Cloudflare just slop forked Next.js…

Quick Overview

Cloudflare rebuilt the Next.js API surface on Vite, creating vinenext, which achieved significant performance gains (up to 4.4x faster build times and 57% smaller client bundles) compared to Next.js 16 with Turbopack, though the migration process required using an AI agent (OpenNEXT) to handle complex refactoring, especially converting CommonJS to ESM and fixing JSX syntax issues.

Key Points: Cloudflare rebuilt the Next.js API surface using Vite and Rollup/Rousedown, resulting in a new project called vinenext. Vinenext demonstrated significant performance improvements, achieving build times up to 4.4x faster than Next.js 16 with Turbopack (1.67s vs 7.38s). Client bundle sizes for vinenext were up to 57% smaller compared to Next.js 16 (72.9 KB vs 168.9 KB). The migration process from Next.js to vinenext was facilitated by an AI agent skill called OpenNEXT, which performs automated refactoring. Cloudflare previously attempted a similar project but failed due to the enormous scope involving routers, module shims, and complex pipelines. The key difference enabling the success this time was the use of AI coding agents, which helped resolve issues like converting JSX files to .jsx and handling module resolution differences between Vite and Next.js. Despite success, the speaker suggests that for most users, migrating from Next.js to vinenext is 'Not Yet' worth the effort due to the bleeding edge nature of the technology.

Context: This video discusses the recent development by Cloudflare, where they rebuilt the core features of the Next.js framework using Vite as the underlying bundler, naming the resulting project 'vinenext'. This effort is framed against previous, unsuccessful attempts by Cloudflare and others to create a more performant alternative to Next.js. The video contrasts the performance metrics of vinenext (using Vite 8/Rolldown) against the official Next.js 16 using Turbopack, highlighting substantial gains in build speed and bundle size.

Detailed Analysis