As you already learned, there are some reserved filenames when working with NextJS.
Important: These filenames are only reserved when creating them inside of the app/ folder (or any subfolder). Outside of the app/ folder, these filenames are not treated in any special way.
Here’s a list of reserved filenames in NextJS – you’ll, of course, learn about the important ones throughout this section:
-
page.js=> Create a new page (e.g.,app/about/page.jscreates a<your-domain>/aboutpage) -
layout.js=> Create a new layout that wraps sibling and nested pages -
not-found.js=> Fallback page for “Not Found” errors (thrown by sibling or nested pages or layouts) -
error.js=> Fallback page for other errors (thrown by sibling pages or nested pages or layouts) -
loading.js=> Fallback page which is shown whilst sibling or nested pages (or layouts) are fetching data -
route.js=> Allows you to create an API route (i.e., a page which does NOT return JSX code but instead data, e.g., in the JSON format)
You also find a list with all supported filenames & detailed explanations in the official docs: https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions
