How To Start Next.js Server?

Next.js is a React framework created by Vercel that helps developers build server-side rendered and static web applications. Starting a Next.js server is a simple process that allows you to see your application running in a local development environment or a production environment.

Prerequisites

• Node.js
• npm (Node Package Manager)

Steps to Start Next.js Server

Step 1: Creating a New Next.js Project

To create a new Next.js project, run the following command in your terminal.

npx create-next-app@latest  my-app
cd my-app

Step 2: Move into the Folder

After creating your project folder (i.e. my-app ), move to it by using the following command:

cd my-app

Project Structure:

Example: Before going to start the server, we are going to add some text to our homepage. For that, Add the below code in your index.js file.

'use client';
const Home = () => {
    return (
        <div>
            <h1>This is a demo - GeeksforGeeks</h1>
            <h2>Server is started</h2>
        </div>
    );
};
export default Home;

Step 3: Start the Server

Now to start the development server you have to type the below command in the terminal. This will start the development server for your Next.Js application and you will see the following output in the browser:

npm run dev

Output:

Conclusion

Starting a Next.js server is a straightforward process, whether you are running it locally for development or in production. By following the steps outlined above, you can quickly get your application up and running. For local development, the npm run dev or yarn dev commands suffice, but for production, you'll need to build your application and serve it with the npm run start or yarn start command. Additionally, you can customize the server to fit your needs or integrate Next.js with other frameworks such as Express.