Can I migrate my Next.js app to V-Next today?

The video demonstrates a migration flow using a Cloudflare agent to help convert a project for V-Next, including changes like enabling ES modules and adjusting file extensions. The host also notes that the process can leave parts of the app broken and that refactoring is often required, so it isn’t guaranteed to be seamless for every app.

What performance benefits does V-Next claim?

V-Next-related benchmarks claim production builds can be up to 4.4x faster and client bundles up to 57% smaller, largely due to Vit-based architecture and the rolldown bundler. One creator also reports a 5x faster build on their own site, though he cautions benchmarks may vary and not all results are production-ready.

What caveats were mentioned about using V-Next?

The speaker emphasizes that bleeding-edge software bleeds for the user, with potential incompatibilities and broken parts during migration. It’s implied that V-Next isn’t guaranteed to be production-ready yet, and users should expect to test and iterate rather than rely on out-of-the-box functionality.

What is rolldown and why does it matter?

Rolldown is described as a Rust-based bundler used by Vit to improve performance, contributing to smaller client bundles and faster builds. It’s one of the key architectural advantages highlighted in the V-Next approach.

Who are Germo and Gromo in this story?

Germo is presented as the Verscell CTO who called V-Next a 'slop fork,' while Gromo from Verscell shared a migration guide and noted vulnerabilities they found in the project. Their commentary frames the developer-community pushback to V-Next.

What does Brilliant offer and why is it mentioned?

Brilliant is the sponsor of the video, promoting an algorithmic thinking course with a free 30-day trial and 20% off. The course is positioned as a way to strengthen fundamental CS skills, including greedy optimizations.

Cloudflare just slop forked Next.js…

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Science & Technology3 min read6 min video

Mar 2, 2026|514,508 views|16,970|655

webdev app development lesson tutorial vinext next.js vercel cloudflare Guillermo Rauch Matthew Prince cloudflare vs vercel vercel vs cloudflare

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Key Moments

TL;DR

Cloudflare builds Next.js on Vit (V-Next) to run anywhere, stirring rivalry.

Key Insights

V-Next reimplements the Next.js API on Vit to enable deployment beyond Vercel.

AI-assisted bootstrapping delivers SSR, middleware, server actions, and streaming quickly.

Migration uses an agent to adjust to V-Next, including ES module changes and JSX extension.

Performance claims favor Vit and rolldown, with faster builds and smaller bundles, though real-world results vary.

Open-source drama between Vercel and Cloudflare highlights portability vs platform lock-in.

WHY V-NEXT MATTERS

V-Next is a re-implementation of the Next.js API atop Cloudflare's Vit runtime rather than extending Next.js' own build output. This design decision promises true portability: apps can run on platforms beyond Vercel, including Cloudflare Workers and other edge runtimes. The move signals a shift from optimizing for Next.js' output to re-creating the framework to run anywhere, which could reshape how developers think about deployment targets and vendor lock-in.

HOW V-Next IS BUILT ON VIT

Cloudflare's team rebuilt the Next.js API inside Vit, leveraging Vit's fast bundling (rolldown) and Rust-based tooling. They claim to reach basic SSR, middleware, server actions, and streaming within a day, then push to full client hydration by day three, deploying on Cloudflare Workers. This contrasts with Open Next, which translates Next.js output; V-Next instead creates a fresh runtime with native support for Next-like features, all powered by AI-assisted development and Vit's architecture.

MIGRATION AND COMPATIBILITY CHALLENGES

To migrate a typical Next.js app, you install Cloudflare's agent, which adjusts the project to V-Next by adding type: module, converting JSX files to use the JSX extension, and other ES module changes. The demo app is the byes.dev newsletter site, and the migration can start with a simple app but may still leave many pieces broken until further tweaks are applied. The emphasis is on compatibility with V and the potential pitfalls of retrofitting a Next app to a new runtime.

PERFORMANCE CLAIMS AND REAL-WORLD SIGNALS

Cloudflare's internal benchmarks claim V-Next yields much faster production builds and smaller client bundles, thanks to Vit and rolldown. The presenter cites 'Trust Me Bro' style benchmarks showing multi-fold build-time improvements and a substantial reduction in bundle size. The video tester reports his own results, noting that builds can be faster in practice but warns that personal results are not authoritative. The takeaway is that the approach shows real potential, even if the tooling remains immature.

