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Next.js Partial Prerendering (PPR) combines a prerendered page shell with sections that render later using request-specific or otherwise dynamic data. It lets a route mix content that is ready ahead of time with content that must wait for a request. In the current Next.js documentation, this behavior is enabled through opt-in Cache Components with cacheComponents: true.
That changes the rendering decision from choosing one mode for an entire route to setting boundaries within it. It does not guarantee a faster page: results depend on the route, data and cache policies, Suspense boundaries, fallbacks, and deployment platform.
How does Next.js PPR work?
During prerendering, Next.js can produce content that does not depend on network resources, request data, or other runtime information. That prerendered output forms the page shell. A React <Suspense> boundary marks work that can be deferred: its fallback is included in the shell, and the enclosed dynamic component resolves at request time and streams into the response.
With Cache Components enabled, work that cannot be completed at prerender time must be handled deliberately: it can be cached for reuse if its freshness policy permits, or deferred to request time. Unhandled uncached or runtime data access is surfaced as an error during development or build rather than silently being treated as static output.
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Multiple independently bounded dynamic sections can render in parallel; one does not inherently have to wait for another. Boundary placement matters: putting a boundary close to the dynamic part can preserve more of the surrounding content in the shell.
How do you enable PPR in current Next.js?
Use the current Cache Components setup rather than copying configuration from older PPR examples. The current documentation makes Cache Components opt-in, and the configuration reference records cacheComponents as introduced in Next.js 16.0.0. It unifies earlier ppr, useCache, and dynamicIO flags.
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- Check your Next.js version. Confirm the project version and consult the current Cache Components guide and configuration reference before changing implementation code.
- Enable Cache Components. In your Next configuration, set
cacheComponents: true. - Mark deferred work with Suspense. Wrap request-time or other deferred content in a React
<Suspense>boundary and provide a fallback that belongs in the initial shell. - Choose cache policy intentionally. Use
use cachefor work that can be reused under an acceptable freshness policy. Where needed, use cache lifetime and on-demand revalidation with tags as described in the guide. - Build and verify the route. Resolve any development or build errors that expose unhandled runtime or uncached access, then check the rendered behavior on the deployment platform you intend to use.
Older canary documentation describes a different opt-in configuration, including experimental.ppr: 'incremental' and a route-level experimental_ppr = true, and labels that feature experimental and not recommended for production at the time. Treat that as historical guidance, not the current setup; see the historical canary PPR guide.
How should caching and request data fit together?
use cache expresses that work can be reused according to a chosen cache lifetime and revalidation policy. Request APIs such as cookies and headers need request context, so they cannot run inside the same cache scope. A documented pattern is to read the request data in a dynamic component and pass the needed value to a separate cached function or component.
This separation is useful for personalization: request-specific preferences can be resolved dynamically while reusable content remains eligible for caching or prerendering. It also makes the boundary explicit, rather than implying that personalized output is safe to share as cached content.
When is PPR a good fit?
Consider PPR when a route has substantial content that can be rendered ahead of time alongside a smaller portion that needs request-specific or fresh data. The current guide gives examples such as static navigation or page content combined with dynamic user preferences. The decision depends on how the route actually works, not just whether it contains a dynamic component.
- Prerenderable share: How much useful content can be ready before the request-specific work completes?
- Freshness and personalization: Does dynamic data need to be current for every request, and would caching it compromise correctness or privacy?
- Work dependencies: Can dynamic sections resolve independently, or does most of the page depend on sequential runtime work?
- Fallback quality: Can you show a useful fallback that fits the page and avoids disruptive layout changes when the real content arrives?
- Cache invalidation: Can the chosen cache lifetime and tag-based revalidation meet the content’s update requirements?
- Hosting support: Does the target platform support the features and behavior your route relies on?
PPR is less compelling when most of the page depends on sequential runtime work, a useful fallback is hard to design, or the necessary freshness and personalization rules do not permit reuse.
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What should you expect for performance and deployment?
The Next.js documentation describes the rationale for the approach but does not establish a universal performance uplift or a general benchmark for PPR. The mechanism can make a prerendered shell available while deferred sections resolve, but that alone does not prove a particular route will feel faster. The amount of prerenderable content, request-time work, boundary placement, fallback design, and cache policy all matter.
Support can also vary by deployment platform and feature. Consult the official platform deployment guidance for the target environment instead of assuming identical behavior everywhere.
What changed compared with an all-static or all-dynamic route?
PPR shifts the rendering boundary from a route-wide choice toward composition inside a route: prerender what is available ahead of time, cache work when reuse is appropriate, and defer the sections that need request-time information. The Next.js Cache Components guide describes the model as mixing “static, cached, and dynamic content in a single route.” That flexibility is the meaningful change—not a promise that every page becomes static or every response becomes faster.
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