Skip to main content

getStaticPaths

If a page has Dynamic Routes and uses getStaticProps, it needs to define a list of paths to be statically generated.

When you export a function called getStaticPaths (Static Site Generation) from a page that uses dynamic routes, Next.js will statically pre-render all the paths specified by getStaticPaths.

export async function getStaticPaths() {
  return {
    paths: [
      { params: { ... } }
    ],
    fallback: true // false or 'blocking'
  };
}

getStaticPaths must be used with getStaticProps. You cannot use it with getServerSideProps.

The getStaticPaths API reference covers all parameters and props that can be used with getStaticPaths.

When should I use getStaticPaths?​

You should use getStaticPaths if you’re statically pre-rendering pages that use dynamic routes and:

  • The data comes from a headless CMS
  • The data comes from a database
  • The data comes from the filesystem
  • The data can be publicly cached (not user-specific)
  • The page must be pre-rendered (for SEO) and be very fast — getStaticProps generates HTML and JSON files, both of which can be cached by a CDN for performance

When does getStaticPaths run​

getStaticPaths always runs on the server and never on the client. You can validate code written inside getStaticPaths is removed from the client-side bundle with this tool.

  • getStaticPaths runs during next build for Pages included in paths
  • getStaticPaths runs on-demand in the background when using fallback: true
  • getStaticPaths runs on-demand blocking rendering when using fallback: blocking

Where can I use getStaticPaths​

getStaticPaths can only be exported from a page. You cannot export it from non-page files.

Note that you must use export getStaticPaths as a standalone function — it will not work if you add getStaticPaths as a property of the page component.

Runs on every request in development​

In development (next dev), getStaticPaths will be called on every request.

For more information on what to do next, we recommend the following sections:

getStaticPaths API ReferenceRead the API Reference for getStaticPaths