Next.js Introduction
The React framework for production
What you'll learn
Understand Next.js as a React framework with App Router
Learn file-based routing with the app directory structure
Differentiate Server Components from Client Components
Implement data fetching with server-side async components
Configure Next.js for optimal rendering and performance
Navigate between pages using the Link component and useRouter
Next.js is a React framework for building full-stack web applications.
Key Features
- Routing — File-based App Router
- Rendering — Server and Client Components
- Data Fetching — RSC, streaming, caching
- Styling — CSS Modules, Tailwind, CSS-in-JS
- Optimizations — Images, fonts, scripts
- TypeScript — First-class support
Getting Started
npx create-next-app@latest my-app
cd my-app
pnpm dev
Next Steps
Key Takeaways
Next.js provides file-based routing where files in the app/ directory automatically become routes
Server Components run on the server and can directly access databases and file systems
Client Components (marked with 'use client') run in the browser and can use React hooks and browser APIs
Data fetching in Server Components uses native async/await without useState or useEffect
The Link component handles client-side navigation with automatic prefetching for instant transitions