Workers Runtime

in-progress

How NextDeploy compiles your Next.js app into an ESM Cloudflare Worker. Powered by NextCompile — a 13-phase Go pipeline that vendors RSC, threads Server Actions, and emits a workerd-compatible bundle.

Source reference: shared/nextcompile/, cli/internal/serverless/cloudflare_adapter.go

Why a compiler instead of a Node bridge

TODO Workers cannot spawn child processes — must compile to ESM with workerd-friendly imports. Trade-off — ergonomic loss vs cold-start free, edge-by-default execution.

The 13-phase pipeline

TODO detect → scan → vendor RSC → derive bindings → elide dead routes → emit manifest → ... — see NextCompile page for full breakdown.

workerd compatibility surface

TODO nodejs_compat flag, what Node APIs are polyfilled, what isn't, common pitfalls.

Compatibility date & flags

TODO how compatibility_date is selected, when to override flags, current pinned defaults in nextdeploy.yml init.

Bundle size & limits

TODO Workers free tier 1 MB, paid 10 MB — typical Next app size after NextCompile, what blows up the bundle.

Cold start (or lack thereof)

TODO Workers don't cold-start the way Lambda does — but isolate startup is non-zero on V8. Real-world numbers.

Logs & observability

TODO nextdeploy logs (wraps wrangler tail), console.log semantics, custom log forwarding to R2 / external.

Limitations vs AWS Lambda path

TODO RSC client components, Suspense streaming, scheduled() handlers — see Roadmap. AWS path supports more today via the Node bridge.