Route framework-specific deep work to the guides in this skill: references/astro.md, references/nextjs.md, references/nuxt.md, references/sveltekit.md, references/tanstack.md, references/vite.md.

Env vars: modern rules (read first)

Env values are injected at build time. Any change (client- or server-side) requires a redeploy — editing a var in the UI/CLI does NOT reach the live site or already-deployed functions until a new build runs.

Never use a client prefix for secrets. Client-prefixed vars are inlined into the browser bundle: VITE_, NEXT_PUBLIC_, PUBLIC_, NUXT_PUBLIC_, REACT_APP_, GATSBY_, VUE_APP_.

Client-embed prefixes by framework: CRA REACT_APP_, Gatsby GATSBY_, Next NEXT_PUBLIC_, Nuxt NUXT_ENV_, Vue CLI VUE_APP_.

Scopes: build-time access needs Builds scope; SSR/DSG runtime access needs both Functions and Builds. netlify.toml is read only during build — functions cannot read it at runtime; set runtime vars in UI/CLI/API.

Netlify build variables can't be used as values in the UI or netlify.toml env sections. Set them inline before the build command:

[build]
  command = "REACT_APP_CONTEXT=$CONTEXT npm run build"

SPA redirects and the SSR catch-all footgun

SPAs (React, Vue CLI, Vite, Nuxt in SPA mode) need a rewrite to serve index.html for pushState:

/* /index.html 200

Remove any SPA catch-all when adopting an SSR adapter. A leftover /* → /index.html 200 silently serves static index.html for SSR pages and API routes — user redirects beat adapter-generated routes.

Local dev with platform emulation (no Netlify CLI)

Vite-based frameworks emulate Netlify primitives (functions, edge functions, blobs, Netlify Database, Cache API, Image CDN, redirects/rewrites, headers, env vars, AI Gateway) in the dev server:

Still need netlify dev (Netlify CLI) for: Gatsby generated functions (run netlify build first), Angular SSR local test (netlify serve), and frameworks without a Vite plugin.

netlify dev gotcha: with both a custom command and a targetPort in [dev], you must set framework = "#custom" — otherwise the detector runs and your custom command is silently ignored.

Build settings by framework

Detection suggests these; override in netlify.toml or UI (project configuration > Build & deploy > Continuous deployment > Build settings).

SSR / adapter setup

Astro

npx astro add netlify installs the adapter and edits astro.config.mjs. Adapter needed for SSR and out-of-the-box Image CDN for <Image />. SSR → Netlify Functions; middleware → Edge Functions. Adapter-less deploy only if no server features and no Image CDN need. Skew protection from 5.15.0.

Next.js (13.5+ only)

Zero-config via the OpenNext adapter (@netlify/plugin-nextjs). Do NOT pin the version — Netlify auto-updates each build. Treat the legacy adapter as read-only history, never a recommendation. Adapter provisions: serverless function for SSR/ISR/PPR/route handlers/Server Actions; Edge Function for Middleware; Full Route + Data Cache; Image CDN with next/image. Skew protection is opt-in: set NETLIFY_NEXT_SKEW_PROTECTION=true, redeploy. No automatic support for client fetch — direct calls with x-deployment-id: process.env.NEXT_DEPLOYMENT_ID. Details in references/nextjs.md.

SvelteKit

npm install -D @sveltejs/adapter-netlify

import adapter from '@sveltejs/adapter-netlify';
export default { kit: { adapter: adapter() } };

Replace @sveltejs/adapter-auto with the specific import. SSR routes → a render function.

• split: true → one function per route. Incompatible with Edge Functions (edge: false or omit).
• edge: true → SSR in a Deno edge function; can't combine with split.
• Redirects NOT supported in netlify.toml — use _redirects.
• Edge functions don't work locally with netlify dev for SvelteKit.

