Next.js Has a Free API You Should Know About

Next.js isn't just a React framework — it's a full-stack API platform hiding in plain sight.

The Built-in API Routes

Every Next.js app comes with a powerful API layer. Drop a file in pages/api/ (Pages Router) or app/api/ (App Router), and you instantly have a serverless endpoint.

// app/api/hello/route.js
export async function GET(request) {
  return Response.json({ message: 'Hello from Next.js API!' })
}

Route Handlers in App Router

The App Router brought a cleaner API pattern:

// app/api/users/[id]/route.js
export async function GET(request, { params }) {
  const { id } = await params
  const user = await getUser(id)
  return Response.json(user)
}

export async function PUT(request, { params }) {
  const body = await request.json()
  const updated = await updateUser(params.id, body)
  return Response.json(updated)
}

Middleware — The Hidden Power

Next.js middleware runs BEFORE your routes, giving you authentication, redirects, and header manipulation at the edge:

// middleware.js
export function middleware(request) {
  const token = request.cookies.get('auth-token')
  if (!token) {
    return NextResponse.redirect(new URL('/login', request.url))
  }
  return NextResponse.next()
}

export const config = {
  matcher: ['/dashboard/:path*', '/api/protected/:path*']
}

Server Actions — API Without the API

With Server Actions, you don't even need API routes for mutations:

// app/actions.js
'use server'

export async function createPost(formData) {
  const title = formData.get('title')
  const post = await db.post.create({ data: { title } })
  revalidatePath('/posts')
  return post
}

Real-World Use Case

A SaaS founder I know was paying $200/month for a separate API server. They moved everything to Next.js API routes, deployed on Vercel's free tier, and cut their infrastructure cost to $0 for the first 100K requests.

The best API is the one you don't have to build separately.

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