The easiest way to get started with Next.js is by using create-next-app. This simple CLI tool enables you to quickly start building a new Next.js application, with everything set up for you. You can create a new app using the default Next.js template, or by using one of the official Next.js examples. To get started, use the following command:
npx create-next-appTo create a new app in a specific folder, you can send a name as an argument. For example, the following command will create a new Next.js app called blog-app in a folder with the same name:
npx create-next-app blog-appcreate-next-app comes with the following options:
- -e, --example [name]|[github-url] - An example to bootstrap the app with. You can use an example name from the Next.js repo or a GitHub URL. The URL can use any branch and/or subdirectory.
- --example-path <path-to-example> - In a rare case, your GitHub URL might contain a branch name with a slash (e.g. bug/fix-1) and the path to the example (e.g. foo/bar). In this case, you must specify the path to the example separately:
--example-path foo/bar
create-next-app allows you to create a new Next.js app within seconds. It is officially maintained by the creators of Next.js, and includes a number of benefits:
- Interactive Experience: Running
npx create-next-app(with no arguments) launches an interactive experience that guides you through setting up a project. - Zero Dependencies: Initializing a project is as quick as one second. Create Next App has zero dependencies.
- Offline Support: Create Next App will automatically detect if you're offline and bootstrap your project using your local package cache.
- Support for Examples: Create Next App can bootstrap your application using an example from the Next.js examples collection (e.g.
npx create-next-app --example api-routes). - Tested: The package is part of the Next.js monorepo and tested using the same integration test suite as Next.js itself, ensuring it works as expected with every release.