name	frontend-nextjs-app-router
description	Use when working with Next.js App Router tasks - creating pages in /app/, setting up dynamic routes ([id]/page.tsx), implementing nested layouts/templates (layout.tsx), optimizing Server/Client components, or building ERP role-based pages (admin/teacher/student dashboards). Auto-use for all /app/ directory operations, dynamic routing, and App Router-specific features.

Next.js App Router Expert

Overview

Expert guidance for Next.js App Router development including page creation, dynamic routing, nested layouts, Server/Client component optimization, and ERP role-based dashboards.

Core Capabilities

1. Page Creation (`/app/.../page.tsx`)

Rules:

Use Server Components by default (no 'use client' directive)
Async data fetching with fetch() or ORM queries directly
No useEffect for initial data load
Use Suspense boundaries for loading states
SEO metadata via generateMetadata()

Template:

// app/dashboard/page.tsx
import { Suspense } from 'react';
import { TaskList } from '@/components/TaskList';
import { TaskListSkeleton } from '@/components/TaskListSkeleton';

export const metadata = {
  title: 'Dashboard',
  description: 'Your task management dashboard',
};

export default async function DashboardPage() {
  const tasks = await fetchTasks();

  return (
    <main className="p-4">
      <h1>Dashboard</h1>
      <Suspense fallback={<TaskListSkeleton />}>
        <TaskList initialTasks={tasks} />
      </Suspense>
    </main>
  );
}

2. Dynamic Routes (`[slug]/page.tsx`)

When to use:

Student profiles: app/students/[studentId]/page.tsx
Task details: app/tasks/[taskId]/page.tsx
Course pages: app/courses/[courseId]/page.tsx

Rules:

Extract params from params prop (read-only)
Use generateMetadata() for SEO
Handle 404 with not-found.tsx

Template:

// app/students/[studentId]/page.tsx
import { notFound } from 'next/navigation';

type Params = Promise<{ studentId: string }>;

export async function generateMetadata({ params }: { params: Params }) {
  const { studentId } = await params;
  const student = await getStudent(studentId);

  if (!student) return { title: 'Student Not Found' };

  return {
    title: `${student.name} - Student Profile`,
  };
}

export default async function StudentProfile({ params }: { params: Params }) {
  const { studentId } = await params;
  const student = await getStudent(studentId);

  if (!student) notFound();

  return <StudentProfileView student={student} />;
}

3. Parallel Routes (`@folder`)

When to use:

Dashboard variants: app/dashboard@(admin|teacher)/page.tsx
Split layouts: app/settings@(user|organization)/layout.tsx

Template:

// app/dashboard/@admin/page.tsx - Admin dashboard
export default function AdminDashboard() {
  return <AdminPanel />;
}

// app/dashboard/@teacher/page.tsx - Teacher dashboard
export default function TeacherDashboard() {
  return <TeacherPanel />;
}

4. Layouts & Templates

Root Layout (app/layout.tsx):

import { Providers } from '@/components/Providers';
import './globals.css';

export const metadata = {
  title: 'Todo Evolution',
  description: 'Task management for education',
};

export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <body>
        <Providers>{children}</Providers>
      </body>
    </html>
  );
}

Nested Layout (app/dashboard/layout.tsx):

import { DashboardNav } from '@/components/DashboardNav';

export default function DashboardLayout({
  children,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode;
}) {
  return (
    <div className="flex min-h-screen">
      <DashboardNav />
      <main className="flex-1 p-6">{children}</main>
    </div>
  );
}

Template (app/tasks/template.tsx):

// Re-executes on navigation, preserves form state
export default function TasksTemplate({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <div className="bg-gray-50 min-h-screen">
      <header className="bg-white shadow">
        <h1>Tasks</h1>
      </header>
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}

5. Server vs Client Components

Use Server Components for:

Data fetching
Direct database queries
Static content
Server-only operations

Use Client Components ('use client') for:

Browser APIs (window, localStorage)
Event handlers (onClick, onSubmit)
React hooks (useState, useEffect)
State management (Zustand, Redux)
Interactivity

// Server Component (default)
export default async function TaskList() {
  const tasks = await fetchTasks(); // Direct DB query
  return <div>{tasks.map(/* ... */)}</div>;
}

// Client Component
'use client';
import { useTaskStore } from '@/store/tasks';

export function TaskFilter() {
  const { filter, setFilter } = useTaskStore();
  return <button onClick={() => setFilter('all')}>All Tasks</button>;
}

6. ERP Role-Based Pages

Role Guards:

// app/admin/page.tsx
import { requireRole } from '@/lib/auth';
import { redirect } from 'next/navigation';

export default async function AdminPage() {
  const session = await getSession();

  if (session?.role !== 'admin') {
    redirect('/unauthorized');
  }

  return <AdminDashboard />;
}

KPI Dashboard (Recharts):