React Router (7+)

New: npx create-react-router@latest --template netlify/react-router-template. Existing:

npm install @netlify/vite-plugin-react-router

Add netlifyReactRouter() to Vite plugins. Default target = Serverless Functions. Edge (Deno): needs plugin v2.1.1+, set edge: true, and you must create app/entry.server.tsx:

export { default } from 'virtual:netlify-server-entry'

Exclude your own function paths: netlifyReactRouter({ edge: true, excludedPaths: ['/api/*'] }). Moving back to Serverless: remove edge: true AND delete app/entry.server.tsx. Middleware (React Router v7.9.0+, plugin v2.0.0+): opt in via future.v8_middleware; import netlifyRouterContext from @netlify/vite-plugin-react-router/serverless (or /edge when edge: true); access context.get(netlifyRouterContext).

Remix

New: npx create-remix@latest --template netlify/remix-template (CLI prompts functions vs Edge Functions). Manual (Remix Vite required):

npm install --save-dev @netlify/remix-adapter

Add netlifyPlugin() from @netlify/remix-adapter/plugin to Vite plugins.

Nuxt

SSR via Nitro, automatic on Nuxt 3. Local parity via @netlify/nuxt (npx nuxi module add @netlify/nuxt).

• SSR on Edge Functions requires a different Nitro deployment preset (not auto-detected).
• pnpm + Nuxt 3: set PNPM_FLAGS=--shamefully-hoist.
• nuxt/image auto-uses Netlify Image CDN; set remote domains in nuxt.config.ts.

SolidStart

SolidStart 2 builds on Vite — no SolidStart-specific adapter. Install @netlify/vite-plugin:

import netlify from "@netlify/vite-plugin";
import { solidStart } from "@solidjs/start/config";
import { defineConfig } from "vite";
export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [solidStart(), netlify({ build: { enabled: true } })],
});

Publish dist/client. SSR routes, server functions, middleware → Netlify Functions, zero extra config. Nitro alternative: add nitro(), use plain netlify() (no build.enabled), publish dist. SolidStart 1: Nitro auto-configures; optionally set preset: "netlify" in app.config.ts; vinxi build / dist.

TanStack Start

React (and Solid.js) full-stack; SSR/Server Routes/Server Functions/middleware → serverless functions.

npm install -D @netlify/vite-plugin-tanstack-start

Add netlify() to Vite plugins alongside tanstackStart(); vite build / dist/client (1.132.0+). Netlify CLI deploys require netlify-cli 17.31+. Older versions: see references/tanstack.md.

Gatsby

• 5.12.0+ (adapter): auto-detects and installs gatsby-adapter-netlify (zero-config). Generates functions SSR, DSG. No Essential Gatsby plugin needed.
• 5.11.0 or earlier (Essential Gatsby plugin): auto-installs @netlify/plugin-gatsby; also manually install gatsby-plugin-netlify (required for SSR, Gatsby redirects, asset caching). Generates __api, __ssr, __dsg, __ipx. Skip via NETLIFY_SKIP_GATSBY_FUNCTIONS (all) / NETLIFY_SKIP_API_FUNCTION / NETLIFY_SKIP_SSR_FUNCTION / NETLIFY_SKIP_DSG_FUNCTION.
• Gatsby 5 requires Node 18.
• Large sites: set GATSBY_EXCLUDE_DATASTORE_FROM_BUNDLE to load datastore from CDN (avoids max function deploy size; slower first SSR/DSG load).
• Image CDN: set NETLIFY_IMAGE_CDN=true (Contentful/Drupal/WordPress source plugins). Not supported on 5.12.x with adapter — upgrade to 5.13.0+.
• StaticImage and gatsby-transformer-sharp don't work for SSR/DSG — host images on a CDN.

Angular

SSR auto-configured via an Edge Function. Suggested dev: ng serve / 4200.

• SSR pages are NOT subject to _redirects or netlify.toml redirects — SSR uses Edge Functions that run before redirects. Use Angular's built-in redirects.
• Access Request/Context in SSR via netlify.request / netlify.context providers (from @netlify/edge-functions); unavailable client-side or during prerendering. Test locally with netlify serve.
• NgOptimizedImage auto-uses Image CDN; set remote_images (array of regex) under [images] in netlify.toml.

