🛠️ Getting Started with React Server Components
A practical introduction to React Server Components in the Next.js App Router — mental model, client boundary, and performance.
Server Components are the default in the Next.js App Router, and understanding them is the single biggest unlock for fast, modern React apps. This article walks through the mental model, the client boundary, and the performance wins.
Getting Started
What you need installed and how to scaffold the project. A clean starting point prevents environment issues from masking real bugs later.
Make sure you are on React 19 and Next.js 15+ with the App Router. Everything below assumes the app/ directory and TypeScript.
Server Components
When to render on the server vs. the client. React Server Components reduce bundle size and move data fetching closer to the source - but they cannot use hooks or browser APIs.
A Server Component renders on the server and ships zero JavaScript to the browser. You can fetch data directly inside it:
// app/posts/page.tsx — a Server Component (no "use client")
() {
posts = ()
(
)
}
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