Overview

Master data fetching in Next.js with static generation, server-side rendering, and incremental static regeneration.

Fetch with Caching Strategies

// Default: 'force-cache' (similar to SSG)
export default async function Page() {
  const data = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');
  const json = await data.json();

  return <div>{json.title}</div>;
}

// No caching: 'no-store' (similar to SSR)
export default async function DynamicPage() {
  const data = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data', {
    cache: 'no-store'
  });
  const json = await data.json();

  return <div>{json.title}</div>;
}

// Revalidate every 60 seconds (ISR)
export default async function RevalidatedPage() {
  const data = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data', {
    next: { revalidate: 60 }
  });
  const json = await data.json();

  return <div>{json.title}</div>;
}

// Per-route caching config
export const revalidate = 3600; // Revalidate every hour

export default async function Page() {
  const data = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');
  return <div>{data.title}</div>;
}

// Dynamic rendering
export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic'; // Equivalent to cache: 'no-store'
export const dynamic = 'force-static';  // Equivalent to cache: 'force-cache'
export const dynamic = 'error';         // Error if dynamic functions used
export const dynamic = 'auto';          // Default behavior

Static Generation with generateStaticParams

// app/posts/[id]/page.tsx
interface Post {
  id: string;
  title: string;
  content: string;
}

// Generate static paths at build time
export async function generateStaticParams() {
  const posts = await fetch('https://api.example.com/posts').then(r => r.json());

  return posts.map((post: Post) => ({
    id: post.id.toString()
  }));
}

export default async function Post({ params }: { params: { id: string } }) {
  const post = await fetch(`https://api.example.com/posts/${params.id}`, {
    next: { revalidate: 3600 } // Revalidate hourly
  }).then(r => r.json());

  return (
    <article>
      <h1>{post.title}</h1>
      <p>{post.content}</p>
    </article>
  );
}

// Multiple dynamic segments
// app/shop/[category]/[product]/page.tsx
export async function generateStaticParams() {
  const categories = await getCategories();

  const paths = await Promise.all(
    categories.map(async (category) => {
      const products = await getProducts(category.slug);
      return products.map((product) => ({
        category: category.slug,
        product: product.slug
      }));
    })
  );

  return paths.flat();
}

export default async function Product({
  params
}: {
  params: { category: string; product: string }
}) {
  const product = await getProduct(params.category, params.product);

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>{product.name}</h1>
      <p>{product.description}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

// Limit static generation for large datasets
export const dynamicParams = true; // Default: generate on-demand
export const dynamicParams = false; // Return 404 for ungenerated paths

export async function generateStaticParams() {
  // Only generate top 100 posts at build time
  const posts = await getPosts({ limit: 100 });

  return posts.map((post) => ({
    id: post.id
  }));
}

Time-Based Revalidation (ISR)

// Page-level revalidation
export const revalidate = 60; // Revalidate every 60 seconds

export default async function Page() {
  const posts = await fetch('https://api.example.com/posts').then(r => r.json());

  return (
    <div>
      {posts.map(post => (
        <article key={post.id}>
          <h2>{post.title}</h2>
        </article>
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

// Per-request revalidation
export default async function Page() {
  const staticData = await fetch('https://api.example.com/static', {
    next: { revalidate: 3600 } // Cache for 1 hour
  }).then(r => r.json());

  const dynamicData = await fetch('https://api.example.com/dynamic', {
    next: { revalidate: 10 } // Cache for 10 seconds
  }).then(r => r.json());

  return (
    <div>
      <div>Static: {staticData.value}</div>
      <div>Dynamic: {dynamicData.value}</div>
    </div>
  );
}

// Mixed caching strategies
export default async function Dashboard() {
  // Never cache (always fresh)
  const liveData = await fetch('https://api.example.com/live', {
    cache: 'no-store'
  }).then(r => r.json());

  // Cache indefinitely (build-time only)
  const staticData = await fetch('https://api.example.com/static', {
    cache: 'force-cache'
  }).then(r => r.json());

