alt Hacker NewsThe reason this project is important is because Next.js is hard to deploy if you're not using Vercel to host your app. You can easily run into issues that are hard to resolve. It's creates lock-in with Vercel and is one of the reasons why Vercel has a bad rep.
(I work on Next.js)
The OpenNext project serves two purposes. First, it was to document some of the quirks when self-hosting Next.js. As of Next.js 15, the majority of these have been fixed, thanks to their feedback. The second is to provide an adapter for serverless Next.js deployments, similar to Vercel. Their adapter takes the Next.js output and transforms it to work in a serverless environment.
We're working with the maintainers of OpenNext to patch up some of the remaining quirks for deploying Next.js serverless and exploring how to make the maintenance of these community adapters easier.
If you want to self-host Next.js on a server, like a VPS or Node.js server, all features of Next.js are supported[1] and you do not need to use OpenNext. Our self-hosting docs include 10 example repos for deploying to different providers and a video walking through all features and options of Next[2].
[1]: https://nextjs.org/docs/app/building-your-application/deploy... [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIVL4JMqRfc