: 0 8px 24px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);
    z-index: 10000;
    display: none;
    font-size: 14px;
    line-height: 1.5;
}

.dj-tutorial-bubble[data-visible="true"] {
    display: block;
}

.dj-tutorial-bubble__text {
    margin: 0 0 8px 0;
}

.dj-tutorial-bubble__progress {
    font-size: 11px;
    opacity: 0.7;
    margin-bottom: 8px;
}

.dj-tutorial-bubble__actions {
    display: flex;
    gap: 8px;
    justify-content: flex-end;
}

.dj-tutorial-bubble__actions button {
    background: transparent;
    color: white;
    border: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3);
    padding: 4px 12px;
    border-radius: 4px;
    cursor: pointer;
    font-size: 12px;
}

.dj-tutorial-bubble__actions button:hover {
    background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1);
}

/* Highlight class applied to the tour target */
.tour-highlight {
    outline: 3px solid #6366f1;
    outline-offset: 4px;
    border-radius: 4px;
    transition: outline 0.2s ease;
}

Apps using djust-theming get the bubble styled automatically via the config.get_framework_class() integration (coming as a follow-up).

Bubble placement¶

The {% tutorial_bubble %} tag must be placed outside the dj-root container, not inside it.

Why¶

When a VDOM patch fails, djust's morphdom recovery replaces the entire content of the dj-root element with a fresh server render. If the bubble is inside dj-root, the recovery wipe destroys it mid-step — the tour silently disappears and the user sees nothing. Because the bubble is marked dj-update="ignore", it survives normal patches, but morphdom recovery bypasses dj-update attributes entirely.

How the bubble still works outside the LiveView container¶

The bubble's Skip and Close buttons use plain onclick handlers that dispatch a tour:hide CustomEvent on document. They don't use dj-click (which requires being inside a dj-root), so they work correctly from anywhere in the DOM. The tour:narrate event that drives the bubble is also dispatched with bubbles: true and caught at document level.

Correct placement¶

<div dj-root dj-view="myapp.views.OnboardingView">
    <button dj-click="start_tutorial">Take the tour</button>
    <nav id="nav-dashboard">...</nav>
    <!-- All LiveView content inside dj-root -->
</div>

<!-- Bubble OUTSIDE dj-root — survives morphdom recovery -->
{% tutorial_bubble %}

Incorrect placement¶

<div dj-root dj-view="myapp.views.OnboardingView">
    <button dj-click="start_tutorial">Take the tour</button>
    <nav id="nav-dashboard">...</nav>

    <!-- WRONG: morphdom recovery will wipe this -->
    {% tutorial_bubble %}
</div>

Patterns¶

A simple walk-through (auto-advance)¶

Every step auto-advances after a few seconds — no user input required. Good for "look at this quickly":

class DemoView(TutorialMixin, LiveView):
    tutorial_steps = [
        TutorialStep(target="#feature-1", message="First feature.", timeout=3.0),
        TutorialStep(target="#feature-2", message="Second feature.", timeout=3.0),
        TutorialStep(target="#feature-3", message="Third feature.", timeout=3.0),
    ]

Interactive onboarding (user-driven)¶

Each step waits for the user to actually perform the action. The tour is paced by the user, not a clock:

class OnboardingView(TutorialMixin, LiveView):
    tutorial_steps = [
        TutorialStep(
            target="#btn-new-project",
            message="Create a new project.",
            wait_for="create_project",
        ),
        TutorialStep(
            target="[name=project_title]",
            message="Give it a title.",
            wait_for="save_title",
        ),
        TutorialStep(
            target="#btn-invite",
            message="Invite a teammate.",
            wait_for="send_invite",
            timeout=300,  # Give up after 5 min
        ),
    ]

    @event_handler
    def create_project(self, **kwargs):
        Project.objects.create(owner=self.request.user)

    @event_handler
    def save_title(self, title: str, **kwargs):
        self.project.title = title
        self.project.save()

    @event_handler
    def send_invite(self, email: str, **kwargs):
        Invitation.objects.create(project=self.project, email=email)

Mixing auto-advance and wait-for¶

Most real tours blend both — a few "look at this" steps interleaved with "now you try":

tutorial_steps = [
    TutorialStep(target="#welcome", message="Welcome!", timeout=2.0),
    TutorialStep(target="#dashboard", message="This is the dashboard.", timeout=3.0),
    TutorialStep(
        target="#btn-action",
        message="Go ahead and click it.",
        wait_for="user_action",
    ),
    TutorialStep(target="#result", message="Nice job!", timeout=3.0),
]

