Route Handlers

What it does

This skill enables AI agents to create and manage API endpoints within Next.js applications using Route Handlers. It allows for defining functions that respond to specific HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS) within route.ts files in the app directory. The skill facilitates handling request bodies (JSON, form data, text), accessing URL parameters from dynamic routes, and retrieving query parameters from requests.

When to use it

• Building custom API endpoints for a Next.js application.
• Creating backend logic for fetching or creating data within a Next.js project.
• Implementing specific HTTP methods (e.g., POST endpoint for user creation).
• Handling dynamic routes with parameters, such as retrieving a single post by its ID.

Key capabilities

• Defines API endpoints using route.ts files.
• Supports all standard HTTP methods: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS.
• Handles request bodies in JSON, form data, and text formats.
• Accesses dynamic route parameters within the URL (e.g., /api/posts/[id]).
• Retrieves query parameters from requests.

Example prompts

• "Create a GET endpoint at /api/users that returns all users."
• "Implement a POST endpoint at /api/posts/[id] to retrieve a specific post by ID."
• "Write a route handler for handling form data in a POST request."

Tips & gotchas

• Requires a Next.js project with the app directory structure.
• The skill focuses on creating Route Handlers; it doesn't handle database interactions directly (example code uses db).