Building a Next.js App

Next.js can run in the browser through jiki. Server-side rendering, API routes, and the App Router all work — jiki’s in-memory HTTP server and kernel handle the server-side parts that Next.js expects.

jiki provides the Node.js APIs that Next.js depends on: the filesystem, http module, and child_process stubs. The dev server runs inside the container, and pages are served through the Service Worker bridge so the preview iframe behaves like real browser navigation.

Things to keep in mind

Next.js is more resource-intensive than simpler frameworks like Vite. The initial npm install pulls a larger dependency tree, and the dev server startup involves compiling pages with webpack or turbopack. Filesystem snapshots can help here — pre-installing dependencies keeps boot times reasonable.