Next-Drupal 2.0 is out
Remember Next-Drupal?
It’s that thing we used to talk about incessantly but have been fairly quiet about in recent months. Not to worry – we haven’t lost interest. In fact, we’ve been working hard to make our Next.js-powered decoupled Drupal front-end product even better in Next-Drupal 2.0!
For those of you who are not yet familiar, here is a good introduction to Next-Drupal. For those already acquainted, please read on.
Making a Fast Front-End Even Faster
The primary reason for the new release is that Next.js has recently introduced a powerful new feature: App Router. App Router is a new model for building React applications that allows some components to be rendered on the server, rather than solely in the browser.
Rendering content server-side before sending all JavaScript to the browser reduces load times and improves performance. That’s right – the fastest-loading front-end just got even faster.
While Pages Router will eventually be deprecated, Next-Drupal 2.0 supports both App Router and Pages Router out of the box. This ensures a seamless transition for existing users of Next-Drupal 1.6. Content migration from Pages to App Router can be done gradually, at your pace. If you're ready to dive in, we’ve documented the migration process on GitHub.
Improved Developer Experience
Next-Drupal 2.0 isn’t just faster – it’s smarter. It introduces a new developer feature called Draft Mode, replacing the older Preview Mode.
Draft Mode solves a common pain point: needing to rebuild the entire application when only a small content update is made. Now, the Drupal server can tell the Next.js app, “just show me this new piece of content,” without triggering a full rebuild.
And just like with App Router, Draft Mode is added without removing support for Preview Mode, giving developers flexibility and control.
When Can I Transition?
If you’re already using Next-Drupal 1.6, you can try out Next-Drupal 2.0 today. While it hasn’t been officially released, it’s available in alpha mode and ready for testing. Check out our progress in the roadmap, and explore our updated contribution docs to safely start contributing.
New to Next-Drupal?
There’s never been a better time to join the decoupled revolution. Next-Drupal offers everything you need to build a next-generation front-end for your Drupal site—without sacrificing the editorial power and features of traditional Drupal.
Now with faster performance and an improved developer experience, Next-Drupal 2.0 sets a new standard for headless Drupal development.
Ready to explore Next-Drupal 2.0? Let’s build something great.