---
title: Next.js encountered dynamic data during prefetching
url: "https://nextjs.org/docs/messages/instant-link-prefetch-partial"
docs_index: /docs/llms.txt
---



<div
  style={{
    padding: '1.25rem 1.5rem',
    border: '1px solid var(--ds-gray-400)',
    borderRadius: '12px',
    background: 'var(--ds-background-200)',
    margin: '1.5rem 0 2rem',
    fontSize: '0.95rem',
    lineHeight: '1.6',
  }}
>
  This Insight is part of the [Instant
  Navigations](https://nextjs.org/blog/next-16-3-instant-navigations) feature
  introduced in Next.js 16.3. If you're new to it, start with the [Ensuring
  instant
  navigations](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/instant-navigation)
  guide for an overview of what instant navigations are and how Next.js
  validates them, then come back here for the specific fix.
</div>

During a [client-side navigation](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/glossary#client-side-navigation), a [`<Link prefetch={true}>`](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/components/link) navigated to a route that has not enabled [Partial Prefetching](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/glossary#partial-prefetching). With [Cache Components](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/cacheComponents) enabled, `prefetch={true}` is a legacy "full" prefetch that pulls down the route's dynamic data along with its [App Shell](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/glossary#app-shell). This will lead to slower, more expensive prefetches.

Routes that opt into Partial Prefetching skip the dynamic data at prefetch time, leaving you free to choose when it loads: at navigation via [streaming](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/glossary#streaming), ahead of time via [runtime prefetching](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/runtime-prefetching), or not at all. The check fires at navigation time, not prefetch time, so existing apps that have just enabled Cache Components are not flooded with warnings for every `<Link prefetch={true}>` on the page.

## Ways to fix this

<FixCardGrid>
  <FixCard
    group="upgrade"
    title="Opt into Partial Prefetching"
    href="#opt-into-partial-prefetching"
    snippets={[
      { text: '// page.tsx or layout.tsx' },
      { text: "export const prefetch = 'partial'", highlight: true },
    ]}
  />
  <FixCard
    group="disable"
    title="Use the default prefetch"
    href="#use-the-default-prefetch"
    snippets={[
      { text: '<Link href="/dashboard">', highlight: true },
      { text: '  Dashboard' },
      { text: '</Link>' },
    ]}
  />
  <FixCard
    group="ignore"
    title="Disable validation on this route"
    href="#disable-validation-on-this-route"
    snippets={[
      { text: '// page.tsx or layout.tsx' },
      { text: 'export const instant = false', highlight: true },
    ]}
  />
</FixCardGrid>

## Opt into Partial Prefetching

Choose this fix when the target route has an [App Shell](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/glossary#app-shell) with dynamic content below it. Opting into Partial Prefetching tells Next.js to prefetch only the App Shell and defer the dynamic data to navigation. Opt in per-route or app-wide, and from there layer on further prefetch optimizations.

### Patterns

#### Per-route opt-in

Export [`prefetch`](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/route-segment-config/prefetch) from the page or layout of the route the link points at.

```jsx filename="app/dashboard/page.js"
export const prefetch = 'partial'

export default function DashboardPage() {
  return <Dashboard />
}
```

#### App-wide opt-in

Set [`partialPrefetching`](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/partialPrefetching) to `true` in `next.config` to opt the whole app in.

```js filename="next.config.js"
module.exports = {
  partialPrefetching: true,
}
```

Learn more: [Adopting Partial Prefetching](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/adopting-partial-prefetching).

### Trade-off

The route's dynamic data isn't included in the prefetch. The user sees the App Shell as soon as the link enters the viewport, and the dynamic content streams in after navigation. The dynamic content arrives later than it would with a full prefetch. How much later depends on how long the dynamic data takes to fetch.

### Gotchas

- Partial Prefetching only works with [Cache Components](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/cacheComponents) enabled.
- If the route doesn't have a clear App Shell (everything below the layout reads dynamic data), Partial Prefetching has nothing to prefetch and behaves the same as no prefetch. Move static content above the dynamic boundary first.

