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API ReferenceFile Conventionslayout.js

layout.js

The layout file is used to define a layout in your Next.js application.

app/dashboard/layout.tsx
export default function DashboardLayout({
  children,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode
}) {
  return <section>{children}</section>
}

A root layout is the top-most layout in the root app directory. It is used to define the <html> and <body> tags and other globally shared UI.

app/layout.tsx
export default function RootLayout({
  children,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode
}) {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <body>{children}</body>
    </html>
  )
}

Reference

Props

children (required)

Layout components should accept and use a children prop. During rendering, children will be populated with the route segments the layout is wrapping. These will primarily be the component of a child Layout (if it exists) or Page, but could also be other special files like Loading or Error when applicable.

params (optional)

A promise that resolves to an object containing the dynamic route parameters object from the root segment down to that layout.

app/dashboard/[team]/layout.tsx
export default async function Layout({
  params,
}: {
  params: Promise<{ team: string }>
}) {
  const team = (await params).team
}
Example RouteURLparams
app/dashboard/[team]/layout.js/dashboard/1Promise<{ team: '1' }>
app/shop/[tag]/[item]/layout.js/shop/1/2Promise<{ tag: '1', item: '2' }>
app/blog/[...slug]/layout.js/blog/1/2Promise<{ slug: ['1', '2'] }>
  • Since the params prop is a promise. You must use async/await or React's use function to access the values.
    • In version 14 and earlier, params was a synchronous prop. To help with backwards compatability, you can still access it synchronoulsy in Next.js 15, but this behavior will be deprecated in the future.

Root Layouts

The app directory must include a root app/layout.js.

app/layout.tsx
export default function RootLayout({
  children,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode
}) {
  return (
    <html>
      <body>{children}</body>
    </html>
  )
}
  • The root layout must define <html> and <body> tags.
    • You should not manually add <head> tags such as <title> and <meta> to root layouts. Instead, you should use the Metadata API which automatically handles advanced requirements such as streaming and de-duplicating <head> elements.
  • You can use route groups to create multiple root layouts.
    • Navigating across multiple root layouts will cause a full page load (as opposed to a client-side navigation). For example, navigating from /cart that uses app/(shop)/layout.js to /blog that uses app/(marketing)/layout.js will cause a full page load. This only applies to multiple root layouts.

Caveats

Layouts do not receive searchParams

Unlike Pages, Layout components do not receive the searchParams prop. This is because a shared layout is not re-rendered during navigation which could lead to stale searchParams between navigations.

When using client-side navigation, Next.js automatically only renders the part of the page below the common layout between two routes.

For example, in the following directory structure, dashboard/layout.tsx is the common layout for both /dashboard/settings and /dashboard/analytics:

File structure showing a dashboard folder nesting a layout.tsx file, and settings and analytics folders with their own pages

When navigating from /dashboard/settings to /dashboard/analytics, page.tsx in /dashboard/analytics will rerender on the server, while dashboard/layout.tsx will not rerender because it's a common UI shared between the two routes.

This performance optimization allows navigation between pages that share a layout to be quicker as only the data fetching and rendering for the page has to run, instead of the entire route that could include shared layouts that fetch their own data.

Because dashboard/layout.tsx doesn't re-render, the searchParams prop in the layout Server Component might become stale after navigation.

Instead, use the Page searchParams prop or the useSearchParams hook in a Client Component within the layout, which is rerendered on the client with the latest searchParams.

Layouts cannot access pathname

Layouts cannot access pathname. This is because layouts are Server Components by default, and don't rerender during client-side navigation, which could lead to pathname becoming stale between navigations. To prevent staleness, Next.js would need to refetch all segments of a route, losing the benefits of caching and increasing the RSC payload size on navigation.

Instead, you can extract the logic that depends on pathname into a Client Component and import it into your layouts. Since Client Components rerender (but are not refetched) during navigation, you can use Next.js hooks such as usePathname to access the current pathname and prevent staleness.

app/dashboard/layout.tsx
import { ClientComponent } from '@/app/ui/ClientComponent'
 
export default function Layout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <>
      <ClientComponent />
      {/* Other Layout UI */}
      <main>{children}</main>
    <>
  )
}

Common pathname patterns can also be implemented with params prop.

See the examples section for more information.

Examples

Displaying content based on params

Using dynamic route segments, you can display or fetch specific content based on the params prop.

app/dashboard/layout.tsx
export default async function DashboardLayout({
  children,
  params,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode
  params: Promise<{ team: string }>
}) {
  const { team } = await params
 
  return (
    <section>
      <header>
        <h1>Welcome to {team}'s Dashboard</h1>
      </header>
      <main>{children}</main>
    </section>
  )
}

Reading params in Client Components

To use params in a Client Component (which cannot be async), you can use React's use function to read the promise:

app/page.tsx
'use client'
 
import { use } from 'react'
 
export function Page({ params }: { params: Promise<{ slug: string }> }) {
  const { slug } = use(params)
}

Version History

VersionChanges
v15.0.0-RCparams is now a promise. A codemod is available.
v13.0.0layout introduced.