Next JS Routing System

Next.js routing is a fundamental concept that allows you to navigate between different pages and views in your Next.js application. Next.js provides a powerful and intuitive routing system that simplifies client-side and server-side navigation. Here's a guide to Next.js routing:

File-Based Routing:

In Next.js, routing is primarily file-based, meaning that the structure of your project's file system defines your routes. Here's how it works:

1. Pages Directory:All JavaScript and TypeScript files (.js or .ts) inside the pages directory are treated as individual pages.
2. Default Route:By default, a file named index.js or index.ts in the pages directory represents the root route of your application (e.g., /).
3. Nested Routes:You can create nested routes by organizing files in subdirectories within the pages directory. For example, pages/about.js would correspond to the /about route.

Creating Routes:

To create routes in Next.js, you don't need to set up complex routing configurations. Instead, you simply create the necessary files in the pages directory:

1. Basic Route:Create a new .js or .ts file inside the pages directory. For example, to create a route at /contact, create a file named contact.js or contact.ts in the pages directory.
2. Dynamic Routes:For dynamic routes with URL parameters, use square brackets [] in the file name. For example, to handle routes like /user/1 and /user/2, create a file named [id].js or [id].ts in a subdirectory (e.g., pages/user/[id].js).

Link Component:

To navigate between pages in your Next.js application, you can use the Link component from the next/link package. Here's how to use it:

Programmatic Routing:

You can also perform programmatic navigation using the useRouter hook from the next/router package:

Dynamic Routing:

For dynamic routes, you can access the route parameters using the useRouter hook:

Catch-All Routes:

Catch-all routes allow you to match multiple segments of a URL. For example, you can create a catch-all route for all blog posts like this:

These are the basic concepts of routing in Next.js. By organizing your files and using the Link component or programmatic routing, you can easily create a navigation structure for your Next.js application.