### Next steps

Opting in stops at the App Shell. To also prefetch cached parts of the route, set `prefetch={true}` on the link. If the cached content depends on request data (cookies, headers, search params), opt the route into [runtime prefetching](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/runtime-prefetching). The [prefetching guide](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/prefetching) covers the link-level options end to end.

## Use the default prefetch

Choose this fix when you set `prefetch={true}` to warm up a frequently-visited route and you can accept fetching the dynamic data on navigation. Remove the prop and the link uses the default prefetch strategy, which under Cache Components prefetches the cached page render and skips the dynamic data.

### Patterns

#### Remove the `prefetch` prop

```jsx filename="app/nav.js"
import Link from 'next/link'

export default function Nav() {
  return <Link href="/dashboard">Dashboard</Link>
}
```

### Trade-off

The link no longer forces a full prefetch. The user gets the cached parts of the route when the link enters the viewport, and the dynamic data is fetched at navigation time. This is the default behavior under Cache Components.

### Gotchas

- Removing `prefetch={true}` does not disable prefetching. It falls back to the default. To disable prefetching entirely, use `prefetch={false}`.
- See [Adopting Partial Prefetching](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/adopting-partial-prefetching) for the full table of what each `<Link>` prop downloads under each configuration.

## Disable validation on this route

Choose this fix when you need the legacy full prefetch behavior and cannot adopt Partial Prefetching for the target route. Setting [`instant`](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/route-segment-config/instant) to `false` on the target route opts it out of instant-navigation validation and silences the warning.

### Patterns

#### Opt the route out

Add the export to the page or layout file of the target route.

```jsx filename="app/dashboard/page.js"
export const instant = false

export default function DashboardPage() {
  return <Dashboard />
}
```

### Trade-off

The link continues to do a full prefetch, including dynamic data, and the warning is silenced.

### Gotchas

- `instant = false` disables all instant-navigation checks for the route, not only this one. [Blocking-route](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-runtime) and [unrendered-segment](/docs/messages/instant-unrendered-segment) warnings, and other Insights for the route are silenced too.

## Verifying the fix

After applying a fix, reload the route to confirm the [static shell](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/glossary#static-shell) renders real content. A [`<Suspense>`](https://react.dev/reference/react/Suspense) boundary placed around the whole page body can pass validation with an empty shell, which defeats the point of an instant navigation.

In [`next dev`](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/cli/next#next-dev-options), the error overlay points at the failing component with file paths and line numbers. When working from a build instead, the default [`next build`](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/cli/next#next-build-options) output is more abbreviated; run `next build --debug-prerender` for full user-frame stack traces and `next build --debug-build-paths /dashboard /settings` to iterate on specific routes.

## Don't want this validation?

Instant-navigation validation runs by default in [Cache Components](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/cacheComponents) apps and surfaces this error.

- **One segment**: add [`export const instant = false`](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/route-segment-config/instant) to the page or layout file. This opts out the segment itself. Child segments are still validated during client navigations.
- **Entire app**: set [`experimental.instantInsights.validationLevel`](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/route-segment-config/instant#configuring-validation-defaults) to `'manual-warning'` in `next.config`. This limits validation to segments that explicitly export `instant`.

See [Ensuring instant navigations](https://preview.nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/instant-navigation) for the full model.

## Related Insights

- [Runtime data during prerendering](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-runtime)
- [Uncached data during prerendering](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-dynamic)
- [URL data in a Client Component outside of Suspense](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-client-hook)
- [Runtime data in `generateMetadata()`](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-metadata-runtime)
- [Uncached data in `generateMetadata()`](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-metadata-dynamic)
- [Runtime data in `generateViewport()`](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-viewport-runtime)
- [Uncached data in `generateViewport()`](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-viewport-dynamic)
- [`Math.random()` while prerendering](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-random)
- [`Math.random()` in a Client Component](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-random-client)
- [`Date.now()` while prerendering](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-current-time)
- [`Date.now()` in a Client Component](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-current-time-client)
- [Crypto APIs while prerendering](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-crypto)
- [Crypto APIs in a Client Component](/docs/messages/blocking-prerender-crypto-client)
- [Unrendered segment](/docs/messages/instant-unrendered-segment)