layout.js

A layout is UI that is shared between routes.

export default function DashboardLayout({
  children,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode
}) {
  return <section>{children}</section>
}

export default function DashboardLayout({ children }) {
  return <section>{children}</section>
}

A root layout is the top-most layout in the root app directory. It is used to define the <html> and <body> tags and other globally shared UI.

export default function RootLayout({
  children,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode
}) {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <body>{children}</body>
    </html>
  )
}

export default function RootLayout({ children }) {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <body>{children}</body>
    </html>
  )
}

Props

`children` (required)

Layout components should accept and use a children prop. During rendering, children will be populated with the route segments the layout is wrapping. These will primarily be the component of a child Layout (if it exists) or Page, but could also be other special files like Loading or Error when applicable.

`params` (optional)

The dynamic route parameters object from the root segment down to that layout.

Example	URL	`params`
`app/dashboard/[team]/layout.js`	`/dashboard/1`	`{ team: '1' }`
`app/shop/[tag]/[item]/layout.js`	`/shop/1/2`	`{ tag: '1', item: '2' }`
`app/blog/[...slug]/layout.js`	`/blog/1/2`	`{ slug: ['1', '2'] }`

For example:

export default function ShopLayout({
  children,
  params,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode
  params: {
    tag: string
    item: string
  }
}) {
  // URL -> /shop/shoes/nike-air-max-97
  // `params` -> { tag: 'shoes', item: 'nike-air-max-97' }
  return <section>{children}</section>
}

export default function ShopLayout({ children, params }) {
  // URL -> /shop/shoes/nike-air-max-97
  // `params` -> { tag: 'shoes', item: 'nike-air-max-97' }
  return <section>{children}</section>
}

Good to know

Root Layouts

The app directory must include a root app/layout.js.
The root layout must define <html> and <body> tags.
- You should not manually add <head> tags such as <title> and <meta> to root layouts. Instead, you should use the Metadata API which automatically handles advanced requirements such as streaming and de-duplicating <head> elements.
You can use route groups to create multiple root layouts.
- Navigating across multiple root layouts will cause a full page load (as opposed to a client-side navigation). For example, navigating from /cart that uses app/(shop)/layout.js to /blog that uses app/(marketing)/layout.js will cause a full page load. This only applies to multiple root layouts.

Layouts do not receive `searchParams`

Unlike Pages, Layout components do not receive the searchParams prop. This is because a shared layout is not re-rendered during navigation which could lead to stale searchParams between navigations.

When using client-side navigation, Next.js automatically only renders the part of the page below the common layout between two routes.

For example, in the following directory structure, dashboard/layout.tsx is the common layout for both /dashboard/settings and /dashboard/analytics:

When navigating from /dashboard/settings to /dashboard/analytics, page.tsx in /dashboard/analytics will rerender on the server, while dashboard/layout.tsx will not rerender because it's a common UI shared between the two routes.

This performance optimization allows navigation between pages that share a layout to be quicker as only the data fetching and rendering for the page has to run, instead of the entire route that could include shared layouts that fetch their own data.

Because dashboard/layout.tsx doesn't re-render, the searchParams prop in the layout Server Component might become stale after navigation.

Instead, use the Page searchParams prop or the useSearchParams hook in a Client Component, which is re-rendered on the client with the latest searchParams.

Layouts cannot access `pathname`

Layouts cannot access pathname. This is because layouts are Server Components by default, and don't rerender during client-side navigation, which could lead to pathname becoming stale between navigations. To prevent staleness, Next.js would need to refetch all segments of a route, losing the benefits of caching and increasing the RSC payload size on navigation.

Instead, you can extract the logic that depends on pathname into a Client Component and import it into your layouts. Since Client Components rerender (but are not refetched) during navigation, you can use Next.js hooks such as usePathname to access the current pathname and prevent staleness.

import { ClientComponent } from '@/app/ui/ClientComponent'

export default function Layout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <>
      <ClientComponent />
      {/* Other Layout UI */}
      <main>{children}</main>
    <>
  )
}

import { ClientComponent } from '@/app/ui/ClientComponent'

export default function Layout({ children }) {
  return (
    <>
      <ClientComponent />
      {/* Other Layout UI */}
      <main>{children}</main>
    <>
  )
}

Common pathname patterns can also be implemented with params prop.

See the examples section for more information.

Version History

Version	Changes
`v13.0.0`	`layout` introduced.

Props​

children (required)​

params (optional)​

Good to know​

Root Layouts​

Layouts do not receive searchParams​

Layouts cannot access pathname​

Version History​