---
title: How to handle redirects in Next.js
description: Learn the different ways to handle redirects in Next.js.
url: "https://nextjs.org/docs/app/guides/redirecting"
version: 16.2.2
lastUpdated: 2026-04-02
prerequisites:
  - "Guides: /docs/app/guides"
related:
  - app/api-reference/functions/redirect
  - app/api-reference/functions/permanentRedirect
  - app/api-reference/file-conventions/proxy
  - app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/redirects
---


There are a few ways you can handle redirects in Next.js. This page will go through each available option, use cases, and how to manage large numbers of redirects.

| API                                                           | Purpose                                           | Where                                               | Status Code                            |
| ------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| [`redirect`](#redirect-function)                              | Redirect user after a mutation or event           | Server Components, Server Functions, Route Handlers | 307 (Temporary) or 303 (Server Action) |
| [`permanentRedirect`](#permanentredirect-function)            | Redirect user after a mutation or event           | Server Components, Server Functions, Route Handlers | 308 (Permanent)                        |
| [`useRouter`](#userouter-hook)                                | Perform a client-side navigation                  | Event Handlers in Client Components                 | N/A                                    |
| [`redirects` in `next.config.js`](#redirects-in-nextconfigjs) | Redirect an incoming request based on a path      | `next.config.js` file                               | 307 (Temporary) or 308 (Permanent)     |
| [`NextResponse.redirect`](#nextresponseredirect-in-proxy)     | Redirect an incoming request based on a condition | Proxy                                               | Any                                    |

## `redirect` function

The `redirect` function allows you to redirect the user to another URL. You can call `redirect` in [Server Components](/docs/app/getting-started/server-and-client-components), [Route Handlers](/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/route), and [Server Functions](/docs/app/getting-started/mutating-data).

`redirect` is often used after a mutation or event. For example, creating a post:

```ts filename="app/actions.ts" switcher
'use server'

import { redirect } from 'next/navigation'
import { revalidatePath } from 'next/cache'

export async function createPost(id: string) {
  try {
    // Call database
  } catch (error) {
    // Handle errors
  }

  revalidatePath('/posts') // Update cached posts
  redirect(`/post/${id}`) // Navigate to the new post page
}
```

```js filename="app/actions.js" switcher
'use server'

import { redirect } from 'next/navigation'
import { revalidatePath } from 'next/cache'

export async function createPost(id) {
  try {
    // Call database
  } catch (error) {
    // Handle errors
  }

  revalidatePath('/posts') // Update cached posts
  redirect(`/post/${id}`) // Navigate to the new post page
}
```

> **Good to know**:
>
> * `redirect` returns a 307 (Temporary Redirect) status code by default. When used in a Server Action, it returns a 303 (See Other), which is commonly used for redirecting to a success page as a result of a POST request.
> * `redirect` throws an error so it should be called **outside** the `try` block when using `try/catch` statements.
> * `redirect` can be called in Client Components during the rendering process but not in event handlers. You can use the [`useRouter` hook](#userouter-hook) instead.
> * `redirect` also accepts absolute URLs and can be used to redirect to external links.
> * If you'd like to redirect before the render process, use [`next.config.js`](#redirects-in-nextconfigjs) or [Proxy](#nextresponseredirect-in-proxy).

See the [`redirect` API reference](/docs/app/api-reference/functions/redirect) for more information.

## `permanentRedirect` function

The `permanentRedirect` function allows you to **permanently** redirect the user to another URL. You can call `permanentRedirect` in [Server Components](/docs/app/getting-started/server-and-client-components), [Route Handlers](/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/route), and [Server Functions](/docs/app/getting-started/mutating-data).

