cdk-nextjs-standalone

Deploy NextJS with CDK

What is this?

A CDK construct to deploy a NextJS app using AWS CDK. Supported NextJs versions: >=12.3.0+ (includes 13.0.0+)

Uses the standalone output build mode.

Quickstart

Add the dependency esbuild@0.15.18 to your project along with cdk-nextjs-standalone.

import path from 'path';
import { Nextjs } from 'cdk-nextjs-standalone';

new Nextjs(this, 'Web', {
  nextjsPath: './web', // relative path to nextjs project root
});

Documentation

Available on Construct Hub.

Discord Chat

We're in the #nextjs channel on the Serverless Stack Discord.

About

Deploys a NextJs static site with server-side rendering and API support. Uses AWS lambda and CloudFront.

There is a new (since Next 12) standalone output mode which uses output tracing to generate a minimal server and static files. This standalone server can be converted into a CloudFront distribution and a lambda handler that handles SSR, API, and routing.

The CloudFront default origin first checks S3 for static files and falls back to an HTTP origin using a lambda function URL.

Benefits

This approach is most compatible with new NextJs features such as ESM configuration and middleware.

The unmaintained @serverless-nextjs project uses the deprecated serverless NextJs build target which prevents the use of new features. This construct was created to use the new standalone output build and newer AWS features like lambda function URLs and fallback origins.

Dependencies

NextJs requires the sharp native library. It is provided in a zip file from lambda-layer-sharp.

All other required dependencies should be bundled by NextJs output tracing. This standalone output is included in the lambda function bundle.

Cold start performance

Testing with sst-prisma

Duration: 616.43 ms Billed Duration: 617 ms Memory Size: 2048 MB Max Memory Used: 131 MB Init Duration: 481.08 ms

On my nextjs app using Material-UI

Duration: 957.56 ms Billed Duration: 958 ms Memory Size: 1024 MB Max Memory Used: 127 MB Init Duration: 530.86 ms

Heavily based on

• https://github.com/iiroj/iiro.fi/commit/bd43222032d0dbb765e1111825f64dbb5db851d9
• https://github.com/sladg/nextjs-lambda
• https://github.com/serverless-nextjs/serverless-next.js/tree/master/packages/compat-layers/apigw-lambda-compat
• Serverless Stack
  • RemixSite construct
  • NextjsSite construct

Serverless-stack (SST) wrapper

(TODO: will be moved to SST at some point)

import { BaseSiteEnvironmentOutputsInfo, Nextjs, NextjsProps } from 'cdk-nextjs-standalone';
import { Construct } from 'constructs';
import { App, Stack } from '@serverless-stack/resources';
import path from 'path';
import { CfnOutput } from 'aws-cdk-lib';

export interface NextjsSstProps extends NextjsProps {
  app: App;
}

class NextjsSst extends Nextjs {
  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string, props: NextjsSstProps) {
    const app = props.app;

    super(scope as any, id, {
      ...props,
      isPlaceholder: app.local,
      tempBuildDir: app.buildDir,
      defaults: {
        ...props.defaults,
        distribution: {
          ...props.defaults?.distribution,
          stageName: app.stage,
        },
      },

      // make path relative to the app root
      nextjsPath: path.isAbsolute(props.nextjsPath) ? path.relative(app.appPath, props.nextjsPath) : props.nextjsPath,
    });

    if (props.environment) this.registerSiteEnvironment(props);
  }

  protected registerSiteEnvironment(props: NextjsSstProps) {
    if (!props.environment) return;
    const environmentOutputs: Record<string, string> = {};
    for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(props.environment)) {
      const outputId = `SstSiteEnv_${key}`;
      const output = new CfnOutput(this, outputId, { value });
      environmentOutputs[key] = Stack.of(this).getLogicalId(output);
    }

    const app = this.node.root as App;
    app.registerSiteEnvironment({
      id: this.node.id,
      path: props.nextjsPath,
      stack: Stack.of(this).node.id,
      environmentOutputs,
    } as BaseSiteEnvironmentOutputsInfo);
  }
}

Breaking changes

• v2.0.0: SST wrapper changed, lambda/assets/distribution defaults now are in the defaults prop, refactored distribution settings into the new NextjsDistribution construct. If you are upgrading, you must temporarily remove the customDomain on your existing 1.x.x app before upgrading to >=2.x.x because the CloudFront distribution will get recreated due to refactoring, and the custom domain must be globally unique across all CloudFront distributions. Prepare for downtime.