  // Revalidate periodically
  const periodicData = await fetch('https://api.example.com/periodic', {
    next: { revalidate: 300 }
  }).then(r => r.json());

  return (
    <div>
      <LiveStats data={liveData} />
      <StaticContent data={staticData} />
      <PeriodicUpdates data={periodicData} />
    </div>
  );
}

On-Demand Revalidation

// app/api/revalidate/route.ts
import { revalidatePath, revalidateTag } from 'next/cache';
import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';

export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
  const secret = request.nextUrl.searchParams.get('secret');

  // Verify secret token
  if (secret !== process.env.REVALIDATE_SECRET) {
    return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Invalid secret' }, { status: 401 });
  }

  const path = request.nextUrl.searchParams.get('path');

  if (path) {
    // Revalidate specific path
    revalidatePath(path);
    return NextResponse.json({ revalidated: true, path });
  }

  return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Missing path' }, { status: 400 });
}

// app/posts/[slug]/page.tsx - Using cache tags
export default async function Post({ params }: { params: { slug: string } }) {
  const post = await fetch(`https://api.example.com/posts/${params.slug}`, {
    next: { tags: ['posts', `post-${params.slug}`] }
  }).then(r => r.json());

  return <article>{post.content}</article>;
}

// app/api/revalidate-tag/route.ts
export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
  const tag = request.nextUrl.searchParams.get('tag');

  if (tag) {
    revalidateTag(tag);
    return NextResponse.json({ revalidated: true, tag });
  }

  return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Missing tag' }, { status: 400 });
}

// Server Action for revalidation
'use server';
import { revalidatePath } from 'next/cache';

export async function updatePost(id: string, data: FormData) {
  await db.post.update({ where: { id }, data });

  // Revalidate the post page
  revalidatePath(`/posts/${id}`);

  // Revalidate the posts list
  revalidatePath('/posts');
}

Parallel Data Fetching

// Fetch multiple resources in parallel
export default async function Page() {
  const [posts, categories, tags] = await Promise.all([
    fetch('https://api.example.com/posts').then(r => r.json()),
    fetch('https://api.example.com/categories').then(r => r.json()),
    fetch('https://api.example.com/tags').then(r => r.json())
  ]);

  return (
    <div>
      <PostList posts={posts} />
      <CategoryList categories={categories} />
      <TagCloud tags={tags} />
    </div>
  );
}

// Parallel fetching with different cache strategies
export default async function Dashboard() {
  const [stats, recentActivity, settings] = await Promise.all([
    fetch('https://api.example.com/stats', {
      next: { revalidate: 60 }
    }).then(r => r.json()),

    fetch('https://api.example.com/activity', {
      cache: 'no-store'
    }).then(r => r.json()),

    fetch('https://api.example.com/settings', {
      cache: 'force-cache'
    }).then(r => r.json())
  ]);

  return (
    <div>
      <Stats data={stats} />
      <Activity data={recentActivity} />
      <Settings data={settings} />
    </div>
  );
}

// Fetching with fallbacks
export default async function Page() {
  const results = await Promise.allSettled([
    fetch('https://api.example.com/required').then(r => r.json()),
    fetch('https://api.example.com/optional1').then(r => r.json()),
    fetch('https://api.example.com/optional2').then(r => r.json())
  ]);

  const [required, optional1, optional2] = results;

  return (
    <div>
      {required.status === 'fulfilled' && <Required data={required.value} />}
      {optional1.status === 'fulfilled' && <Optional1 data={optional1.value} />}
      {optional2.status === 'fulfilled' && <Optional2 data={optional2.value} />}
    </div>
  );
}

Streaming and Suspense

// app/posts/page.tsx
import { Suspense } from 'react';

export default function PostsPage() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Blog Posts</h1>

      {/* Stream featured posts */}
      <Suspense fallback={<FeaturedSkeleton />}>
        <FeaturedPosts />
      </Suspense>

      {/* Stream all posts */}
      <Suspense fallback={<PostsSkeleton />}>
        <AllPosts />
      </Suspense>

