DEVOPSdigest

Netlify announced its new Next.js Runtime, delivering an improved experience for developers using the popular web framework to build websites and web apps faster and at scale.

Netlify offers a runtime environment to support Next.js Advanced Middleware, giving developers control to rewrite and transform HTML content at the edge — without additional client-side JavaScript or complex server-rendering strategies.

Netlify is committed to driving Next.js forward with the expertise of its dedicated frameworks engineering team that regularly contributes upstream to framework open source projects, including Next.js.

“Netlify has actively invested in Next.js for years, but today marks a shift from natively supporting Next.js, to also extending what’s possible with the framework. With the investments made by our ecosystem team to enable more capabilities for developers, we’ve dramatically simplified and made it easier to do more with Next.js on Netlify than anywhere else,” said Matt Biilmann, co-founder and CEO of Netlify.

Previously, building dynamic personalization with Next.js required either server-side rendering (SSR) or heavy client-side JavaScript. Netlify’s new Next.js Advanced Middleware, available with the Next.js Runtime by Netlify, eliminates these trade-offs and extends the capabilities of Next.js.

Together, the new Next.js Runtime and Next.js Advanced Middleware enhance the developer experience for Next.js on Netlify, which includes the following capabilities:

- Full control to modify request headers and entire responses on the fly: Supports HTML rewrites and page data transforms right from the edge, making it much easier to deliver custom user experiences such as personalization, localization, authentication, and more while achieving optimal performance.

- Zero configuration for Next.js: Netlify auto-detects Next.js and preconfigures the build environment, form-fitting the platform to the Next.js framework.

- Day-one feature support: New Next.js features are typically natively enabled, tested and supported on the Netlify platform the day they launch from the Next.js open source team.

- Enhanced UX: Next.js developers have a seamless user experience across the build and deploy workflow for their sites and apps.

Customers additionally get access to Netlify’s platform features such as deploy previews with on-page feedback and quality assurance, synchronized to Git and issue tracking systems. Additional abilities include access to advanced continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD); serverless functions, edge functions, background functions, and scheduled functions (cron jobs); a unique GraphQL-powered API mesh for easily connecting data and services; advanced observability integrations; multi-cloud edge network with 99.99% uptime SLA; enterprise-ready security; and 24×7×365 support with escalation paths.

Next.js Runtime by Netlify is available today to developers on all plans, for all versions of Next.js. Next.js Advanced Middleware is available for all Next.js developers running Next.js 12.2.x or higher.