agent-skills/skills/next-best-practices/data-patterns.md

Data Patterns

Choose the right data fetching pattern for each use case.

Decision Tree

Need to fetch data?
├── From a Server Component?
│   └── Use: Fetch directly (no API needed)
│
├── From a Client Component?
│   ├── Is it a mutation (POST/PUT/DELETE)?
│   │   └── Use: Server Action
│   └── Is it a read (GET)?
│       └── Use: Route Handler OR pass from Server Component
│
├── Need external API access (webhooks, third parties)?
│   └── Use: Route Handler
│
└── Need REST API for mobile app / external clients?
    └── Use: Route Handler

Pattern 1: Server Components (Preferred for Reads)

Fetch data directly in Server Components - no API layer needed.

// app/users/page.tsx
async function UsersPage() {
  // Direct database access - no API round-trip
  const users = await db.user.findMany();

  // Or fetch from external API
  const posts = await fetch('https://api.example.com/posts').then(r => r.json());

  return (
    <ul>
      {users.map(user => <li key={user.id}>{user.name}</li>)}
    </ul>
  );
}

Benefits:

• No API to maintain
• No client-server waterfall
• Secrets stay on server
• Direct database access

Pattern 2: Server Actions (Preferred for Mutations)

Server Actions are the recommended way to handle mutations.

// app/actions.ts
'use server';

import { revalidatePath } from 'next/cache';

export async function createPost(formData: FormData) {
  const title = formData.get('title') as string;

  await db.post.create({ data: { title } });

  revalidatePath('/posts');
}

export async function deletePost(id: string) {
  await db.post.delete({ where: { id } });

  revalidateTag('posts');
}

// app/posts/new/page.tsx
import { createPost } from '@/app/actions';

export default function NewPost() {
  return (
    <form action={createPost}>
      <input name="title" required />
      <button type="submit">Create</button>
    </form>
  );
}

Benefits:

• End-to-end type safety
• Progressive enhancement (works without JS)
• Automatic request handling
• Integrated with React transitions

Constraints:

• POST only (no GET caching semantics)
• Internal use only (no external access)
• Cannot return non-serializable data

Pattern 3: Route Handlers (APIs)

Use Route Handlers when you need a REST API.

// app/api/posts/route.ts
import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';

// GET is cacheable
export async function GET(request: NextRequest) {
  const posts = await db.post.findMany();
  return NextResponse.json(posts);
}

// POST for mutations
export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
  const body = await request.json();
  const post = await db.post.create({ data: body });
  return NextResponse.json(post, { status: 201 });
}

When to use:

• External API access (mobile apps, third parties)
• Webhooks from external services
• GET endpoints that need HTTP caching
• OpenAPI/Swagger documentation needed

When NOT to use:

• Internal data fetching (use Server Components)
• Mutations from your UI (use Server Actions)

Avoiding Data Waterfalls

Problem: Sequential Fetches

// Bad: Sequential waterfalls
async function Dashboard() {
  const user = await getUser();        // Wait...
  const posts = await getPosts();      // Then wait...
  const comments = await getComments(); // Then wait...

  return <div>...</div>;
}

Solution 1: Parallel Fetching with Promise.all

// Good: Parallel fetching
async function Dashboard() {
  const [user, posts, comments] = await Promise.all([
    getUser(),
    getPosts(),
    getComments(),
  ]);

  return <div>...</div>;
}

Solution 2: Streaming with Suspense

// Good: Show content progressively
import { Suspense } from 'react';

async function Dashboard() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Suspense fallback={<UserSkeleton />}>
        <UserSection />
      </Suspense>
      <Suspense fallback={<PostsSkeleton />}>
        <PostsSection />
      </Suspense>
    </div>
  );
}

async function UserSection() {
  const user = await getUser(); // Fetches independently
  return <div>{user.name}</div>;
}

async function PostsSection() {
  const posts = await getPosts(); // Fetches independently
  return <PostList posts={posts} />;
}

Solution 3: Preload Pattern

// lib/data.ts
import { cache } from 'react';

export const getUser = cache(async (id: string) => {
  return db.user.findUnique({ where: { id } });
});

export const preloadUser = (id: string) => {
  void getUser(id); // Fire and forget
};

// app/user/[id]/page.tsx
import { getUser, preloadUser } from '@/lib/data';

export default async function UserPage({ params }) {
  const { id } = await params;

  // Start fetching early
  preloadUser(id);

  // Do other work...

  // Data likely ready by now
  const user = await getUser(id);
  return <div>{user.name}</div>;
}

Client Component Data Fetching

When Client Components need data:

Option 1: Pass from Server Component (Preferred)

// Server Component
async function Page() {
  const data = await fetchData();
  return <ClientComponent initialData={data} />;
}

// Client Component
'use client';
function ClientComponent({ initialData }) {
  const [data, setData] = useState(initialData);
  // ...
}

Option 2: Fetch on Mount (When Necessary)

'use client';
import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';

function ClientComponent() {
  const [data, setData] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetch('/api/data')
      .then(r => r.json())
      .then(setData);
  }, []);

  if (!data) return <Loading />;
  return <div>{data.value}</div>;
}

Option 3: Server Action for Reads (Works But Not Ideal)

Server Actions can be called from Client Components for reads, but this is not their intended purpose:

'use client';
import { getData } from './actions';
import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';

function ClientComponent() {
  const [data, setData] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    getData().then(setData);
  }, []);

  return <div>{data?.value}</div>;
}

Note: Server Actions always use POST, so no HTTP caching. Prefer Route Handlers for cacheable reads.

Quick Reference

Pattern	Use Case	HTTP Method	Caching
Server Component fetch	Internal reads	Any	Full Next.js caching
Server Action	Mutations, form submissions	POST only	No
Route Handler	External APIs, webhooks	Any	GET can be cached
Client fetch to API	Client-side reads	Any	HTTP cache headers