OPEN SOURCE DYNAMICS AND THE RIVALRY

The story frames a rivalry between Versell (Vercel) and Cloudflare as a yardstick for how open-source ecosystems evolve. Versell's CTO called V-Next a 'slop fork', while the Versell team provides migration guides and points out vulnerabilities they found in the project. The dynamic highlights how edge runtimes, OSS governance, and platform incentives shape the pace of innovation. The broader context remains that Next.js is still dominant, but portable runtimes challenge deployment constraints and open-source collaboration.

TAKEAWAYS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Across the video, we glimpse bleeding-edge engineering: portable runtimes, performance gains, and AI-assisted scaffolding that accelerates prototypes. Yet maturity and reliability remain open questions, and the host suggests revisiting the project after further months of development. The core lesson is that understanding underlying CS concepts is essential to evaluate such innovations, because fast code generation does not guarantee correctness or stability. Durable success will hinge on real-world adoption, tooling maturity, and clear migration paths for developers.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Tools & Products

●People Referenced

V-Next Migration Cheat Sheet

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Run the migration workflow with the Cloudflare agent to move your project to V-Next.

Set package.json type to module so JS files are treated as ES modules.

Refactor any JSX-containing JS files to use the JSX extension as required by V.

Test the migrated app locally first and verify basic functionality before production.

Use a small, representative app to validate compatibility before scaling.

Avoid This

Don’t assume immediate production readiness; bleeding-edge projects can have breakages.

Don’t skip compatibility checks with V and module type expectations.

Don’t rely on a single benchmark or expect API surface to be identical without testing.

V-Next vs Next.js performance snapshot

Data extracted from this episode

Metric	Next.js (baseline)	V-Next (with Vit)	Notes
Production build time	Baseline	Up to 4.4x faster	Based on Trust Me Bro benchmarks (Cloudflare) / not guaranteed across all projects
Client bundle size	Baseline	57% smaller	Attributed to Vit and rolldown
Site build times (bites.dev)	N/A	5x faster builds observed by creator	Personal experimentation; not production-level claim
AI token cost	N/A	$1,100 total	Cost reported during development

Common Questions

V-Next is a re-implementation of the Next.js API built on the Vit stack, intended to let Next.js apps run on platforms beyond the usual hosting targets (like Cloudflare Workers). Cloudflare pursued this approach to avoid reverse-engineering Next's output and to showcase a more direct, from-scratch implementation. The video notes basic SSR and client hydration became available quickly, and the project cost cited was around $1,100 in AI tokens during development.

Topics

Ai Tokens Server Actions Verscell Edge Deployment Cloudflare Open Next Rolldown Vit V-Next Brilliant Gromo Germo Ssr Mit Professors Cursor Next.Js

Mentioned in this video

toolBrilliant

Sponsor mentioned; offers an algorithmic thinking course with a 30-day free trial and 20% off.

toolCursor

Cursor tool used to install an agent that helps migrate a project to V-Next.

personGermo

Germo, from Verscell, criticized V-Next as a 'slop fork' and commented publicly on the project.

personGromo

Gromo from Verscell who tweeted a migration guide and highlighted vulnerabilities found in the project.

personMatthew

Cloudflare employee involved in releasing V-Next and participating in the discussion.

personMIT professors

Referenced as creators of problems used in Brilliant's course to teach algorithm design.

toolNext.js

Popular React framework; described as the standard approach but with limited deployment targets, prompting exploration of alternatives like V-Next.

toolOpen Next

Project/workflow referenced as the approach of repackaging Next.js output to run on other platforms ( contrasted with rebuilding on Vit ).

toolrolldown

Rust-based bundler used within Vit to improve performance.

toolV-Next

Re-implementation of the Next.js API built on Vit to allow deploying Next.js apps on platforms beyond the default runtimes; mentioned with a total AI token cost of $1,100 during development.

toolVit

Rust-based framework powering the V-Next rebuild; provides architectural advantages used by Cloudflare for performance (e.g., rolldown bundler).