Nextjs Server Components

Server & Client Components

Priority: P0 (CRITICAL)

[!WARNING] If the project uses the pages/ directory instead of the App Router, ignore this skill entirely.

Next.js (App Router) uses React Server Components (RSC) by default.

Implementation Guidelines

• Next.js Default: Use React Server Components (RSC) for 90% of your UI. Leverage async components for direct data fetching.

• Client Boundary: Only use the 'use client' directive for interactivity (e.g., onClick), hooks (useState, useEffect), or browser APIs. Place the boundary at the leaf nodes to maximise RSC benefits and server-side rendering.

• Composition: Use <ClientWrapper><ServerDataComponent /></ClientWrapper> to pass Server Components as children to Client Components. Avoid Circular Dependencies between server and client. Direct database access: await db. queries inside async RSCs, and await params before accessing route segments.

• Data Fetching: Use fetch with cache: 'no-store' or revalidate: 0 to opt out of static rendering when needed.

• Loading & UI: Use Suspense triggers around slow async components to enable Streaming and better UX. Use loading.tsx for route-level loading states.

• Serialization: Ensure all props passed from Server to Client are Serializable (No functions, Dates, or Classes).

• Security: Never share secrets or server-only logic within Client Components. Use server-only package to enforce this.

• Hydration: Server sends HTML + RSC payload (JSON); client hydrates only Client Components. Server Components produce zero JS in the client bundle — no useState/useEffect shipped to browser.

• Server-in-Client: You cannot import a Server Component directly into a Client Component.

  • Fix: Pass Server Component as children prop to the Client Component. See Composition Example.

Anti-Patterns

• No secrets in Client Components: Use server-only package to prevent accidental bundling.
• No full DB objects passed to client: Minimize serialized props; pass IDs when possible.
• No useState/useEffect in Server Components: These are Client Component-only hooks.
• No 'use client' at tree root: Push the boundary to leaf components.

References

• Server/Client Composition Example