In this episode, we dive into making our infinite scroll more seamless by using the intersection observer. Instead of writing the intersection API logic from scratch, we take advantage of AlpineJS's intersect plugin. Since Livewire already includes Alpine, we're able to enhance our setup pretty easily.
You'll see how to bring in the Alpine Intersect plugin, and we cover a common stumbling block: the potential conflict between Alpine shipped with Livewire versus a custom version you might import. We show how to tell Livewire not to load its Alpine, so we can freely register plugins and avoid two copies running at once.
Next, we walk through swapping the traditional "load more" button for a div that uses x-intersect. This little piece of magic automatically triggers the loadMore method as you scroll, so fresh items are pulled in exactly when needed. We also talk about hooking up Tailwind classes to bump the intersection trigger a little above the bottom of the list, which makes for a smoother user experience because items load in before you hit the end.
By the end, you’ll have buttery-smooth, automatic infinite scrolling set up in Livewire, loading batches of database records as the user scrolls—no button presses or awkward pauses. It's efficient, user-friendly, and surprisingly simple once you see it in action!