Installation

Learn how to create a new Next.js application with the `create-next-app` CLI, and set up TypeScript, ESLint, and Module Path Aliases.

System requirements

Before you begin, make sure your system meets the following requirements:

Node.js 20.9 or later.
macOS, Windows (including WSL), or Linux.

Create with the CLI

The quickest way to create a new Next.js app is using create-next-app, which sets up everything automatically for you. To create a project, run:

Terminal

npx create-next-app@latest

On installation, you'll see the following prompts:

Terminal

What is your project named? my-app
Would you like to use the recommended Next.js defaults?
    Yes, use recommended defaults - TypeScript, ESLint, Tailwind CSS, App Router, Turbopack
    No, reuse previous settings
    No, customize settings - Choose your own preferences

If you choose to customize settings, you'll see the following prompts:

Terminal

Would you like to use TypeScript? No / Yes
Which linter would you like to use? ESLint / Biome / None
Would you like to use React Compiler? No / Yes
Would you like to use Tailwind CSS? No / Yes
Would you like your code inside a `src/` directory? No / Yes
Would you like to use App Router? (recommended) No / Yes
Would you like to use Turbopack? (recommended) No / Yes
Would you like to customize the import alias (`@/*` by default)? No / Yes
What import alias would you like configured? @/*

After the prompts, create-next-app will create a folder with your project name and install the required dependencies.

Manual installation

To manually create a new Next.js app, install the required packages:

pnpm i next@latest react@latest react-dom@latest

npm i next@latest react@latest react-dom@latest

yarn add next@latest react@latest react-dom@latest

bun add next@latest react@latest react-dom@latest

Good to know: The App Router uses React canary releases built-in, which include all the stable React 19 changes, as well as newer features being validated in frameworks. The Pages Router uses the React version you install in package.json.

Then, add the following scripts to your package.json file:

package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "next dev",
    "build": "next build",
    "start": "next start",
    "lint": "eslint",
    "lint:fix": "eslint --fix"
  }
}

These scripts refer to the different stages of developing an application:

next dev: Starts the development server using Turbopack (default bundler).
next build: Builds the application for production.
next start: Starts the production server.
eslint: Runs ESLint.

Turbopack is now the default bundler. To use Webpack run next dev --webpack or next build --webpack. See the Turbopack docs for configuration details.

Create the `pages` directory

Next.js uses file-system routing, which means the routes in your application are determined by how you structure your files.

Create a pages directory at the root of your project. Then, add an index.tsx file inside your pages folder. This will be your home page (/):

export default function Page() {
  return <h1>Hello, Next.js!</h1>
}

Next, add an _app.tsx file inside pages/ to define the global layout. Learn more about the custom App file.

import type { AppProps } from 'next/app'
 
export default function App({ Component, pageProps }: AppProps) {
  return <Component {...pageProps} />
}

Finally, add a _document.tsx file inside pages/ to control the initial response from the server. Learn more about the custom Document file.

import { Html, Head, Main, NextScript } from 'next/document'
 
export default function Document() {
  return (
    <Html>
      <Head />
      <body>
        <Main />
        <NextScript />
      </body>
    </Html>
  )
}

Create the `public` folder (optional)

Create a public folder at the root of your project to store static assets such as images, fonts, etc. Files inside public can then be referenced by your code starting from the base URL (/).

You can then reference these assets using the root path (/). For example, public/profile.png can be referenced as /profile.png:

import Image from 'next/image'
 
export default function Page() {
  return <Image src="/profile.png" alt="Profile" width={100} height={100} />
}

Run the development server

Run npm run dev to start the development server.
Visit http://localhost:3000 to view your application.
Edit the pages/index.tsx file and save it to see the updated result in your browser.

Set up TypeScript

Minimum TypeScript version: v5.1.0

Next.js comes with built-in TypeScript support. To add TypeScript to your project, rename a file to .ts / .tsx and run next dev. Next.js will automatically install the necessary dependencies and add a tsconfig.json file with the recommended config options.

See the TypeScript reference page for more information.

Set up linting

Next.js supports linting with either ESLint or Biome. Choose a linter and run it directly via package.json scripts.

Use ESLint (comprehensive rules):

package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "lint": "eslint",
    "lint:fix": "eslint --fix"
  }
}

Or use Biome (fast linter + formatter):

package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "lint": "biome check",
    "format": "biome format --write"
  }
}

If your project previously used next lint, migrate your scripts to the ESLint CLI with the codemod:

Terminal

npx @next/codemod@canary next-lint-to-eslint-cli .

If you use ESLint, create an explicit config (recommended eslint.config.mjs). ESLint supports both the legacy .eslintrc.* and the newer eslint.config.mjs formats. See the ESLint API reference for a recommended setup.

Good to know: Starting with Next.js 16, next build no longer runs the linter automatically. Instead, you can run your linter through NPM scripts.

See the ESLint Plugin page for more information.

Set up Absolute Imports and Module Path Aliases

Next.js has in-built support for the "paths" and "baseUrl" options of tsconfig.json and jsconfig.json files.

These options allow you to alias project directories to absolute paths, making it easier and cleaner to import modules. For example:

// Before
import { Button } from '../../../components/button'
 
// After
import { Button } from '@/components/button'

To configure absolute imports, add the baseUrl configuration option to your tsconfig.json or jsconfig.json file. For example:

tsconfig.json or jsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "baseUrl": "src/"
  }
}

In addition to configuring the baseUrl path, you can use the "paths" option to "alias" module paths.

For example, the following configuration maps @/components/* to components/*:

tsconfig.json or jsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "baseUrl": "src/",
    "paths": {
      "@/styles/*": ["styles/*"],
      "@/components/*": ["components/*"]
    }
  }
}

Each of the "paths" are relative to the baseUrl location.

Installation

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