`permanentRedirect` is often used after a mutation or event that changes an entity's canonical URL, such as updating a user's profile URL after they change their username:

```ts filename="app/actions.ts" switcher
'use server'

import { permanentRedirect } from 'next/navigation'
import { revalidateTag } from 'next/cache'

export async function updateUsername(username: string, formData: FormData) {
  try {
    // Call database
  } catch (error) {
    // Handle errors
  }

  revalidateTag('username') // Update all references to the username
  permanentRedirect(`/profile/${username}`) // Navigate to the new user profile
}
```

```js filename="app/actions.js" switcher
'use server'

import { permanentRedirect } from 'next/navigation'
import { revalidateTag } from 'next/cache'

export async function updateUsername(username, formData) {
  try {
    // Call database
  } catch (error) {
    // Handle errors
  }

  revalidateTag('username') // Update all references to the username
  permanentRedirect(`/profile/${username}`) // Navigate to the new user profile
}
```

> **Good to know**:
>
> * `permanentRedirect` returns a 308 (permanent redirect) status code by default.
> * `permanentRedirect` also accepts absolute URLs and can be used to redirect to external links.
> * If you'd like to redirect before the render process, use [`next.config.js`](#redirects-in-nextconfigjs) or [Proxy](#nextresponseredirect-in-proxy).

See the [`permanentRedirect` API reference](/docs/app/api-reference/functions/permanentRedirect) for more information.

## `useRouter()` hook

If you need to redirect inside an event handler in a Client Component, you can use the `push` method from the `useRouter` hook. For example:

```tsx filename="app/page.tsx" switcher
'use client'

import { useRouter } from 'next/navigation'

export default function Page() {
  const router = useRouter()

  return (
    <button type="button" onClick={() => router.push('/dashboard')}>
      Dashboard
    </button>
  )
}
```

```jsx filename="app/page.js" switcher
'use client'

import { useRouter } from 'next/navigation'

export default function Page() {
  const router = useRouter()

  return (
    <button type="button" onClick={() => router.push('/dashboard')}>
      Dashboard
    </button>
  )
}
```

> **Good to know**:
>
> * If you don't need to programmatically navigate a user, you should use a [`<Link>`](/docs/app/api-reference/components/link) component.

See the [`useRouter` API reference](/docs/app/api-reference/functions/use-router) for more information.

## `redirects` in `next.config.js`

The `redirects` option in the `next.config.js` file allows you to redirect an incoming request path to a different destination path. This is useful when you change the URL structure of pages or have a list of redirects that are known ahead of time.

`redirects` supports [path](/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/redirects#path-matching), [header, cookie, and query matching](/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/redirects#header-cookie-and-query-matching), giving you the flexibility to redirect users based on an incoming request.

To use `redirects`, add the option to your `next.config.js` file:

```ts filename="next.config.ts" switcher
import type { NextConfig } from 'next'

const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
  async redirects() {
    return [
      // Basic redirect
      {
        source: '/about',
        destination: '/',
        permanent: true,
      },
      // Wildcard path matching
      {
        source: '/blog/:slug',
        destination: '/news/:slug',
        permanent: true,
      },
    ]
  },
}

export default nextConfig
```

```js filename="next.config.js" switcher
module.exports = {
  async redirects() {
    return [
      // Basic redirect
      {
        source: '/about',
        destination: '/',
        permanent: true,
      },
      // Wildcard path matching
      {
        source: '/blog/:slug',
        destination: '/news/:slug',
        permanent: true,
      },
    ]
  },
}
```

See the [`redirects` API reference](/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/redirects) for more information.

> **Good to know**:
>
> * `redirects` can return a 307 (Temporary Redirect) or 308 (Permanent Redirect) status code with the `permanent` option.
> * `redirects` may have a limit on platforms. For example, on Vercel, there's a limit of 1,024 redirects. To manage a large number of redirects (1000+), consider creating a custom solution using [Proxy](/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/proxy). See [managing redirects at scale](#managing-redirects-at-scale-advanced) for more.
> * `redirects` runs **before** Proxy.

## `NextResponse.redirect` in Proxy

Proxy allows you to run code before a request is completed. Then, based on the incoming request, redirect to a different URL using `NextResponse.redirect`. This is useful if you want to redirect users based on a condition (e.g. authentication, session management, etc) or have [a large number of redirects](#managing-redirects-at-scale-advanced).

