Next.js 15 arrives with faster bundler

Vercel has released Next.js 15, the latest version of the company’s React-based web framework, featuring a stable, production-ready version of the high-performance Turbopack bundler optimized for JavaScript and TypeScript.

Written in the Rust language, Turbopack means an improved iteration velocity for developers, Vercel said. Turbopack is faster than the previous Webpack bundler, according to the company. In observations with the vercel.com application, Turbopack has delivered 76.8% faster local server startup, 96.3 faster code updates with Fast Refresh, and as much as a 45.8% faster initial route compile.

Next.js 15 was introduced on October 21. Instructions on using Next.js 15 can be found at next.js.org.

Next.js 15 also features async request APIs, which provide an incremental step toward a simplified rendering and caching model (note that this is a breaking change), and support for the planned React 19 JavaScript UI library. Other features in Next.js 15 include the following:

• The <Form> component extends the HTML <form> element with prefetching, client-side navigation, and progressive enhancement.
• The caching default for GET route handlers and the client router cache has been changed from cached by default to uncached by default.
• To improve server security, dead code elimination and secure action IDs capabilities have been introduced.
• A static indicator is now displayed during development to identify which routes are static or dynamic.
• The TypeScript next.config.ts file type is now supported, providing a NextConfig type for autocomplete and type-safe options.
• Self-hosting improvements are featured.
• To improve local development performance and reduce potential costs for billed API calls, Next.js now ensures that hot module replacement (HMR) can re-use fetch responses from previous renders.
• ESLint 9 is supported.

The Next.js 15 production release builds on updates from two release candidates, RC 1 and RC 2, released in May and October, respectively. Next.js 15 follows the October 2023 release of Next.js 14, which emphasized partial prerendering. An update to partial prerendering is planned.