Introduction

next-wayfinder is a lightweight (~3kb minzipped) and flexible package that simplifies the organization of middleware in Next.js applications. With next-wayfinder, you can easily apply different middlewares based on the route or hostname, without having to use cumbersome and error-prone path checks.

Traditionally, managing middleware in Next.js can be challenging, especially when dealing with complex routing scenarios. For example, you may want to apply an authentication middleware only for certain paths or a subdomain-specific middleware for certain hostnames. With next-wayfinder, you can easily manage and maintain your middleware and keep your code clean and organized. next-wayfinder exports an handlePaths function that can be used as middleware entry point. It accepts an array of Middleware objects that match the route or hostname, and applies the first matching middleware. This allows you to easily handle complex routing scenarios and reduce the amount of code needed to manage your middleware.

Why

next-wayfinder was created based on this discussion (opens in a new tab) that highlighted the difficulty of handling complex routing inside the Next.js middleware. Traditionally, if you want to apply different middlewares for different routes in Next.js, you have to use cumbersome and error-prone path checks. For instance, you might want to have an authentication middleware only for paths matching /dashboard/:path* and a subdomain-specific middleware on another set of routes. As of now, this can be achieved through ugly path checking inside a middleware that matches almost all the routes.

With next-wayfinder, you can declare sub-middlewares via path-regexp and custom rules in order to achieve a nice, clear middleware file where you can come back after months and instantly understand what's happening. This makes it easy to handle complex routing scenarios and keep your code organized. In summary, next-wayfinder simplifies middleware management in Next.js applications and reduces the amount of code needed to manage your middleware, making it easier to write and maintain clean, organized code.