'use client';
import { BarChart, Bar, XAxis, YAxis, Tooltip } from 'recharts';

export function TaskKPIChart({ data }: { data: TaskStats[] }) {
  return (
    <BarChart width={600} height={300} data={data}>
      <XAxis dataKey="date" />
      <YAxis />
      <Tooltip />
      <Bar dataKey="completed" fill="#22c55e" />
    </BarChart>
  );
}

7. Error & Loading States

Error Boundary (error.tsx):

'use client';
export default function Error({
  error,
  reset,
}: {
  error: Error & { digest?: string };
  reset: () => void;
}) {
  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Something went wrong!</h2>
      <button onClick={reset}>Try again</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Loading State (loading.tsx):

export default function Loading() {
  return <div className="animate-pulse">Loading...</div>;
}

// Or with Suspense:
export default async function Page() {
  return (
    <Suspense fallback={<Loading />}>
      <Content />
    </Suspense>
  );
}

8. shadcn/ui Integration

Installation:

npx shadcn@latest add button card input dialog

Usage in Server Components:

import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';
import { Card, CardContent, CardHeader } from '@/components/ui/card';

export default async function TaskPage() {
  const tasks = await getTasks();

  return (
    <Card>
      <CardHeader>Tasks</CardHeader>
      <CardContent>
        {tasks.map(task => (
          <div key={task.id}>{task.title}</div>
        ))}
      </CardContent>
    </Card>
  );
}

Workflow Decision Tree

User Request → Analyze → Implementation Path

"Dashboard/Admin page banao" → Server Component with page.tsx → Async data fetch → Add layout.tsx if navigation needed
"Dynamic student profile" → Create [studentId]/page.tsx → Extract params → Add generateMetadata() → Create not-found.tsx if needed
"Shared layout add karo" → Create layout.tsx in target folder → Wrap with providers if needed → Maintain children render
"Form add karo" → 'use client' component → useState for form data → Server Action for submission OR API route
"KPI charts/Analytics" → 'use client' for Recharts → Server Component parent with data fetch → Pass data as props

Quality Checklist

Before marking task complete:

TypeScript strict mode enabled
Server Components used by default
'use client' only when necessary
generateMetadata() for SEO
Suspense boundaries for async data
Error boundaries (error.tsx) where needed
No hydration mismatches
Performance optimized (no blocking renders)
Mobile-first responsive design
Accessible (ARIA labels, keyboard nav)

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Server Component + Client Component Mix

// Server Component
export default async function Page() {
  const tasks = await fetchTasks();
  return <TaskList tasks={tasks} />; // Client component for interactivity
}

'use client';
function TaskList({ tasks }: { tasks: Task[] }) {
  const [filter, setFilter] = useState('all');
  const filtered = tasks.filter(/* ... */);
  return <div>{filtered.map(/* ... */)}</div>;
}

Pattern 2: Route Groups for Organization

app/
  (marketing)/     # Group: no URL segment
    about/page.tsx
    contact/page.tsx
  (dashboard)/      # Group: no URL segment
    layout.tsx
    page.tsx

Pattern 3: API Routes (Route Handlers)

// app/api/tasks/route.ts
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server';

export async function GET() {
  const tasks = await db.query.tasks.findMany();
  return NextResponse.json(tasks);
}

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const body = await request.json();
  const task = await createTask(body);
  return NextResponse.json(task, { status: 201 });
}

Trigger Examples

"Dashboard page banao" → Generate app/dashboard/page.tsx with server component
"Dynamic student profile route" → app/students/[studentId]/page.tsx with params and metadata
"Shared layout add karo" → app/dashboard/layout.tsx with children
"Admin panel with charts" → Server component + Client chart component
"Login page banao" → 'use client' form component + API route
"404 page customize karo" → app/not-found.tsx
"Error handle karo" → app/dashboard/error.tsx

References

See references/app-router-patterns.md for advanced patterns and references/api-routes.md for route handler examples.

frontend-nextjs-app-router

Install Skill

SKILL.md

Next.js App Router Expert

Overview

Core Capabilities

1. Page Creation (`/app/.../page.tsx`)

2. Dynamic Routes (`[slug]/page.tsx`)

3. Parallel Routes (`@folder`)

4. Layouts & Templates

5. Server vs Client Components

6. ERP Role-Based Pages

7. Error & Loading States

8. shadcn/ui Integration

Workflow Decision Tree

Quality Checklist

Common Patterns

Trigger Examples

References

Install Skill

SKILL.md

Next.js App Router Expert

Overview

Core Capabilities

1. Page Creation (/app/.../page.tsx)

2. Dynamic Routes ([slug]/page.tsx)

3. Parallel Routes (@folder)

4. Layouts & Templates

5. Server vs Client Components

6. ERP Role-Based Pages

7. Error & Loading States

8. shadcn/ui Integration

Workflow Decision Tree

Quality Checklist

Common Patterns

Trigger Examples

References

1. Page Creation (`/app/.../page.tsx`)

2. Dynamic Routes (`[slug]/page.tsx`)

3. Parallel Routes (`@folder`)