#94: Next.js 15.4 + 16, Better Env Var Management, Headless Waitlist, i18n-check, Markdown URLs, Animating in Public

Next.js 15.4 – Version 15.4 delivers stability improvements, most notably for Turbopack builds. The announcement also provides a look at Next.js 16:

• Cache Components (beta): A new cacheComponents flag will unify all the experimental caching features like PPR and use cache
• Turbopack Builds (beta): Turbopack for production builds is officially hitting beta
• Optimized Client-Side Routing: faster App Router navigation, thanks to smarter prefetching and better caching
• DevTools & Debugging: More power for DevTools. You'll be able to inspect your route structure and forward browser logs directly to your terminal
• Node.js Middleware (stable): The moment we've all been waiting for. Full Node.js support in Middleware is finally stable
• Deployment Adapters (alpha): An early look at custom adapters that will give you more control to deploy your app to any target
• global-not-found.tsx: easily define a global 404 page

Arcjet - Painless security for developers – Implement bot protection and signup spam protection natively in code.

Adding .md URLs for Raw Markdown Content in Next.js – Explains how to let users access the raw markdown of your blog posts by appending .md to the URL

i18n-check: Validating your Next.js internationalization – i18n-check can now validate translations in Next.js apps that use next-intl or next-i18next. The post provides examples of how to run the tool, what kinds of issues it detects, and how it helps keep translation files in sync

How to add Stripe to Next.js in 5 minutes – A step-by-step guide to wiring up Stripe Checkout in your Next.js app

► This New Tool Made Me Delete ESLint Without Regret – Great overview of Ultracite, a new tool that simplifies code formatting and linting in Next.js projects

More:

• 𝕏 How do I exclude server actions from middleware in Next.js?
• 𝕏 Route segment explorer in Next.js 15.4

varlock – A human-first, AI-friendly way to manage your env vars. Define everything in a single .env.schema file: types, required fields, and secrets from external providers. Get instant validation, type-safety, and security features like redaction and leak detection. Works as a drop-in replacement for dotenv, and you can run it with any language

Cosmic UI – A collection of Sci-Fi themed components and futuristic design elements for modern web applications

Headless Waitlist – A headless waitlist system built with Next.js 15, TypeScript, and PostgreSQL. Perfect for indie hackers and startups

agents-ui-kit – An advanced extension of prompt-kit, providing specialized components and utilities for building sophisticated AI agent interfaces, multi-agent systems, and autonomous assistant applications

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.

Animating in Public – From agency Vue.js dev to landing gigs at Compound, Vercel, and Linear, all thanks to sharing side projects and UI experiments on Twitter

► Why visual website builders didn't take off – Visual website builders have been around since the 1990s, but they haven’t replaced coding by hand. Developers still prefer text editors because they offer more control and better results. The video introduces Nordcraft, a new tool that aims to fix these problems by letting users control their HTML while working visually

React Still Feels Insane And No One Is Talking About It – A brutally honest rant about how React’s “component-based architecture” often leads to more complex apps, even though the library claims to make things simpler.

How To Create An NPM Package – Learn how to publish a package to npm with a complete setup including, TypeScript, Prettier, Vitest, GitHub Actions, and versioning with Changesets. (this guide was shared before, but Matt updated it recently)