tomevault-io Next.js Configuration Skill
This skill covers Next.js 15 configuration with the App Router.
When to Use
Use this skill when:
- Setting up new Next.js projects
- Configuring build and deployment
- Adding middleware and redirects
- Configuring image optimization
Core Principle
CONVENTIONS OVER CONFIGURATION - Next.js has sensible defaults. Only configure when you need to deviate.
Basic Configuration
// next.config.ts
import type { NextConfig } from 'next';
const config: NextConfig = {
reactStrictMode: true,
};
export default config;
Full Configuration
// next.config.ts
import type { NextConfig } from 'next';
const config: NextConfig = {
// React strict mode (recommended)
reactStrictMode: true,
// NEVER ignore errors
typescript: {
ignoreBuildErrors: false,
},
eslint: {
ignoreDuringBuilds: false,
},
// Experimental features
experimental: {
typedRoutes: true,
},
// Image optimization
images: {
remotePatterns: [
{
protocol: 'https',
hostname: 'example.com',
pathname: '/images/**',
},
],
},
// Redirects
async redirects() {
return [
{
source: '/old-page',
destination: '/new-page',
permanent: true,
},
];
},
// Rewrites
async rewrites() {
return [
{
source: '/api/:path*',
destination: 'https://api.example.com/:path*',
},
];
},
// Headers
async headers() {
return [
{
source: '/(.*)',
headers: [
{
key: 'X-Frame-Options',
value: 'DENY',
},
{
key: 'X-Content-Type-Options',
value: 'nosniff',
},
],
},
];
},
};
export default config;
App Router Structure
src/
├── app/
│ ├── layout.tsx # Root layout
│ ├── page.tsx # Home page (/)
│ ├── loading.tsx # Loading UI
│ ├── error.tsx # Error boundary
│ ├── not-found.tsx # 404 page
│ ├── globals.css # Global styles
│ ├── about/
│ │ └── page.tsx # /about
│ ├── blog/
│ │ ├── page.tsx # /blog
│ │ └── [slug]/
│ │ └── page.tsx # /blog/:slug
│ └── api/
│ └── health/
│ └── route.ts # /api/health
Layout Configuration
// app/layout.tsx
import type { Metadata } from 'next';
import { Inter } from 'next/font/google';
import './globals.css';
const inter = Inter({ subsets: ['latin'] });
export const metadata: Metadata = {
title: {
default: 'My App',
template: '%s | My App',
},
description: 'My application description',
openGraph: {
title: 'My App',
description: 'My application description',
url: 'https://myapp.com',
siteName: 'My App',
locale: 'en_US',
type: 'website',
},
};
export default function RootLayout({
children,
}: {
children: React.ReactNode;
}): React.ReactElement {
return (
<html lang="en">
<body className={inter.className}>{children}</body>
</html>
);
}
Image Configuration
// next.config.ts
images: {
// Remote image patterns
remotePatterns: [
{
protocol: 'https',
hostname: '**.example.com',
},
{
protocol: 'https',
hostname: 'cdn.example.com',
pathname: '/images/**',
},
],
// Image formats
formats: ['image/avif', 'image/webp'],
// Device sizes for responsive images
deviceSizes: [640, 750, 828, 1080, 1200, 1920, 2048, 3840],
imageSizes: [16, 32, 48, 64, 96, 128, 256, 384],
// Disable optimization for static export
// unoptimized: true,
},
Environment Variables
# .env.local (not committed)
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://...
API_SECRET=secret
# .env (committed)
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.example.com
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_NAME=My App
// Usage
// Server-side only
const dbUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL;
// Client-side (must have NEXT_PUBLIC_ prefix)
const apiUrl = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL;
Middleware
// middleware.ts (root level)
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server';
import type { NextRequest } from 'next/server';
export function middleware(request: NextRequest): NextResponse {
// Authentication check
const token = request.cookies.get('token');
if (!token && request.nextUrl.pathname.startsWith('/dashboard')) {
return NextResponse.redirect(new URL('/login', request.url));
}
// Add headers
const response = NextResponse.next();
response.headers.set('x-custom-header', 'value');
return response;
}
// Configure which paths middleware runs on
export const config = {
matcher: [
'/dashboard/:path*',
'/api/:path*',
],
};
Route Handlers (API Routes)
// app/api/users/route.ts
import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';
export async function GET(request: NextRequest): Promise<NextResponse> {
const users = await db.user.findMany();
return NextResponse.json(users);
}
export async function POST(request: NextRequest): Promise<NextResponse> {
const body = await request.json();
const user = await db.user.create({ data: body });
return NextResponse.json(user, { status: 201 });
}
// app/api/users/[id]/route.ts
export async function GET(
request: NextRequest,
{ params }: { params: { id: string } }
): Promise<NextResponse> {
const user = await db.user.findUnique({ where: { id: params.id } });
if (!user) {
return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Not found' }, { status: 404 });
}
return NextResponse.json(user);
}
Static Export
// next.config.ts
const config: NextConfig = {
output: 'export',
images: {
unoptimized: true, // Required for static export
},
trailingSlash: true,
};
Standalone Build (Docker)
// next.config.ts
const config: NextConfig = {
output: 'standalone',
};
FROM node:22-alpine AS runner
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/.next/standalone ./
COPY --from=builder /app/.next/static ./.next/static
COPY --from=builder /app/public ./public
ENV NODE_ENV=production
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "server.js"]
Bundle Analyzer
// next.config.ts
import bundleAnalyzer from '@next/bundle-analyzer';
const withBundleAnalyzer = bundleAnalyzer({
enabled: process.env.ANALYZE === 'true',
});
const config: NextConfig = {
// ...
};
export default withBundleAnalyzer(config);
ANALYZE=true npm run build
Security Headers
// next.config.ts
async headers() {
return [
{
source: '/(.*)',
headers: [
{
key: 'X-DNS-Prefetch-Control',
value: 'on',
},
{
key: 'Strict-Transport-Security',
value: 'max-age=63072000; includeSubDomains; preload',
},
{
key: 'X-Frame-Options',
value: 'SAMEORIGIN',
},
{
key: 'X-Content-Type-Options',
value: 'nosniff',
},
{
key: 'Referrer-Policy',
value: 'origin-when-cross-origin',
},
],
},
];
},
Commands
{
"scripts": {
"dev": "next dev",
"build": "next build",
"start": "next start",
"lint": "next lint"
}
}
Best Practices
- Use App Router - Pages Router is legacy
- Server Components by default - Use 'use client' only when needed
- Typed routes - Enable experimental.typedRoutes
- Never ignore errors - Keep ignoreBuildErrors: false
- Environment variables - Use NEXT_PUBLIC_ for client-side
- Image optimization - Use next/image component
- Middleware - Use for auth, redirects, headers
Notes
- App Router is the recommended approach for new projects
- Server Components reduce client-side JavaScript
- Middleware runs on the Edge Runtime
- Static export removes server-side features
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