iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 14/04/2026

Next.js 16.2 just gave AI agents a Browser next-browser lets an agent inspect your running app, not just the code LLMs can’t open DevTools, see skeleton states, or check the network tab Ready for more Next.js? 🎁 Download a FREE Cheatsheet ↓ dub.sh/nextjs-mist...

A terminal interface displays commands for a tool called next-browser, designed for AI agents to analyze and monitor Next.js applications.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 08/04/2026

Ever had an Agent start a New Dev Server when it’s already running? Next.js 16.2 stops this with one quick change 🧠 The Fix → create a .next/dev/lock file Aka never ever try to start a new dev server when one is already running

A code editor displays a new lock file indicating that port 3000 is in use, preventing multiple server instances.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 07/04/2026

Is Next.js Really Dead? Think again Next.js powers 55% of YC W26 company websites i.e. 111 out of 200 The next closest? Vite/React at 37 sooo, If you're learning Next.js, you're in good company 😉 🎁 Want to dive deeper? Grab a FREE Next.js Cheatsheet on 29 Common Mistakes dub.sh/nextjs-mist...

A bar chart shows website-building tools used by YC W26 companies, with Next.js leading at 111, followed by Vite/React at 37.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 06/04/2026

Stop trusting AI to use the right Next.js patterns Your AI writes code for Next 13 instead of 16 Next.js 16.2 fixes this with one file 🔥 → create-next-app now generates agents.md → Tells AI to read version-matched Next.js docs locally → The docs live in node_modules/next/dist/docs as markdown

A terminal window shows a command for creating an `AGENTS.md` file to guide AI in using Next.js correctly.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 02/04/2026

Stop calling `redirect()` inside a try/catch in Next.js `redirect()` intentionally throws an internal error to trigger the redirect. Put it in a try block and your catch will swallow it, no redirect Fix: move `redirect()` outside the try/catch FREE cheatsheet: 29 mistakes dub.sh/nextjs-mist...

Code snippets demonstrate the proper placement of `redirect()` in Next.js to ensure correct functionality and avoid error interception.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 25/03/2026

You're debugging a Next.js error at midnight and AI keeps hallucinating 😖 Stuck on Lesson 16? sure you can ask AI but there is no better feeling than to review the comments & see if others hit the exact same bug in the exact same project Well, I just shipped comments! → dub.sh/nextjscours...

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 23/03/2026

Stop using window or document inside your Next.js server components 💡What happens Server components don't have access to window, document, or events 🧠 The Fix So extract that logic into a separate client component and keep the rest server-rendered 🎁 FREE Cheatsheet here dub.sh/nextjs-mist...

Code snippets show a transition from using the `window` API in a client component to extracting it into a separate client component for better server integration.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 18/03/2026

Stop wrapping ThemeProvider directly in your Next.js Layout What happens ✔️ Entire component tree becomes client-rendered ✔️ Server components stop working ✔️ You lose App Router performance benefit ✅ Fix Use the "children" pattern 🎁 FREE Cheatsheet here dub.sh/nextjs-mist...

Code snippets illustrate changes in a Next.js layout. The updated approach enhances rendering efficiency by using a "children" pattern.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 17/03/2026

Last week's Snack: Stop putting Auth in Middleware ⚡🍿 🤖 @tanstack.com AI Openrouter → One API, 300+ AI models ✨ @shadcn.com v4 CLI just dropped → One command restyled your whole design system ⚡ @astrodotbuild.com Astro 6.0 → Fonts, better SSR & Rust compiler and more dub.sh/zQBEV3F

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 16/03/2026

Stop placing your Suspense boundary in the wrong spot in Next.js Suspense only shows a fallback after render. If you `await` in the same component, it blocks first ✅ Put async work in a child, then wrap that child with Suspense one level up 🎁 Download a FREE Cheatsheet here dub.sh/nextjs-mist...

Two code snippets illustrate a React component optimization. The right version correctly positions the Suspense component for fallback handling.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 11/03/2026

Every Server Action in Next.js is a public API endpoint That means anyone can find the URL in DevTools and call it directly. Treat them like API routes and secure them by: → Authentication → Input validation → Authorization 🎁 Want more? Download the FREE Cheatsheet dub.sh/nextjs-mist...

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 18/02/2026

Is your Next.js app feeling sluggish or taking forever to load? Try the experimental Bundle Analyzer, an X-ray for your app Get an interactive Treemap of your JS bundles → Find the culprits 🎁 Free lessons: dub.sh/how-does-ne...

