React PDF Kit Nextjs14 Pdfjs Override

react-pdf-kit-nextjs14-pdfjs-override

Use this skill when: a project is on Next.js 14 and either wants to use @react-pdf-kit/viewer v2 or is hitting a pdfjs-dist module-load error such as

TypeError: Object.defineProperty called on non-object

during a Next.js 14 build or runtime.

The key fact: v2 does not support Next.js 14

@react-pdf-kit/viewer@^2.0.0 does not work on Next.js 14. Next.js 14's webpack build has an ESM interop bug that breaks pdfjs-dist@5's module-load path, and v2 has no supported workaround for it. Pinning pdfjs-dist to v4 is not a reliable fix for v2 on Next.js 14 — do not rely on it. Support for Next.js 14 is being worked on upstream but is not available today.

Pick one of the two supported paths below.

Option A (recommended): upgrade to Next.js 15 + Turbopack

Next.js 15 with Turbopack runs @react-pdf-kit/viewer v2 with pdfjs-dist@5 out of the box — no override needed.

1. Upgrade the project to Next.js 15.

2. Run the dev server with Turbopack:

   // package.json
   {
     "scripts": {
       "dev": "next dev --turbopack",
       "build": "next build",
       "start": "next start"
     }
   }
   

3. Set up the viewer with react-pdf-kit-nextjs-app-router (App Router) or react-pdf-kit-nextjs-pages-router (Pages Router). No pdfjs-dist install or workerUrl is required for the default case.

This is the path to prefer for any project that can move off Next.js 14.

Option B: stay on Next.js 14 with the legacy package

If upgrading is not an option yet, do not use @react-pdf-kit/viewer@2 on Next.js 14. Use the legacy @pdf-viewer/react package instead, which supports the Next.js 14 + webpack toolchain.

pnpm remove @react-pdf-kit/viewer
pnpm add @pdf-viewer/react

Follow that package's own documentation for the provider chain and pdfjs-dist configuration. Plan to migrate to @react-pdf-kit/viewer v2 once the project is on Next.js 15.

Verify

• Option A: after upgrading, next build and next dev --turbopack both succeed, and a page renders the first PDF page with no Object.defineProperty or Promise.withResolve errors.
• Option B: @react-pdf-kit/viewer is no longer a dependency, the Next.js 14 build succeeds with @pdf-viewer/react, and a PDF renders.

References

• Upstream ESM bug context: https://github.com/wojtekmaj/react-pdf/issues/1699
• Legacy package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@pdf-viewer/react
• Companion skills:
  • react-pdf-kit-nextjs-app-router and react-pdf-kit-nextjs-pages-router: apply after upgrading to Next.js 15.