      {/* Stream comments */}
      <Suspense fallback={<CommentsSkeleton />}>
        <RecentComments />
      </Suspense>
    </div>
  );
}

async function FeaturedPosts() {
  const posts = await fetch('https://api.example.com/posts/featured', {
    next: { revalidate: 300 }
  }).then(r => r.json());

  return (
    <div className="featured">
      {posts.map(post => (
        <PostCard key={post.id} post={post} />
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

async function AllPosts() {
  const posts = await fetch('https://api.example.com/posts', {
    next: { revalidate: 60 }
  }).then(r => r.json());

  return (
    <div className="posts">
      {posts.map(post => (
        <PostCard key={post.id} post={post} />
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

async function RecentComments() {
  const comments = await fetch('https://api.example.com/comments/recent', {
    cache: 'no-store'
  }).then(r => r.json());

  return (
    <div className="comments">
      {comments.map(comment => (
        <Comment key={comment.id} comment={comment} />
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

Loading States

// app/posts/loading.tsx
export default function Loading() {
  return (
    <div className="loading">
      <div className="skeleton skeleton-title" />
      <div className="skeleton skeleton-text" />
      <div className="skeleton skeleton-text" />
      <div className="skeleton skeleton-text" />
    </div>
  );
}

// Custom loading component with Suspense
export default function Page() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Suspense fallback={<CustomLoading message="Loading posts..." />}>
        <Posts />
      </Suspense>

      <Suspense fallback={<CustomLoading message="Loading comments..." />}>
        <Comments />
      </Suspense>
    </div>
  );
}

function CustomLoading({ message }: { message: string }) {
  return (
    <div className="custom-loading">
      <Spinner />
      <p>{message}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

// Progressive enhancement with instant loading UI
export default function Page() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* Shows immediately */}
      <InstantHeader />

      {/* Streams in as ready */}
      <Suspense fallback={<FastSkeleton />}>
        <FastContent />
      </Suspense>

      <Suspense fallback={<SlowSkeleton />}>
        <SlowContent />
      </Suspense>
    </div>
  );
}

Error Handling

// app/posts/error.tsx
'use client';

export default function Error({
  error,
  reset
}: {
  error: Error & { digest?: string };
  reset: () => void;
}) {
  return (
    <div className="error">
      <h2>Failed to load posts</h2>
      <p>{error.message}</p>
      <button onClick={reset}>Try again</button>
    </div>
  );
}

// Handling fetch errors
export default async function Page() {
  try {
    const data = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data', {
      next: { revalidate: 60 }
    });

    if (!data.ok) {
      throw new Error(`Failed to fetch: ${data.status}`);
    }

    const json = await data.json();

    return <Content data={json} />;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Fetch error:', error);
    return <ErrorFallback />;
  }
}

// Graceful degradation
export default async function Page() {
  let data;

  try {
    const res = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');
    data = await res.json();
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Failed to fetch data:', error);
    data = null;
  }

  return (
    <div>
      {data ? (
        <Content data={data} />
      ) : (
        <div>
          <p>Unable to load content</p>
          <StaticFallback />
        </div>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

// Error boundaries with retry logic
'use client';
import { useState } from 'react';

export default function ErrorWithRetry({
  error,
  reset
}: {
  error: Error;
  reset: () => void;
}) {
  const [retrying, setRetrying] = useState(false);

  const handleRetry = async () => {
    setRetrying(true);
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1000));
    reset();
    setRetrying(false);
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Something went wrong</h2>
      <p>{error.message}</p>
      <button onClick={handleRetry} disabled={retrying}>
        {retrying ? 'Retrying...' : 'Retry'}
      </button>
    </div>
  );
}

Server Actions for Mutations

// app/actions.ts
'use server';

import { revalidatePath } from 'next/cache';

export async function createPost(formData: FormData) {
  const title = formData.get('title') as string;
  const content = formData.get('content') as string;

  try {
    const res = await fetch('https://api.example.com/posts', {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ title, content })
    });

    if (!res.ok) {
      throw new Error('Failed to create post');
    }

    const post = await res.json();