A terminal command prompts the Next.js Bundle Analyzer, creating an interactive Treemap visualization for analyzing production bundles.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 16/02/2026

Stop wrapping your entire Next.js page in "use client" Just because ONE component in the page needs interactivity You'll turn the entire page into client components Solution: ✔️ Extract only the interactive piece into its own client 🎁 Want more? Download the FREE Cheatsheet dub.sh/nextjs-mist...

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 11/02/2026

Your AI agent keeps making the same React mistakes over and over You need to use Skills Skills are the NPM for AI Agents You install best practices like you would a npm package → One command and your agent follows 10+ years of patterns instead of guessing 🍿 Full breakdown: dub.sh/npm-for-ai-...

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 10/02/2026

This ONE concept is killing your app's performance Every component is a Server Component by default in Next.js You're shipping Client side JS when you don't need to 🎁 Here's a FREE lesson covering, ✔️ Server Components basics ✔️ Their purpose ✔️ When to opt out → dub.sh/server-comp...

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 09/02/2026

Running multiple AI agents on the same project? The moment one switches branch, the other breaks Thats because Git only allows one branch checkout at a time The fix? → 𝗚𝗶𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀 ⚡ Each agent gets its own folder, its own branch, same repo 🍿 Full breakdown: dub.sh/git-worktree

Terminal-style code showing "git worktree add ../app-hotfix -b hotfix/login" with a note about running multiple agents in parallel using Git worktrees and an author credit.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 24/12/2025

Writing my last newsletter of the year!

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 03/12/2025

Next.js has 2 Directives Everyone Mixes up 'use server': Marks a function to run on the server as a Server Action, but doesn't prevent importing in client components, leading to runtime failures 👉 'server-only': Prevents importing server code on the client, throwing an error to catch issues early

'use server' Server Action that errors at runtime if imported into client code and 'server-only' import causing compile-time error.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 26/11/2025

this helps me a lot! was recording a video on the same topic so had this open

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 26/11/2025

I'm not a big fan of Cheatsheets But when technology evolves so quickly, a cheatsheet is the best way to stay updated. This is why I created a Next.js 16 cheatsheet as Next.js evolves very rapidly! Grab a Cheatsheet here: → dub.sh/nextjs16-ch... (it's free 😉)

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 24/11/2025

Interactive Demo of Cache Components 💫 Cache Components let you mark a page, component or a function as cacheable When you press the toggle "use cache," → The Entire Component is Cached With cacheLife, you can configure the cache for a specific time period ⏰ Play around here: dub.sh/use-cache

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 21/11/2025

A super useful comparison of Server and Client Components from @reactjs -- This visual is Pulled from nextjscourse.dev

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 20/11/2025

Interactive Demo of Static vs Dynamic Rendering ⚡️ Modern Full Stack Next.js Course is filled with examples like these to make concepts stick - nextjscourse.dev And Guess what, I'm dropping some huge updates to my newsletter this week - frontendsnacks.dev (subscribe for no fomo 😉)

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 19/11/2025

Stop Infinite Re-renders Ever add a handler inside an effect, put it in the dependency array, suddenly…re-renders forever? That’s because your handler changes identity every render, the effect keeps tearing down & setting up again React 19.2 dropped useEffectEvent that fixes this 👇 dub.sh/3JmFcYR

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 18/11/2025

A month ago, I released a Case Study on How I Built my Custom Next.js Course Platform A year ago, a few actions took 16 seconds (painful 😅) So I documented every improvement I made step by step⚡ Today, those optimizations are one of the most-loved parts of the platform → nextjscourse.dev

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 17/11/2025

The Netflix Secret Inside React 19.2 Imagine you’re deep into a Netflix binge. You finish the episode… hit “Play Next”… and BOOM, the next one starts instantly. No spinner 🌀 No buffering Why? Because Netflix already pre-rendered what you were about to do next 💡This is what the Activity API does

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 14/11/2025

Optimize Your API with Smart Caching⚡️ Next.js 16 introduces the "use-cache" directive, letting you flag components, functions or Pages as cacheable But if you use connection(), cookies(), or headers() your component becomes dynamic, "use cache" won’t work That’s where "use cache: remote" comes in

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 10/11/2025

Made some updates to my Custom Course Platform built on Next.js: I've added several gamification features to boost retention: → Streaks → Daily learning progress tracking → Levels to earn a certificate Overall, the platform is now more engaging for students! Check it out at nextjscourse.dev

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 28/10/2025

I sat down with @danabra.mov, one of the core React team members since the early days We talked about, ✔️ React Server Components and Modern React ✔️ the Next.js App Router ✔️ Burnout and how the React community has evolved - both technically & personally I learned a lot & you will too 🎥 link below

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 08/10/2025

React 19.2 useEffectEvent ✨ Ever add a handler inside an effect, put it in the dependency array & suddenly… re-renders forever? That’s usually because your handler changes identity every render so the effect keeps tearing down & setting up again useEffectEvent fixes this! 💪

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 29/09/2025

Last week’s Snack: Underrated Caching Trick ⚡🍿 🚀 Cache Components in Next.js 16 🎨 Tailwind child selectors @DavidKPiano 🔥 @tan_stack Start v1 Release Candidate ⚡ ai-sdk-zustand → state mgmt + debugging for AI SDK @pontusab One email. All the latest news + learn something new!

