#102: RSC Routing, Middleware becomes Proxy, ViewTransitions, AI-Retry, useSyncExternalStore, Vercel Hosting Alternatives

Parallel and recursive route rendering – Ryan takes us behind the scenes of RSC routing. In this post he explains how routes are rendered in parallel on the server to avoid waterfalls, and then stitched back together on the client using a recursive pattern.

PR: Rename middleware to proxy – The middleware file in Next.js is renamed to proxy, making the role clearer and avoiding mix-ups with Express.js middleware

🚀 Build smarter with Next.js 15 + Strapi – This step-by-step tutorial video shows you how to create a video summarization app. Get hands-on coding tips, best practices, and real-world examples to sharpen your skills. 💻

React <ViewTransition>: Smooth Animations Made Simple – A practical guide to using React's new animation component, with examples on how to handle enter/exit effects, shared element transitions, and animated list filtering

► The Most Underrated React Hook You've Never Used – This video isn’t just about a hook, it’s about understanding how React re-renders, listens to updates, and works under the hood

You may be looking for a useSyncExternalStore – Swizec wrote an article on the same hook and digs into why it matters in real apps by avoiding hydration flickers, giving you server‑safe defaults, and leading to smoother, less janky apps.

𝕏 cacheComponents in Next.js (canary) – Quick video demonstrating how to use dynamic APIs (header, cookies) within cache components

Coding Agent Template – A new template for building and deploying AI agents that can automatically handle coding tasks. It's designed to run safely in the cloud using Vercel Sandbox and supports multiple AI models like Claude and Codex

bots.fyi – Vercel launched an open database of common bots that developers can use to better handle automation and traffic

ai-retry – A small library that helps avoid errors like timeouts, service overloads, or blocked requests by automatically retrying your call with fallback models. Lets you build safer AI apps without writing lots of error-handling yourself.

Ultracite – If you haven’t heard of Ultracite yet, it’s worth a look. It’s a Biome preset that formats code automatically, fixes lint issues on save, enforces strict type safety, and keeps your team (and AI tools) in sync on style

Escape the vendor-locked in edge-runtime! Try Sevalla with $50 credit now. Your PaaS from the future – Prefer the power of a full Node.js environment? Get lower bandwidth costs and predictable pricing combined with real human support by developers. No seats, no surprise serverless bills. Ever.

Getting AI to Work in Complex Codebases – Instead of “vibe coding” with chatbots, this post explains how structuring your workflow around research, planning, and implementation reviews can make AI agents more effective in brownfield codebases without creating tech debt

How i accidentally joined Vercel – A personal story from Josh about how a chance DM and a conversation with Guillermo Rauch at Vercel’s v0 Summit eventually led to him joining the team

Web Interface Guidelines – Practical do’s and don’ts for building reliable UIs, with tips on forms, loading states, and hydration-safe inputs in React/Next.js.

Vercel Hosting: When to Use It and Alternatives to Compare – Find out when Vercel hosting makes sense, considering its pricing, serverless model, and limits. Compare it with Netlify, Railway, Cloudflare, self-managed options, and more.