Express

Node 18.14.0+. Deploy as a Netlify Function via serverless-http:

npm i express serverless-http @netlify/functions @types/express

// netlify/functions/api.ts
import express, { Router } from "express";
import serverless from "serverless-http";
const api = express();
const router = Router();
router.get("/hello", (req, res) => res.send("Hello World!"));
api.use("/api/", router);
export const handler = serverless(api);

[functions]
  external_node_modules = ["express"]
  node_bundler = "esbuild"
[[redirects]]
  force = true
  from = "/api/*"
  status = 200
  to = "/.netlify/functions/api/:splat"

No frontend: set a placeholder build command (e.g. echo Building Functions). All Function limits apply; not recommended as background/scheduled functions.

Hydrogen

Shopify stack on React Router 7. SSR only on Netlify Edge Functions — Netlify Functions NOT officially supported. Node 24+. Use the starter:

npm create @shopify/hydrogen@latest -- --template https://github.com/netlify/hydrogen-template
cp .env.example .env && npm run dev

Static-site gotchas

Hugo

Set HUGO_VERSION (any release after 0.19) in [build.environment] — a missing/mismatched version causes exit code: 255. Install themes as git submodules (git submodule add ...), not git clone.

Eleventy

eleventy / _site. Build plugins require editing .gitignore: change node_modules to **/node_modules/** — otherwise Netlify plugins and Eleventy collide on .netlify/plugins/node_modules/ and the build errors.

Vite meta-framework support matrix

Astro (auto on 5.12+), Nuxt (via @netlify/nuxt), TanStack Start (via @netlify/vite-plugin-tanstack-start), React Router, SolidStart — all full. SvelteKit — experimental.

Deploy via CLI (Express, Nuxt, React, Vite)

npm install netlify-cli -g
netlify init

Follow prompts to create/link the site and set build settings.

Netlify house rules (frameworks)

These are org conventions, not docs facts — merged into the rendered skill by ctx-gen and never generated. Owned by the skills maintainer.

1. Per-framework deep guides live in this skill: references/astro.md, references/nextjs.md, references/nuxt.md, references/sveltekit.md, references/tanstack.md, references/vite.md — route framework-specific work there before improvising.
2. Next.js: modern runtime (v5, Next ≥13.5) only — treat the legacy adapter as read-only history, never a recommendation.
3. Remove any SPA catch-all (/* → /index.html 200) when adopting an SSR adapter — user redirects beat adapter-generated routes, so a leftover catch-all silently serves static index.html for SSR pages and API routes.
4. Any env var change — client- or server-side — requires a redeploy. Values are injected at build time; editing one in the UI/CLI does not reach the live site or already-deployed functions until a new build runs.
5. netlify dev with both a custom command and a targetPort requires framework = "#custom" in the [dev] block — otherwise the detector runs and the custom command is silently ignored.
6. Never use a client prefix (VITE_, NEXT_PUBLIC_, PUBLIC_, NUXT_PUBLIC_, REACT_APP_, GATSBY_, VUE_APP_) for secrets — client-prefixed vars are inlined into the browser bundle.
7. Next.js skew protection is version-conditional: below Next 14.1.4 the NETLIFY_NEXT_SKEW_PROTECTION env var is not sufficient on its own — experimental.useDeploymentId (plus useDeploymentIdServerActions when server actions are used) must also go in next.config.js. Always ask for or state the version condition; never present the env var as the whole setup.
8. Client fetch calls are not covered by Next.js skew protection by default. Give both options. Next.js 15.4+ has an experimental useSkewCookie flag that carries the deployment identifier in a cookie so it rides along on client fetch calls; Netlify supports it, but say it is not production-ready and that it holds visitors on the older deploy until the cookie clears. The other option, on any version, is adding x-deployment-id with process.env.NEXT_DEPLOYMENT_ID per call.