The issue you’re describing can stem from various underlying causes, each of which can trigger crashes on page reload in Next.js applications. One common cause is state management issues. When state is not managed properly, it can lead to inconsistencies, particularly when the component tries to rehydrate on the client-side after the initial load. This rehydration process can fail if the state is not correctly initialized or if there are discrepancies between the server-rendered state and the client-rendered state.
Another frequent culprit is a mismatch between server-side rendering (SSR) and client-side rendering. Next.js pre-renders pages on the server, and any differences between the server-rendered HTML and the HTML generated by the client-side JavaScript can cause errors. This mismatch can occur due to dynamic content that changes between server and client render or due to improper handling of asynchronous data fetching.
API calls also play a significant role in application stability. If your application relies on data fetched from an API, issues can arise if these calls fail or if the responses are not handled correctly, especially on subsequent reloads. Unhandled promise rejections or network errors can crash the app if not properly managed.
Configuration issues in Next.js can also lead to crashes. These might include incorrect settings in your custom server setup, misconfigured environment variables, or issues with Webpack configurations. Ensuring that these configurations are correctly set up and consistent across development and production environments is crucial.
In addition to these, there might be issues related to specific dependencies or libraries used in your project. Ensuring that all packages are up to date and compatible with your Next.js version is important. Lastly, React’s strict mode can sometimes reveal potential problems in your code that might not be apparent otherwise. Running your application in strict mode can help identify these issues and ensure that your code adheres to best practices.
By investigating these areas—state management, SSR mismatches, API call handling, and configuration settings—you can identify and address the root cause of the crashes on page reloads in your Next.js application.