Handling NEXT_REDIRECT Errors in Next.js API Routes

Problem Statement

When using redirect() from next/navigation inside try-catch blocks in Next.js API (route.ts) routes, you'll encounter an Error: NEXT_REDIRECT that prevents the redirect from executing. This occurs because:

1. Implementation mechanism: redirect() works by throwing a special error
2. Error interception: try-catch blocks capture this error before Next.js can handle it
3. API Route limitation: next/navigation redirects are designed for components, not API routes

// Problematic implementation
import { redirect } from 'next/navigation';

export async function GET(req: Request) {
  try {
    redirect('/dashboard'); // Throws NEXT_REDIRECT
  } catch (error) {
    redirect('/'); // Also throws error
  }
}

Recommended Solutions

1. For API Routes: Use NextResponse.redirect (Optimal)

Switch to Next.js's API route response mechanism:

import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';

export function GET(request: NextRequest) {
  try {
    // Authentication logic here
    return NextResponse.redirect(new URL('/dashboard', request.url));
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(error);
    return NextResponse.redirect(new URL('/', request.url));
  }
}

Key points:

• Returns proper 307 (temporary) or 308 (permanent) redirect response
• Works correctly within try-catch blocks
• Requires absolute URLs (use request.url as base)
• Directly returns the response object

2. For Server Components: Redirect Handling Patterns

If using redirect() in server components (outside API routes):

Option A: Detect and re-throw redirect errors

import { redirect } from 'next/navigation';
import { isRedirectError } from 'next/dist/client/components/redirect-error';

export default async function AuthComponent() {
  try {
    redirect('/dashboard');
  } catch (error) {
    if (isRedirectError(error)) throw error; // Re-throw for Next.js
    console.error('Actual error:', error);
    return redirect('/');
  }
}

Option B: finally block pattern

import { redirect } from 'next/navigation';

export default async function Page() {
  let redirectPath: string | null = null;
  
  try {
    redirectPath = '/dashboard';
  } catch (error) {
    redirectPath = '/';
  } finally {
    if (redirectPath) redirect(redirectPath);
  }
  
  return <div>Your authentication form</div>;
}

Important Distinction

• API Routes (route.ts) → Always use NextResponse.redirect()
• Server Components → Use redirect() with error handling patterns

Additional Solutions

3. Next.js 15+ permanentRedirect

For permanent redirects in supported environments:

import { permanentRedirect } from 'next/navigation';

// Inside Server Component
if (!user) permanentRedirect('/login');

4. Avoid Try-Catch for Redirects (Simplest)

When no error handling is needed:

import { redirect } from 'next/navigation';

// Direct redirect without try-catch
export async function GET() {
  redirect('/dashboard');
}

Key Technical Insights

1. Redirect mechanism:

   // Pseudo-implementation
   function redirect(url) {
     throw new Error(`NEXT_REDIRECT;${url}`);
   }

2. Error handling priority: Next.js catches redirect errors at framework level
3. Response types:
   • redirect(): Ends rendering flow (components)
   • NextResponse.redirect(): Returns HTTP response (API routes)

Conclusion

To resolve NEXT_REDIRECT errors:

1. API Routes: Replace redirect() with NextResponse.redirect()
2. Server Components:
   • Use isRedirectError to detect and re-throw redirect errors
   • Utilize finally blocks for conditional redirects
3. New projects: Adopt permanentRedirect in Next.js 15+ when appropriate

Always choose context-appropriate redirect methods and handle errors judiciously to maintain clean redirect behavior in Next.js applications.