https://github.com/icflorescu/next-server-actions-parallel
A small utility library that enables you to execute Next.js server actions in parallel - the missing ingredient to build a boilerplate-free tRPC-style server-actions workflow.
https://github.com/icflorescu/next-server-actions-parallel
concurrency concurrent nextjs non-blocking parallel react rpc server-actions
Last synced: about 1 month ago
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A small utility library that enables you to execute Next.js server actions in parallel - the missing ingredient to build a boilerplate-free tRPC-style server-actions workflow.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/icflorescu/next-server-actions-parallel
- Owner: icflorescu
- License: mit
- Created: 2024-11-24T21:35:34.000Z (6 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-01-09T15:41:34.000Z (4 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-04-06T01:03:29.597Z (about 1 month ago)
- Topics: concurrency, concurrent, nextjs, non-blocking, parallel, react, rpc, server-actions
- Language: TypeScript
- Homepage: https://next-server-actions-parallel.vercel.app
- Size: 220 KB
- Stars: 36
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# Parallel Next.js Server Actions
[![NPM version][npm-image]][npm-url]
[![License][license-image]][license-url]
[![Sponsor the author][sponsor-image]][sponsor-url]
Run multiple Next.js server actions in parallel.
> The missing ingredient to build [tRPC](https://trpc.io)-like workflows, but without the boilerplate.
## TL;DR
Install:
```sh
pnpm i next-server-actions-parallel
```
Define your server actions like so:
`app/page.actions.ts`:
```ts
'use server';
import { createParallelAction } from 'next-server-actions-parallel';
export const listUsers = createParallelAction(async () => { // 👈 don't forget the `async` keyword!!
return prisma.user.findMany(); // 👈 let's assume this takes 3 seconds
});
export const listProducts = createParallelAction(async (categoryId: string) => {
return prisma.product.findMany({ where: { categoryId } }); // 👈 let's assume this also takes 3 seconds
});
```
Call them like so:
`app/page.tsx`:
```ts
'use client';
import { runParallelAction } from 'next-server-actions-parallel';
import { listUsers, listProducts } from './page.actions';
export default async function Page() {
// 👇 this may take slightly more than 3 seconds, but a lot less than 6.
const [users, products] = await Promise.all([
runParallelAction(listUsers()),
runParallelAction(listProducts('82b2ab20-ec1e-4539-85a2-ea6737555250')),
]);
return (
{users.map((user) => (
- {user.name}
))}
{products.map((product) => (
- {product.name}
))}
);
}
```
## How does it perform?
In a nutshell: a lot faster than default Next.js server actions, not as fast as REST API routes.
Check it in your specific deployment environment and decide if it makes sense for your project.
## Show gratitude
If you find [my open-source work](https://github.com/icflorescu) useful, please consider sponsing me on [GitHub Sponsors](https://github.com/sponsors/icflorescu).
## Background story
When Vercel added support for server actions in Next.js, a lot of developers - myself included - were hyper-excited about it and saw it as a boilerplate-free alternative to [tRPC.io](https://trpc.io) or [Telefunc](https://telefunc.com).
Many were, however, disappointed to find that Next.js server actions were only executed in series, contrary to what one would expect when triggering them in parallel with `Promise.all`.
It probably worked like that because they were intended to be used for mutations, as _"data should be fetched in server components or using REST API endpoints"_.
Plus, since server actions are implemented with `POST` requests, some purists are reluctant to the idea of using them for fetching data, though `POST` requests **can** and usually **do** return data.
However, there are many reasons why projects like [tRPC.io](https://trpc.io), [Telefunc](https://telefunc.com) and other *RPCs were built and have no problem using `POST` requests to fetch data. If you're **building real, data-rich applications**, including something like [tRPC.io](https://trpc.io) in your stack gives you type-safety and spares you the effort of building and maintainings maybe hundreds of API endpoints just to populate dynamic UI components (such as autocompletes and selects).
[tRPC.io](https://trpc.io) is the "batteries-included" choice; I'm a big fan and former contributor to the ecosystem - see [tRPC-SvelteKit](https://icflorescu.github.io/trpc-sveltekit/), but I always found the amount of boilerplate to be a bit discouraging for new developers and/or small projects. [Telefunc](https://telefunc.com) looks like a nice alternative, but it doesn't (yet, as of November 2024) have an obvious way of integrating with the Next.js app router.
It would be nice to use server actions for RPC without the current limitation of being unable to call multiple functions in parallel.
Here's a non-exhaustive list of issues and discussions where the subject was mentioned:
- [https://github.com/vercel/next.js/discussions/50743](https://github.com/vercel/next.js/discussions/50743)
- [https://github.com/vercel/next.js/issues/69265](https://github.com/vercel/next.js/issues/69265)
- [https://x.com/cramforce/status/1733240566954230063](https://x.com/cramforce/status/1733240566954230063)
- [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/77484983/why-are-server-actions-not-executing-concurrently](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/77484983/why-are-server-actions-not-executing-concurrently)
- [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/78548578/server-actions-in-next-js-seem-to-be-running-in-series](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/78548578/server-actions-in-next-js-seem-to-be-running-in-series)
Well, that's what [next-server-actions-parallel](https://github.com/icflorescu/next-server-actions-parallel) is for.
## How does it work?
It's actually quite simple:
- The `createParallelAction` is wrapping the promise your server action returns in an array (a single-ellement tuple, to be more precise - see note below) and returning that array instead of the result of the promise.
- The `runParallelAction` client-side utility function will await the promise and return the result.
This repository contains a light Next.js app that demonstrates it in action and benchmaks it against REST API routes and default server actions, so you can check it out in different environments and decide if it makes sense for your project.
[Check it on StackBlitz ⚡️](https://stackblitz.com/~/github.com/icflorescu/next-server-actions-parallel)
[](https://vercel.com/new/clone?repository-url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Ficflorescu%2Fnext-server-actions-parallel)
_Note:_
Wrapping the promise in an object would also work, but I've chosen to use an array for data-transfer efficiency.
## Do I actually need to use this library?
Not necessarily. The two functions that are exported by the library are small enough to be easily copied and pasted into your own project, see [source code here](https://github.com/icflorescu/next-server-actions-parallel/blob/main/src/index.ts).
But since this is a common pain point for many developers, I've decided to provide a simple and easy-to-use wrapper... And maybe hope that if you find it useful you won't hesitate to show your eternal gratitude by [throwing a few greenbacks my way](https://github.com/sponsors/icflorescu), at least for discovering the trick... 😜
## Acknowledgements
Many thanks to [Will Koehler](https://github.com/willkoehler) for being the first person to support this project.
## License
The [MIT License](LICENSE).
[npm-url]: https://npmjs.org/package/next-server-actions-parallel
[license-url]: LICENSE
[sponsor-url]: https://github.com/sponsors/icflorescu
[npm-image]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/next-server-actions-parallel.svg?style=flat-square
[license-image]: http://img.shields.io/npm/l/next-server-actions-parallel.svg?style=flat-square
[sponsor-image]: https://img.shields.io/badge/sponsor-violet?style=flat-square