How to Structure Your Next.js Project for Productivity and Maintenance

Date: Monday, February 20, 2023

By Irving Zamora
Web ApplicationNext.jsProject Structure
irvingzamora06

Pages Directory
Public Directory
Components Directory
Utils Directory
Types Directory
Styles Directory
Config Directory
Pages/API Directory
Pages/_app.tsx File
Pages/_document.tsx File
Tests Directory
Conclusion

When it comes to building a Next.js project, having a well-structured directory is crucial. A well-organized directory can make your code easier to read, maintain, and understand. It can help you locate files and code more quickly, and make collaboration with other developers more efficient.

In this article, we will discuss the benefits of having a good directory structure for a Next.js project, and how to structure a Next.js project using the recommended directory structure. This directory structure is designed to help you organize your code, making it easier to maintain and test over time.

The recommended directory structure for a Next.js project includes the following directories: pages, public, components, utils, types, styles, config, pages/api, pages/_app.tsx, and tests. Let's look at each of these directories in more detail.


    ├── components/
    │   ├── Header/
    │   │   ├── Header.tsx
    │   │   └── index.ts
    │   ├── Layout/
    │   │   ├── Layout.tsx
    │   │   └── index.ts
    │   └── ...
    ├── config/
    ├── env.ts
    └── api.ts
    |   ├── constants/
    │       ├── apiEndpoints.ts
    │       ├── colors.ts
    │       ├── config.ts
    │       └── ...
    ├── pages/
    │   ├── index.tsx
    │   ├── about.tsx
    │   ├── contact.tsx
    │   └── ...
    ├── public/
    │   ├── images/
    │   │   ├── logo.svg
    │   │   └── ...
    │   ├── fonts/
    │   │   ├── OpenSans-Regular.ttf
    │   │   └── ...
    │   └── ...
    ├── styles/
    │   ├── global.css
    │   ├── variables.css
    │   └── ...
    ├── tests/
    │   ├── pages/
    │   │   ├── index.test.tsx
    │   │   ├── about.test.tsx
    │   │   └── ...
    │   ├── components/
    │   │   ├── Header.test.tsx
    │   │   ├── Layout.test.tsx
    │   │   └── ...
    │   └── utils/
    │       ├── formatDate.test.ts
    │       ├── formatCurrency.test.ts
    │       └── ...
    ├── utils/
    │   ├── formatDate.ts
    │   ├── formatCurrency.ts
    │   ├── logger.ts
    │   └── ...
    ├── types/
    |   ├── custom.d.ts
    |   ├── index.d.ts
    |   └── my-module/
    |       └── index.d.ts
    │       └── ...
    ├── .env.local
    ├── .env.production
    ├── .gitignore
    ├── jest.config.js
    ├── next.config.js
    ├── package.json
    ├── tsconfig.json
    ├── README.md
    └── yarn.lock

Pages Directory

The pages directory is where you define your Next.js pages. Each page is defined as a React component inside a file with the .tsx extension. By organizing your pages in a dedicated directory, you can easily find and maintain each of your pages.

Public Directory

The public directory is where you store your static assets such as images, fonts, and other files that will be served as static assets. This directory is accessible from the root URL of your application, so you can link to static assets using relative URLs.

Components Directory

The components directory is where you define your React components that are reused across pages. You may organize these components further into subdirectories based on their function or type. This directory makes it easy to find and reuse components across your project.

Utils Directory

The utils directory is where you define your utility functions and modules that are used across your Next.js application. These can include functions for date formatting, string manipulation, API requests, and more.

By separating out utility functions from other code, you can make it easier to test and reuse these functions throughout your project. This can also help to reduce code duplication and increase maintainability.

To use the utils directory in your Next.js project, you can create a file inside the directory for each utility function or module that you need. For example, you might create a formatDate.ts file to contain a function that formats a given date into a specific format.

Here's an example of what the contents of a formatDate.ts file might look like:

const formatDate = (date: Date, format: string): string => {
    // Implementation code here...
}

export default formatDate;

Types Directory

The types directory is where you define the TypeScript definition files for your application. These definition files provide type information for external libraries or modules and can help improve type safety and code completion in your editor. By providing type definitions, you can make your codebase more maintainable and scalable.