For example, to redirect the user to a `/login` page if they are not authenticated:

```ts filename="proxy.ts" switcher
import { NextResponse, NextRequest } from 'next/server'
import { authenticate } from 'auth-provider'

export function proxy(request: NextRequest) {
  const isAuthenticated = authenticate(request)

  // If the user is authenticated, continue as normal
  if (isAuthenticated) {
    return NextResponse.next()
  }

  // Redirect to login page if not authenticated
  return NextResponse.redirect(new URL('/login', request.url))
}

export const config = {
  matcher: '/dashboard/:path*',
}
```

```js filename="proxy.js" switcher
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server'
import { authenticate } from 'auth-provider'

export function proxy(request) {
  const isAuthenticated = authenticate(request)

  // If the user is authenticated, continue as normal
  if (isAuthenticated) {
    return NextResponse.next()
  }

  // Redirect to login page if not authenticated
  return NextResponse.redirect(new URL('/login', request.url))
}

export const config = {
  matcher: '/dashboard/:path*',
}
```

> **Good to know**:
>
> * Proxy runs **after** `redirects` in `next.config.js` and **before** rendering.

See the [Proxy](/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/proxy) documentation for more information.

## Managing redirects at scale (advanced)

To manage a large number of redirects (1000+), you may consider creating a custom solution using Proxy. This allows you to handle redirects programmatically without having to redeploy your application.

To do this, you'll need to consider:

1. Creating and storing a redirect map.
2. Optimizing data lookup performance.

> **Next.js Example**: See our [Proxy with Bloom filter](https://redirects-bloom-filter.vercel.app/) example for an implementation of the recommendations below.

### 1. Creating and storing a redirect map

A redirect map is a list of redirects that you can store in a database (usually a key-value store) or JSON file.

Consider the following data structure:

```json
{
  "/old": {
    "destination": "/new",
    "permanent": true
  },
  "/blog/post-old": {
    "destination": "/blog/post-new",
    "permanent": true
  }
}
```

In [Proxy](/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/proxy), you can read from a database such as Vercel's [Edge Config](https://vercel.com/docs/edge-config/get-started) or [Redis](https://vercel.com/docs/redis), and redirect the user based on the incoming request:

```ts filename="proxy.ts" switcher
import { NextResponse, NextRequest } from 'next/server'
import { get } from '@vercel/edge-config'

type RedirectEntry = {
  destination: string
  permanent: boolean
}

export async function proxy(request: NextRequest) {
  const pathname = request.nextUrl.pathname
  const redirectData = await get(pathname)

  if (redirectData && typeof redirectData === 'string') {
    const redirectEntry: RedirectEntry = JSON.parse(redirectData)
    const statusCode = redirectEntry.permanent ? 308 : 307
    return NextResponse.redirect(redirectEntry.destination, statusCode)
  }

  // No redirect found, continue without redirecting
  return NextResponse.next()
}
```

```js filename="proxy.js" switcher
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server'
import { get } from '@vercel/edge-config'

export async function proxy(request) {
  const pathname = request.nextUrl.pathname
  const redirectData = await get(pathname)

  if (redirectData) {
    const redirectEntry = JSON.parse(redirectData)
    const statusCode = redirectEntry.permanent ? 308 : 307
    return NextResponse.redirect(redirectEntry.destination, statusCode)
  }

  // No redirect found, continue without redirecting
  return NextResponse.next()
}
```

### 2. Optimizing data lookup performance

Reading a large dataset for every incoming request can be slow and expensive. There are two ways you can optimize data lookup performance:

* Use a database that is optimized for fast reads
* Use a data lookup strategy such as a [Bloom filter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom_filter) to efficiently check if a redirect exists **before** reading the larger redirects file or database.

Considering the previous example, you can import a generated bloom filter file into Proxy, then, check if the incoming request pathname exists in the bloom filter.