    // Revalidate the posts page
    revalidatePath('/posts');

    return { success: true, post };
  } catch (error) {
    return { success: false, error: error.message };
  }
}

export async function updatePost(id: string, formData: FormData) {
  const title = formData.get('title') as string;
  const content = formData.get('content') as string;

  await fetch(`https://api.example.com/posts/${id}`, {
    method: 'PUT',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({ title, content })
  });

  revalidatePath(`/posts/${id}`);
  revalidatePath('/posts');
}

export async function deletePost(id: string) {
  await fetch(`https://api.example.com/posts/${id}`, {
    method: 'DELETE'
  });

  revalidatePath('/posts');
}

// app/posts/new/page.tsx
import { createPost } from '../actions';

export default function NewPost() {
  return (
    <form action={createPost}>
      <input name="title" placeholder="Title" required />
      <textarea name="content" placeholder="Content" required />
      <button type="submit">Create Post</button>
    </form>
  );
}

// With client-side validation
'use client';
import { useFormState, useFormStatus } from 'react-dom';
import { createPost } from './actions';

function SubmitButton() {
  const { pending } = useFormStatus();

  return (
    <button type="submit" disabled={pending}>
      {pending ? 'Creating...' : 'Create Post'}
    </button>
  );
}

export default function CreatePostForm() {
  const [state, formAction] = useFormState(createPost, null);

  return (
    <form action={formAction}>
      <input name="title" required />
      <textarea name="content" required />
      {state?.error && <p className="error">{state.error}</p>}
      {state?.success && <p className="success">Post created!</p>}
      <SubmitButton />
    </form>
  );
}

Request Memoization

// Automatic deduplication within a single render pass
async function getUser(id: string) {
  const res = await fetch(`https://api.example.com/users/${id}`);
  return res.json();
}

export default async function Page() {
  // These calls are automatically deduplicated
  const user1 = await getUser('1');
  const user2 = await getUser('1'); // Uses cached result
  const user3 = await getUser('1'); // Uses cached result

  return <div>{user1.name}</div>;
}

// Works across component boundaries
async function UserHeader() {
  const user = await getUser('1');
  return <header>{user.name}</header>;
}

async function UserProfile() {
  const user = await getUser('1'); // Same request, deduplicated
  return <div>{user.bio}</div>;
}

export default function Page() {
  return (
    <div>
      <UserHeader />
      <UserProfile />
    </div>
  );
}

// Manual caching with React cache
import { cache } from 'react';

const getUser = cache(async (id: string) => {
  const res = await fetch(`https://api.example.com/users/${id}`);
  return res.json();
});

// Now getUser is memoized across the entire request

Database Queries

// Direct database access in Server Components
import { db } from '@/lib/db';

export default async function Posts() {
  const posts = await db.post.findMany({
    where: { published: true },
    orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' },
    take: 10
  });

  return (
    <div>
      {posts.map(post => (
        <article key={post.id}>
          <h2>{post.title}</h2>
          <p>{post.content}</p>
        </article>
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

// With relations
export default async function Post({ params }: { params: { id: string } }) {
  const post = await db.post.findUnique({
    where: { id: params.id },
    include: {
      author: true,
      comments: {
        include: {
          user: true
        },
        orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' }
      }
    }
  });

  if (!post) {
    notFound();
  }

  return (
    <article>
      <h1>{post.title}</h1>
      <p>By {post.author.name}</p>
      <div>{post.content}</div>
      <Comments comments={post.comments} />
    </article>
  );
}

// Aggregations and analytics
export default async function Dashboard() {
  const [totalPosts, totalUsers, recentActivity] = await Promise.all([
    db.post.count(),
    db.user.count(),
    db.activity.findMany({
      take: 10,
      orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' }
    })
  ]);

  return (
    <div>
      <StatsCard title="Total Posts" value={totalPosts} />
      <StatsCard title="Total Users" value={totalUsers} />
      <ActivityFeed items={recentActivity} />
    </div>
  );
}

Pagination Patterns

// Cursor-based pagination
export default async function Posts({
  searchParams
}: {
  searchParams: { cursor?: string }
}) {
  const cursor = searchParams.cursor;

  const posts = await db.post.findMany({
    take: 10,
    skip: cursor ? 1 : 0,
    cursor: cursor ? { id: cursor } : undefined,
    orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' }
  });

  const lastPost = posts[posts.length - 1];
  const nextCursor = lastPost?.id;

  return (
    <div>
      <PostList posts={posts} />
      {nextCursor && (
        <Link href={`/posts?cursor=${nextCursor}`}>Load More</Link>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