TypeScript is a typed superset of JavaScript, which provides static type checking and makes it easier to write and maintain complex applications. By providing type definitions, you can make your codebase more maintainable and scalable.

In a Next.js project, you can define your type definitions in the types directory. You can use the extension .d.ts for your type definition files.

You may also create a subdirectory structure in the types directory to organize your type definitions based on their function or type.


    types/
    ├── custom.d.ts
    ├── index.d.ts
    └── my-module/
        └── index.d.ts

In this example, we have a types directory that contains a few files and a subdirectory:

`custom.d.ts: This is a custom type definition file for the project. It could contain any custom types that are used throughout the project, such as types for API responses or commonly used data structures.`

`index.d.ts: This is the main type definition file for the project. It can contain type definitions for any third-party libraries or modules that are used throughout the project.`

`my-module/: This is a subdirectory that contains type definitions for a specific module or library that the project uses. In this example, we've called the module my-module, but you would replace that with the actual name of the module.`

`my-module/index.d.ts: This file contains type definitions for the my-module module.`

By keeping all of the type definitions in a dedicated directory, it makes it easier to find and maintain the type definitions for the project.

Styles Directory

The styles directory is where you define your global stylesheets that apply to all components. This can include a reset.css file and other custom stylesheets. By organizing your stylesheets in a dedicated directory, you can keep your styles organized and easy to maintain.

Config Directory

The config directory is where you can keep configuration files for your Next.js project. These files can include environment variables, constants, or any other configuration files that your project might need. Keeping these configuration files in a dedicated directory can help you easily manage and find your project's configuration settings.

To use the config directory, you can create a file for each type of configuration you need. For example, you might create an env.ts file to store your environment variables, a constants.ts file to store constant values used throughout your application, and other files to store configuration settings related to specific parts of your application.


    config/
    ├── env.ts
    └── api.ts

In this example, the config directory contains three files. The env.ts file stores environment variables, the constants.ts file stores constant values used throughout the application, and the api.ts file stores configuration settings related to the API.

You might use these configuration files throughout your project like this:


    // Import configuration files
    import { API_BASE_URL } from '../config/constants';
    import { API_KEY } from '../config/env';
    import { API_TIMEOUT } from '../config/api';
    // Use configuration values
    const url = `${API_BASE_URL}/users`;
    const headers = {
      'x-api-key': API_KEY,
    };
    const timeout = API_TIMEOUT;

Pages/API Directory

The pages/api directory is where you define your serverless API routes for your application. These API routes can be accessed using HTTP requests and are executed server-side. By separating out API routes from other code, you can keep your API routes organized and easy to test.

Pages/_app.tsx File

The pages/_app.tsx file is the top-level component that is used to initialize the pages of your application. You can customize the rendering of your application by overriding the App component in this file. By providing a dedicated file for customizing the rendering of your application, you can make your code easier to understand and maintain.

Pages/_document.tsx File

The pages/_document.tsx file is used to customize the HTML document that is served to the client. You can add metadata, links, and scripts to the document using this file. By providing a dedicated file for customizing the HTML document, you can make your code easier to understand and maintain.

Tests Directory

Finally, the tests directory is where you store your tests for your Next.js application. You can organize your tests by page, component, or utility function. By organizing your tests in a dedicated directory, you can make it easier to find and run tests as you build and maintain your application. It's recommended to create a separate file for each test, so you can run and debug them individually. When naming your test files, it's a good practice to include the name of the file you're testing followed by the word "test". For example, if you're testing the file "component.tsx", you can name your test file "component.test.tsx"

This naming convention helps you quickly identify which file the test corresponds to.

Conclusion

In conclusion, having a well-structured directory is essential for maintaining productivity and efficiency in building Next.js projects. A proper directory structure can help you locate files and code quickly, make collaboration with other developers more efficient, and simplify the testing and maintenance of your codebase over time. By using the recommended directory structure that includes directories such as pages, public, components, utils, types, styles, config, pages/api, pages/_app.tsx, and tests, you can create a more organized and maintainable project. Additionally, separating utility functions and components from other code and providing type definitions can improve type safety and make your codebase more scalable. Finally, organizing your tests in a dedicated directory and following a consistent naming convention can help you easily find and run tests as you build and maintain your application.