Next Upgrade

Added March 5, 2026 Source: Vercel

Upgrade your Next.js project to the latest version. This skill applies official codemods and follows migration guides, ensuring breaking changes are handled correctly. It’s ideal for keeping your Next.js application current with new features and improvements.

Installation

This skill is self-contained. Copy the SKILL.md below directly into your project to get started.

.claude/skills/next-upgrade/SKILL.md    # Claude Code
.cursor/skills/next-upgrade/SKILL.md    # Cursor

Or install as a personal skill (available across all your projects):

~/.claude/skills/next-upgrade/SKILL.md

You can also install using the skills CLI:

npx skills add vercel-labs/next-skills --skill next-upgrade

Requires Node.js 18+.

SKILL.md

---
name: next-upgrade
description: Upgrade Next.js to the latest version following official migration guides and codemods
argument-hint: "[target-version]"
---

# Upgrade Next.js

Upgrade the current project to the latest Next.js version following official migration guides.

## Instructions

1. **Detect current version**: Read `package.json` to identify the current Next.js version and related dependencies (React, React DOM, etc.)

2. **Fetch the latest upgrade guide**: Use WebFetch to get the official upgrade documentation:
   - Codemods: https://nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/upgrading/codemods
   - Version-specific guides (adjust version as needed):
     - https://nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/upgrading/version-16 
     - https://nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/upgrading/version-15
     - https://nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/upgrading/version-14

3. **Determine upgrade path**: Based on current version, identify which migration steps apply. For major version jumps, upgrade incrementally (e.g., 13 → 14 → 15).

4. **Run codemods first**: Next.js provides codemods to automate breaking changes:
   ```bash
   npx @next/codemod@latest <transform> <path>
   ```
   Common transforms:
   - `next-async-request-api` - Updates async Request APIs (v15)
   - `next-request-geo-ip` - Migrates geo/ip properties (v15)
   - `next-dynamic-access-named-export` - Transforms dynamic imports (v15)

5. **Update dependencies**: Upgrade Next.js and peer dependencies together:
   ```bash
   npm install next@latest react@latest react-dom@latest
   ```

6. **Review breaking changes**: Check the upgrade guide for manual changes needed:
   - API changes (e.g., async params in v15)
   - Configuration changes in `next.config.js`
   - Deprecated features being removed

7. **Update TypeScript types** (if applicable):
   ```bash
   npm install @types/react@latest @types/react-dom@latest
   ```

8. **Test the upgrade**:
   - Run `npm run build` to check for build errors
   - Run `npm run dev` and test key functionality

Originally by Vercel, adapted here as an Agent Skills compatible SKILL.md.

This skill follows the Agent Skills open standard, supported by Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, and 20+ more editors.

Works with

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