If it does, forward the request to a [Route Handler](/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/route)  which will check the actual file and redirect the user to the appropriate URL. This avoids importing a large redirects file into Proxy, which can slow down every incoming request.

```ts filename="proxy.ts" switcher
import { NextResponse, NextRequest } from 'next/server'
import { ScalableBloomFilter } from 'bloom-filters'
import GeneratedBloomFilter from './redirects/bloom-filter.json'

type RedirectEntry = {
  destination: string
  permanent: boolean
}

// Initialize bloom filter from a generated JSON file
const bloomFilter = ScalableBloomFilter.fromJSON(GeneratedBloomFilter as any)

export async function proxy(request: NextRequest) {
  // Get the path for the incoming request
  const pathname = request.nextUrl.pathname

  // Check if the path is in the bloom filter
  if (bloomFilter.has(pathname)) {
    // Forward the pathname to the Route Handler
    const api = new URL(
      `/api/redirects?pathname=${encodeURIComponent(request.nextUrl.pathname)}`,
      request.nextUrl.origin
    )

    try {
      // Fetch redirect data from the Route Handler
      const redirectData = await fetch(api)

      if (redirectData.ok) {
        const redirectEntry: RedirectEntry | undefined =
          await redirectData.json()

        if (redirectEntry) {
          // Determine the status code
          const statusCode = redirectEntry.permanent ? 308 : 307

          // Redirect to the destination
          return NextResponse.redirect(redirectEntry.destination, statusCode)
        }
      }
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(error)
    }
  }

  // No redirect found, continue the request without redirecting
  return NextResponse.next()
}
```

```js filename="proxy.js" switcher
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server'
import { ScalableBloomFilter } from 'bloom-filters'
import GeneratedBloomFilter from './redirects/bloom-filter.json'

// Initialize bloom filter from a generated JSON file
const bloomFilter = ScalableBloomFilter.fromJSON(GeneratedBloomFilter)

export async function proxy(request) {
  // Get the path for the incoming request
  const pathname = request.nextUrl.pathname

  // Check if the path is in the bloom filter
  if (bloomFilter.has(pathname)) {
    // Forward the pathname to the Route Handler
    const api = new URL(
      `/api/redirects?pathname=${encodeURIComponent(request.nextUrl.pathname)}`,
      request.nextUrl.origin
    )

    try {
      // Fetch redirect data from the Route Handler
      const redirectData = await fetch(api)

      if (redirectData.ok) {
        const redirectEntry = await redirectData.json()

        if (redirectEntry) {
          // Determine the status code
          const statusCode = redirectEntry.permanent ? 308 : 307

          // Redirect to the destination
          return NextResponse.redirect(redirectEntry.destination, statusCode)
        }
      }
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(error)
    }
  }

  // No redirect found, continue the request without redirecting
  return NextResponse.next()
}
```

Then, in the Route Handler:

```ts filename="app/api/redirects/route.ts" switcher
import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server'
import redirects from '@/app/redirects/redirects.json'

type RedirectEntry = {
  destination: string
  permanent: boolean
}

export function GET(request: NextRequest) {
  const pathname = request.nextUrl.searchParams.get('pathname')
  if (!pathname) {
    return new Response('Bad Request', { status: 400 })
  }

  // Get the redirect entry from the redirects.json file
  const redirect = (redirects as Record<string, RedirectEntry>)[pathname]

  // Account for bloom filter false positives
  if (!redirect) {
    return new Response('No redirect', { status: 400 })
  }

  // Return the redirect entry
  return NextResponse.json(redirect)
}
```

```js filename="app/api/redirects/route.js" switcher
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server'
import redirects from '@/app/redirects/redirects.json'

export function GET(request) {
  const pathname = request.nextUrl.searchParams.get('pathname')
  if (!pathname) {
    return new Response('Bad Request', { status: 400 })
  }

  // Get the redirect entry from the redirects.json file
  const redirect = redirects[pathname]

  // Account for bloom filter false positives
  if (!redirect) {
    return new Response('No redirect', { status: 400 })
  }

  // Return the redirect entry
  return NextResponse.json(redirect)
}
```

> **Good to know:**
>
> * To generate a bloom filter, you can use a library like [`bloom-filters`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/bloom-filters).
> * You should validate requests made to your Route Handler to prevent malicious requests.
- [redirect](/docs/app/api-reference/functions/redirect)
  - API Reference for the redirect function.
- [permanentRedirect](/docs/app/api-reference/functions/permanentRedirect)
  - API Reference for the permanentRedirect function.
- [proxy.js](/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/proxy)
  - API reference for the proxy.js file.
- [redirects](/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/redirects)
  - Add redirects to your Next.js app.

---

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