Branching tours with custom handlers¶

For more complex flows, override start_tutorial or call _run_step directly:

class AdaptiveTutorial(TutorialMixin, LiveView):
    tutorial_steps = []  # not used directly

    @event_handler
    @background
    async def start_tutorial(self, **kwargs):
        if self.tutorial_running:
            return
        self.tutorial_running = True
        try:
            if self.request.user.is_new:
                await self._run_beginner_flow()
            else:
                await self._run_advanced_flow()
        finally:
            self._cleanup_active_step()
            self.tutorial_running = False

    async def _run_beginner_flow(self):
        for step in self.beginner_steps:
            await self._run_step(step)

    async def _run_advanced_flow(self):
        for step in self.advanced_steps:
            await self._run_step(step)

Skipping and cancelling¶

The mixin provides two user-facing exit paths:

• skip_tutorial — advances past the current step immediately. The loop moves to the next step. Use for "Next" buttons or keyboard shortcuts.
• cancel_tutorial — aborts the tour entirely. The loop exits on the next iteration. Use for "Close" buttons, Escape key, or when the user navigates away.

Both are wired to the default {% tutorial_bubble %} skip/close buttons.

<!-- Bind keyboard shortcuts if you want -->
<div dj-keydown.escape="cancel_tutorial" dj-keydown.right="skip_tutorial"></div>

View disconnect cleanup¶

When the user navigates away or closes the tab, the WebSocket disconnect path automatically cancels the @background task running the tour — there's no lingering work, no leaked waiters, no highlighted elements left behind on the (now gone) page.

If you have custom cleanup logic (analytics, draft persistence, etc.), add it to your view's disconnect handler or use on_exit chains.

Debugging tours¶

The djust debug panel (Ctrl+Shift+D) shows every djust:exec push event in the Network tab. For a tour, you'll see pairs of events per step: the setup chain (add_class + dispatch + focus) followed by the cleanup chain (remove_class). Watch for:

• Missing targets — a step's target selector doesn't match any element. Check the selector in the browser console: document.querySelectorAll('your-selector').
• Handler name typos — wait_for names must match @event_handler method names exactly. A typo blocks the step indefinitely (or until timeout).
• Handler validation failures — if a handler fails parameter validation, it never runs, so the waiter never resolves. The Network tab shows the validation error.

Set window.djustDebug = true in the browser console to see verbose logs from the auto-executor.

Limitations¶

A few real constraints worth knowing:

• LiveComponent events propagate to parent waiters automatically. A step's wait_for matches handlers on either the LiveView itself or any embedded LiveComponent. When a component handler fires, the framework notifies the parent view's waiter registry with the handler's kwargs — plus an injected component_id key so a predicate can disambiguate events from multiple component instances:

python # Wait for a click specifically on the project-form component await self.wait_for_event( "save", predicate=lambda kw: kw.get("component_id") == "project_form", ) - Actor-mode views bypass the dispatch hook. Tours don't work on views running under use_actors = True. The non-actor path is the default and is fully supported. - Handlers that fail parameter validation don't run — meaning a waiter on them never resolves via the handler path, only via timeout. Make sure your wait_for handlers have matching client-side call shapes (the inline dj-click="handler_name(args)" syntax works fine). - Tours are single-user. A tour running on user A's session doesn't affect user B. For instructor-led multi-user tours (one instructor drives many students), wait for Phase 4 (broadcast_commands + consent envelope) in v0.5.x.

What's next¶

TutorialMixin is the capstone of ADR-002 Phase 1 — the three primitives (push_commands, wait_for_event, TutorialMixin) compose to let any djust app ship a real guided tour in under 50 lines of Python.

Future phases on the same foundation:

• Phase 4 (v0.5.x) — multi-user broadcast via broadcast_commands(chain, group=...) and the consent envelope from ADR-005. Enables instructor-led classroom tours where one instructor drives 30 students' real LiveViews in lockstep.
• Phase 5 (v0.5.x) — LLM-driven AssistantMixin from ADR-002 Phase 5. Users can speak their intent and an LLM generates the tour steps on the fly, adapting to real user actions.
• v0.6.0 — AI-generated UIs with capture-and-promote from ADR-006. Tours become one kind of generative UI among many.

See also¶

• Server-Driven UI — push_commands and wait_for_event primitives
• JS Commands — the 11-command vocabulary that tour chains use
• ADR-002 — full design, motivation, alternatives, security model