Ask HN: Why does Nextjs offer an API folder when APIs can live on the back end?

1 points by akadeb 4y ago ↗ HN

Does Nextjs make an app truly serverless by not requiring a backend? How would I connect to postgres database from the frontend directly?

I have a lot of business logic that needs to live on the backend

2 comments

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acemarke 4y ago ↗

Because the `/pages/api` folder _lets_ you create a backend, very similar to any other web app server (ie, Express).

You are not _required_ to use that feature, but if you choose to use it, _that_ is where you'd do all your standard DB connections and returning JSON responses.

gerardnico 4y ago ↗

Nextjs is a backend application and runs its own http server.

You can connect to any database via a tunnel (cloudflare, ...) Or directly with certificate/credentials ( your DB server should allow only connection from the network where you host nextjs)