Next.js 15.4, released in July 2025, is described as a significant release focusing on performance and stability, particularly through advancements in its Rust-based bundler, Turbopack, making it production-ready. The update also includes developer experience and routing enhancements and prepares the framework for future versions, with many companies looking to hire Next.js developers to implement these advanced features.
Next.js 15.4 highlights
Turbopack builds achieve 100% compatibility:
A standout achievement in v15.4 is that the production next build --turbopack command now passes all 8,298 Next.js integration tests. This demonstrates that Turbopack's output is reliable enough to match the functionality of the Webpack-based builds. As a result, Vercel is now confident enough to use Turbopack for its own high-traffic site, vercel.com.
Production builds with Turbopack:
The milestone of 100% test compatibility means that developers can more confidently experiment with production builds using the --turbopack flag to see significant speed benefits.
Better performance and efficiency:
The underlying Turbopack enhancements result in faster build times, particularly noticeable in larger projects and monorepos. Benefits include:
- Faster cold starts: Initial server starts are significantly quicker.
- Faster rebuilds: Incremental changes are processed more efficiently, making for a snappier development loop.
- Optimized builds: Improvements to caching, scope hoisting, and minification result in smaller, more efficient production bundles.
Improved developer experience (DX):
Several quality-of-life improvements were shipped in this version.
- Enhanced error overlays: The error overlay in the development server now provides more detailed and actionable information, helping developers resolve issues faster.
- Better debugging: A new router.prefetch() onInvalidate callback allows developers to be notified if a prefetched route's cache becomes stale before navigation.
- Dev server restart from UI: A small but helpful feature allows restarting the dev server directly from the error overlay in the browser.
Enhanced routing features:
The App Router gains new capabilities in 15.4, laying the groundwork for future advancements.
- Global not-found page: Experimental support was added for a single, centralized global-not-found.js page to handle all unmatched App Router routes.
- Partial Prerendering (PPR) for intercepted routes: The experimental PPR feature can now be used with intercepted routes, allowing for performance optimizations in more complex UI patterns.
Preparation for Next.js 16:
Next.js 15.4 provides a clear runway for the next major release. The blog post announcing 15.4 also previewed several features planned for version 16.
- Unified caching: **The experimental **cacheComponents flag will consolidate caching features like use cache, Dynamic IO, and PPR.
- Stable Node.js middleware: Experimental Node.js runtime support for Middleware will be promoted to stable.
- Deprecation notices: Version 15.4 gives early warnings for deprecations coming in Next.js 16, such as dropping support for Node.js 18 and AMP.
What to expect
If you are already on Next.js 15.x, upgrading to v15.4 is highly recommended and should be a straightforward process with no breaking changes. The main advantages will be improved stability and faster performance, especially if you start using Turbopack for your production builds.
For those upgrading from older major versions, such as Next.js 14, it's important to remember the breaking changes introduced in Next.js 15, including new async request APIs and changes to caching defaults. These upgrades are best performed with the help of the Next.js codemod CLI to automate changes.
The release also clearly signals Vercel's roadmap, with a strong emphasis on performance, developer experience, and the App Router. The teasers for Next.js 16 indicate that caching and routing will continue to be a focus, solidifying the framework's direction toward high-performance, edge-first architectures.
Conclusion
Next.js 15.4 integrates the Rust-based bundler Turbopack, achieving full compatibility and production readiness. This update enhances build performance and developer experience, making Next.js an even faster platform for front-end development companies and setting the stage for future versions
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