Unused (dev) dependencies cause standalone node_modules pollution
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Description
Link to the code that reproduces this issue
https://github.com/ardokirsipuu/nextjs-standalone-node-modules
To Reproduce
- clone the repo
- run
yarn - run
yarn build - check the contents of
.next\standalone\node_modulesto find irrelevant (not needed for prod runtime) dependencies
Current vs. Expected behavior
Current behavior
When new (dev) dependencies are added, that are not used in the code, then the .next\standalone\node_modules folder is being polluted with additional files that are not needed for production runtime (e.g. esbuild, @esbuild/*, @rspack/* etc). See the screenshot below to see a diff of the file tree between before (HEAD~1) vs after (@nx/react is added):
Most of the tree on the left side shows new stuff being added (with a little twist of @swc/helpers actually being moved from the root to be under next/node_modules/@swc/helpers 👀).
Expected behavior
No unused files are added to .next\standalone\node_modules for unused dependencies.
Provide environment information
Operating System:
Platform: win32
Arch: x64
Version: Windows 11 Pro
Available memory (MB): 65277
Available CPU cores: 24
Binaries:
Node: 22.14.0
npm: 10.9.2
Yarn: 4.8.1
pnpm: N/A
Relevant Packages:
next: 15.3.0-canary.26
eslint-config-next: N/A
react: 19.1.0
react-dom: 19.1.0
typescript: 5.8.2
Next.js Config:
output: standalone
Which area(s) are affected? (Select all that apply)
Output
Which stage(s) are affected? (Select all that apply)
next build (local)
Additional context
Having next.config.ts with something like
outputFileTracingExcludes: {
"./**/*": [
"node_modules/esbuild",
"node_modules/@esbuild",
],
},
would take care of these two excessive dependencies, but handling all those tens of dependencies manually like this would not be very feasible and would defeat the purpose of having the file tracing feature.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the linked reproduction repository: run yarn and yarn build, then inspect .next/standalone/node_modules and the outputFileTracingExcludes configuration described in the issue. Trace the standalone output produced by next build and compare it with the production runtime dependencies. Done means unused development dependencies such as esbuild and @rspack are no longer included without requiring many manual exclusions.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- javascript, nextjs, node.js
- Domain
- build-system
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 48/100