Getting Started with Next.js

Next.js is a React framework that provides a great developer experience with features like server-side rendering, static site generation, and API routes.

Why Next.js?

Next.js solves many common problems in React applications:

• Server-side rendering: Better SEO and initial load performance
• Static site generation: Blazing fast websites
• File-based routing: Intuitive directory structure for pages
• API routes: Build API endpoints without a separate backend

Creating a Next.js App

The easiest way to get started with Next.js is to use create-next-app:

bash
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1npx create-next-app@latest my-app
2cd my-app
3npm run dev
4

This will set up a new Next.js project with all the defaults and start a development server at http://localhost:3000.

Next.js Features

Pages and Routing

Next.js uses a file-system based router. Files in the pages directory automatically become routes.

Data Fetching

Next.js provides several ways to fetch data:

• getStaticProps: Fetch data at build time
• getStaticPaths: Specify dynamic routes to pre-render
• getServerSideProps: Fetch data on each request

API Routes

Next.js allows you to create API endpoints as Node.js serverless functions:

javascript
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1// pages/api/hello.js
2export default function handler(req, res) {
3  res.status(200).json({ name: "John Doe" });
4}
5

Conclusion

Next.js is a powerful framework that makes building React applications more efficient and enjoyable. With its built-in features and optimizations, it's a great choice for projects of any size.