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 24/09/2025

Stop Refetching the Same Data 🍿 Why make your users wait for the same work again and again? That’s where "use cache" comes in. Mark a route, component, or function as cacheable → repeat work is skipped, your app feels faster ⚡ Watch your TTFB drop with use-cache!

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 23/09/2025

It's official!! 🥳 I'll be giving a talk at the official @nextjs Conf on October 22nd ✨ My topic is "Architecting and Scaling my Custom Course Platform on Next.js" Can't wait and hope to see you there! If you'll be in SF, would love to hang so let me know :)

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 19/09/2025

I just moved to Italy 🇮🇹 If you are in Italy or EU, let me know and would love to hang!

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 10/09/2025

These micro interactions are beautiful✨ Why bother with modals for confirmation when you can use inline real estate?

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 09/09/2025

Stop Freezing Your UI 🍿 Imagine you go to a restaurant 👩‍🍳 a server comes to take your order but until your food is ready, you're frozen That's the reality in your browser 😅 If you press a button, your entire UI freezes, unless you fix this, you won't be able to do anything. Enter useTransition 👇

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 08/09/2025

Last week’s Snack: Lazy Load Heavy Components ⚡🍿 🚀 Run heavy tasks in the background 📚 @danabra.mov new Learn for JS Developers 🎨 Build gradients on the fly @nerdy.dev 🧠 Deriving Client State from Server State by @tkdodo.eu One email. All the latest frontend + AI news.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 04/09/2025

Ever wonder why your app feels slow even with a decent backend? 👉 Chances are, you’re forcing users to download everything up front With React.lazy, lazy load heavy components only when they’re actually needed I just broke this down in my newsletter Frontend Snacks, reply if you want the link!

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 03/09/2025

Small Wins 🏆 🔶 I moved the "Mark as Completed" button to the bottom of my Custom course platform I built 🔶 and it automatically advances to the next lesson The Custom Platform is built on top of Next.js and is one of my best decisions. It enables me to design a tailored learning experience.

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 03/09/2025

I enjoy tackling tough problems, but auth is a challenge I'd skip next time. "Just login + signup" turned into ◆ SAML & SCIM chaos ◆ Compliance audits (GDPR, SOC2, HIPAA) ◆ Unwanted security risks In this video, I discuss my journey from DIY to WorkOS and what devs should know before building auth

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 02/09/2025

Last week’s snack: Next.js 15.5 Type Safety 🏆 ⚡ Vercel AI Gateway → one API, all providers 🎥 FFmpeg 8.0 → convert, record & stream anything 🚀 Trigger .dev → Build and deploy AI agents, now out of beta ■ Component Composition by @tkdodo.eu, TanStack Query Maintainer More below

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 29/08/2025

Don't block the user. Instead, schedule work in the background Introducing the Next.js Hidden After Function ⚡ Schedule background tasks such as: - Logging - Analytics - Sending emails - Firing web hooks - Cache revalidation - Data cleanup (🎥 full breakdown below)

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 24/08/2025

A good bowl of pho can fix anything fr

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 22/08/2025

I don’t pick tools because they’re trendy. I pick what helps me ship faster. This is my 2025 tech stack with real examples from projects like ProofyBubble + my course platform. 💡 The best stack is the one that makes you productive. (link below)

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 18/08/2025

Tweaking the Custom course Platform I built to improve the UX Torn between keeping those MODULE numbers or removing them altogether? Module 1, 2, 3 yay or nay on topping module name?

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 16/08/2025

Okay I must admit this was so funny! 😆 I launched the Nextjs course on August 12th, worked hard to create daily vlogs only to not publish any vlogs during launch week 💀 Response was overwhelming I was - busy answering support emails - onboarding folks - improving the course I just forgot lol

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 16/08/2025

Time to celebrate an amazing launch! 🥂 Thanks y’all for your support whether it be boosting, engaging or testing my course It went beyond my expectations 🥳 Can’t wait to help these devs level up their Next.js skills 💜

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Ankita Kulkarni @kulkarniankita.com · 14/08/2025

Why is this the first time I'm seeing this?? 🙈 Apparently, I missed a lot of messages on Discord

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