// Page-based pagination
export default async function Posts({
  searchParams
}: {
  searchParams: { page?: string }
}) {
  const page = parseInt(searchParams.page || '1');
  const perPage = 10;

  const [posts, total] = await Promise.all([
    db.post.findMany({
      skip: (page - 1) * perPage,
      take: perPage,
      orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' }
    }),
    db.post.count()
  ]);

  const totalPages = Math.ceil(total / perPage);

  return (
    <div>
      <PostList posts={posts} />
      <Pagination currentPage={page} totalPages={totalPages} />
    </div>
  );
}

// Infinite scroll with Server Actions
'use client';
import { useState } from 'react';
import { loadMorePosts } from './actions';

export function InfinitePostList({ initialPosts }: { initialPosts: Post[] }) {
  const [posts, setPosts] = useState(initialPosts);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);

  const loadMore = async () => {
    setLoading(true);
    const lastId = posts[posts.length - 1].id;
    const newPosts = await loadMorePosts(lastId);
    setPosts([...posts, ...newPosts]);
    setLoading(false);
  };

  return (
    <div>
      {posts.map(post => (
        <PostCard key={post.id} post={post} />
      ))}
      <button onClick={loadMore} disabled={loading}>
        {loading ? 'Loading...' : 'Load More'}
      </button>
    </div>
  );
}

When to Use This Skill

Use nextjs-data-fetching when you need to:

Build static sites with dynamic data
Implement SSR for dynamic content
Use ISR for best of both worlds
Optimize for SEO and performance
Cache and revalidate data
Build e-commerce sites
Create content-heavy applications
Implement real-time updates
Build scalable applications
Handle large datasets efficiently
Implement pagination and infinite scroll
Optimize Core Web Vitals

Best Practices

Use static generation by default - Leverage SSG for pages that can be pre-rendered at build time for optimal performance.
Implement ISR for frequently updated content - Use time-based or on-demand revalidation for dynamic content that doesn't need real-time updates.
Cache API responses appropriately - Set proper revalidate times based on how frequently data changes.
Use TypeScript for data types - Define proper types for API responses and database queries to catch errors early.
Handle loading and error states - Implement loading.tsx and error.tsx files for better user experience.
Implement proper revalidation strategies - Use on-demand revalidation with webhooks for immediate updates when data changes.
Optimize for Core Web Vitals - Use streaming and Suspense to improve perceived performance and loading times.
Use parallel data fetching - Fetch independent data sources simultaneously to reduce waterfall effects.
Test data fetching patterns - Verify caching behavior, revalidation, and error handling in tests.
Monitor performance metrics - Track cache hit rates, revalidation frequency, and page load times.

Common Pitfalls

Not caching data appropriately - Using cache: 'no-store' for everything defeats the performance benefits of SSG/ISR.
Overusing SSR for static content - Rendering static content on every request wastes server resources.
Not implementing error boundaries - Missing error.tsx files cause poor user experience when data fetching fails.
Ignoring revalidation strategies - Not setting revalidate times leads to stale data or too many unnecessary requests.
Not handling race conditions - Parallel requests without proper ordering can cause inconsistent UI state.
Missing loading states - Not implementing loading.tsx or Suspense boundaries creates jarring loading experiences.
Not optimizing bundle size - Fetching too much data or including unnecessary fields increases payload size.
Exposing sensitive API keys - Accidentally exposing secrets in client components or client-side fetches.
Not testing edge cases - Skipping tests for error states, empty data, and loading states leads to poor UX.
Misunderstanding caching behavior - Not knowing when Next.js caches requests can lead to stale data or performance issues.

📖 nextjs-data-fetching

Overview

Fetch with Caching Strategies

Static Generation with generateStaticParams

Time-Based Revalidation (ISR)

On-Demand Revalidation

Parallel Data Fetching

Streaming and Suspense

Loading States

Error Handling

Server Actions for Mutations

Request Memoization

Database Queries

Pagination Patterns

When to Use This Skill

Best Practices

Common Pitfalls

Resources