How to detect Production or Dev environment in NextJs?

In a NextJS app, knowing if it's in production or development is important to adjust how it behaves. This guide explains the easiest ways to figure out which environment you're in and change settings based on that. It's like knowing if you're at work or home – you do different things in each place. Similarly, in NextJS, you want to do different things depending on whether you're testing or showing your app to the world. That's why it's key to know which environment you're in and tweak things accordingly.

Detecting Production or Dev environment in NextJS

Using process.env.NODE_ENV:

NextJS sets the NODE_ENV environment variable at build time based on the context in which the application is running. This variable provides a straightforward way to determine the environment.

JavaScript

//index.js

import Head from "next/head";
export const isProduction = process.env.NODE_ENV === "production";

export default function Home() {
    let whatENV;
    const env = process.env.NODE_ENV;
    if (env === "development") {
        whatENV = "development";
    } else if (env === "production") {
        whatENV = "production";
    }
    return (
        <>
            <Head>
                <title>Create Next App</title>
                <meta name="description" content="Generated by create next app" />
                <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
                <link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico" />
            </Head>
            <main>
                <div style={{ height: "100vh" }}>
                    <h2>{whatENV}</h2>
                </div>
            </main>
        </>
    );
}

Output:

development/production output

Creating a Module:

To avoid cluttering your code with conditionals, you can encapsulate the environment check into a reusable module.

JavaScript

// api/hello.js

export const isProduction = process.env.NODE_ENV === "production";

Then, import and use this module wherever you need to check the environment. for instance lets import this and use in our index.js file to display whether it is in production or development.

JavaScript

//index.js

import Head from "next/head";
import { isProduction } from "./api/hello";

export default function Home() {
    return (
        <>
            <Head>
                <title>Create Next App</title>
                <meta name="description" content="Generated by create next app" />
                <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
                <link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico" />
            </Head>
            <main>
                <div style={{ height: "100vh" }}>
                    <h2>{isProduction == false && "Development"}</h2>
                </div>
            </main>
        </>
    );
}

Output:

using modular export of isproduction

Why is environment knowledge important?

Knowing whether an application is in a production or development environment is essential for configuring behaviors and settings specific to each environment. It enables developers to:

Tailor Configuration: Adjust settings like logging levels, error handling, and API endpoints to suit the current environment's requirements.
Testing and Debugging: Facilitate debugging and testing processes by enabling features like hot reloading in development and optimizing performance in production.
Security Considerations: Implement security measures appropriate for each environment, such as stricter access controls in production and more relaxed settings for development.
Resource Optimization: Optimize resource usage based on environment characteristics, such as reducing logging verbosity in production to conserve resources.
Versioning and Deployment: Facilitate versioning and deployment processes by ensuring the correct configuration is applied in each environment, preventing unintended issues.

Conclusion

Detecting whether your NextJS app is in production or development mode is essential for making it behave differently depending on where it's being used. By using process.env.NODE_ENV, you can easily tell which environment your app is in. Creating custom modules helps keep your code organized and makes it easier to reuse for specific environments. NextJS also makes it simple to adjust settings using environment variables, so you can customize your app without having to change any code. Plus, with built-in features and add-ons, your app can grow and adapt easily. Knowing the environment ensures your app runs smoothly during testing and when it's live. This flexibility is why NextJS is a popular choice for creating apps with great user experiences. By carefully managing your environment settings, you can make your app more adaptable and easier to manage overall. So, understanding the environment in NextJS is crucial for building apps that work well and are easy to maintain.

Article Tags :

ReactJS

Web Technologies

Next.js