How to lazy load Client Components and libraries

Lazy loading in Next.js helps improve the initial loading performance of an application by decreasing the amount of JavaScript needed to render a route.

It allows you to defer loading of Client Components and imported libraries, and only include them in the client bundle when they're needed. For example, you might want to defer loading a modal until a user clicks to open it.

There are two ways you can implement lazy loading in Next.js:

1. Using Dynamic Imports with next/dynamic
2. Using React.lazy() with Suspense

By default, Server Components are automatically code split, and you can use streaming to progressively send pieces of UI from the server to the client. Lazy loading applies to Client Components.

next/dynamic

next/dynamic is a composite of React.lazy() and Suspense. It behaves the same way in the app and pages directories to allow for incremental migration.

Examples

Importing Client Components

'use client'

import { useState } from 'react'
import dynamic from 'next/dynamic'

// Client Components:
const ComponentA = dynamic(() => import('../components/A'))
const ComponentB = dynamic(() => import('../components/B'))
const ComponentC = dynamic(() => import('../components/C'), { ssr: false })

export default function ClientComponentExample() {
  const [showMore, setShowMore] = useState(false)

  return (
    <div>
      <ComponentA />
      {showMore && <ComponentB />}
      <button onClick={() => setShowMore(!showMore)}>Toggle</button>
      <ComponentC />
    </div>
  )
}

Note: When a Server Component dynamically imports a Client Component, automatic code splitting is currently not supported.

Skipping SSR

When using React.lazy() and Suspense, Client Components will be prerendered (SSR) by default.

Note: ssr: false option will only work for Client Components, move it into Client Components ensure the client code-splitting working properly.

If you want to disable prerendering for a Client Component, you can use the ssr option set to false:

const ComponentC = dynamic(() => import('../components/C'), { ssr: false })

Importing Server Components

If you dynamically import a Server Component, only the Client Components that are children of the Server Component will be lazy-loaded - not the Server Component itself. It will also help preload the static assets such as CSS when you're using it in Server Components.

import dynamic from 'next/dynamic'

// Server Component:
const ServerComponent = dynamic(() => import('../components/ServerComponent'))

export default function ServerComponentExample() {
  return (
    <div>
      <ServerComponent />
    </div>
  )
}

Note: ssr: false option is not supported in Server Components. You will see an error if you try to use it in Server Components. ssr: false is not allowed with next/dynamic in Server Components. Please move it into a Client Component.

Loading External Libraries

External libraries can be loaded on demand using the import() function. This example uses the external library fuse.js for fuzzy search. The module is only loaded on the client after the user types in the search input.

'use client'

import { useState } from 'react'

const names = ['Tim', 'Joe', 'Bel', 'Lee']

export default function Page() {
  const [results, setResults] = useState()

  return (
    <div>
      <input
        type="text"
        placeholder="Search"
        onChange={async (e) => {
          const { value } = e.currentTarget
          // Dynamically load fuse.js
          const Fuse = (await import('fuse.js')).default
          const fuse = new Fuse(names)

          setResults(fuse.search(value))
        }}
      />
      <pre>Results: {JSON.stringify(results, null, 2)}</pre>
    </div>
  )
}

Adding a custom loading component

'use client'

import dynamic from 'next/dynamic'

const WithCustomLoading = dynamic(
  () => import('../components/WithCustomLoading'),
  {
    loading: () => <p>Loading...</p>,
  }
)

export default function Page() {
  return (
    <div>
      <WithCustomLoading />
    </div>
  )
}

Importing Named Exports

To dynamically import a named export, you can return it from the Promise returned by import() function:

'use client'

export function Hello() {
  return <p>Hello!</p>
}

import dynamic from 'next/dynamic'

const ClientComponent = dynamic(() =>
  import('../components/hello').then((mod) => mod.Hello)
)

Magic Comments

Next.js supports magic comments to control how dynamic imports are handled by the bundler. These comments work with dynamic import(), require(), require.resolve(), and new Worker() expressions.

Good to know: Magic comments do not work with static import statements (import x from 'y'). They only work with dynamic expressions.

webpackIgnore / turbopackIgnore

Use these comments to skip bundling a dynamic import. The import expression will be left as-is in the output, useful for runtime-only modules:

// Skip bundling - import happens at runtime
const runtime = await import(/* webpackIgnore: true */ 'runtime-module')

// Turbopack-specific variant
const plugin = await import(/* turbopackIgnore: true */ pluginPath)

// Also works with require
const mod = require(/* webpackIgnore: true */ 'runtime-module')

turbopackOptional (Turbopack only)

Use this comment to suppress build errors when a module might not exist. The import will still throw at runtime if the module is missing:

// No build error if './optional-feature' doesn't exist
// Runtime will throw MODULE_NOT_FOUND if executed
const feature = await import(/* turbopackOptional: true */ './optional-feature')

// Also works with require
const mod = require(/* turbopackOptional: true */ './optional-module')

This is useful for:

• Conditional features that may not be installed
• Plugin systems where modules are optional
• Gradual migrations where some files may not exist yet

Good to know: webpackOptional is not supported. Use turbopackOptional instead when using Turbopack.

next/dynamic

next/dynamic is a composite of React.lazy() and Suspense. It behaves the same way in the app and pages directories to allow for incremental migration.

In the example below, by using next/dynamic, the header component will not be included in the page's initial JavaScript bundle. The page will render the Suspense fallback first, followed by the Header component when the Suspense boundary is resolved.

import dynamic from 'next/dynamic'

const DynamicHeader = dynamic(() => import('../components/header'), {
  loading: () => <p>Loading...</p>,
})

export default function Home() {
  return <DynamicHeader />
}

Good to know: In import('path/to/component'), the path must be explicitly written. It can't be a template string nor a variable. Furthermore the import() has to be inside the dynamic() call for Next.js to be able to match webpack bundles / module ids to the specific dynamic() call and preload them before rendering. dynamic() can't be used inside of React rendering as it needs to be marked in the top level of the module for preloading to work, similar to React.lazy.

Examples

With named exports

To dynamically import a named export, you can return it from the Promise returned by import():

export function Hello() {
  return <p>Hello!</p>
}

// pages/index.js
import dynamic from 'next/dynamic'

const DynamicComponent = dynamic(() =>
  import('../components/hello').then((mod) => mod.Hello)
)

With no SSR

To dynamically load a component on the client side, you can use the ssr option to disable server-rendering. This is useful if an external dependency or component relies on browser APIs like window.

'use client'

import dynamic from 'next/dynamic'

const DynamicHeader = dynamic(() => import('../components/header'), {
  ssr: false,
})

With external libraries

This example uses the external library fuse.js for fuzzy search. The module is only loaded in the browser after the user types in the search input.

import { useState } from 'react'

const names = ['Tim', 'Joe', 'Bel', 'Lee']

export default function Page() {
  const [results, setResults] = useState()

  return (
    <div>
      <input
        type="text"
        placeholder="Search"
        onChange={async (e) => {
          const { value } = e.currentTarget
          // Dynamically load fuse.js
          const Fuse = (await import('fuse.js')).default
          const fuse = new Fuse(names)

          setResults(fuse.search(value))
        }}
      />
      <pre>Results: {JSON.stringify(results, null, 2)}</pre>
    </div>
  )
}