Next.js App Router react-dom server error

[rodrgds]

Describe the bug

I'm getting the following error when I try to render a chart using ReactPDFChart in Next.js:

ReactServerComponentsError:

You're importing a component that imports react-dom/server. To fix it, render or return the content directly as a Server Component instead for perf and security.
Learn more: https://nextjs.org/docs/getting-started/react-essentials

The error was caused by importing 'react-pdf-charts/dist/index.js' in './pdfs/report.tsx'.

Versions:

"next": "13.4.8",
"@joshuajaco/react-pdf-renderer-bundled": "^3.1.12",
"recharts": "^2.8.0",
"react-pdf-charts": "^0.2.1",

I am also using @joshuajaco/react-pdf-renderer-bundled instead of regular react-pdf because of another bug with Next.js. I'm unsure of whether that has any implications on this particular case.

Reproduction

Using some chart, for example:

pdfs/report.tsx

...
  <ReactPDFChart>
    <PieChart width={500} height={300}>
      <Pie
        data={data}
        dataKey="value"
        nameKey="name"
        cx="50%"
        cy="50%"
        outerRadius={80}
        fill="#8884d8"
        label
      >
        {data.map((entry, index) => (
          <Cell
            key={`cell-${index}`}
            fill={COLORS[index % COLORS.length]}
          />
        ))}
      </Pie>
      <Legend />
    </PieChart>
  </ReactPDFChart>
...

This is how I render it and return it to the client, on a route.jsx API "page" (which worked without the charts):

some-api/route.jsx

const pdfBuffer = await renderToBuffer(
  <ReportPDF
    assessmentData={assessmentDataJson}
    companyData={companyDataJson}
    userStats={newUserStats}
    stats={stats}
  />
);

return new Response(pdfBuffer, {
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/pdf",
    "Content-Disposition": `attachment; filename="invoice.pdf"`,
  },
});

Validations

• Check that there isn't already an issue that reports the same bug to avoid creating a duplicate.
• Check that you're confident that this is a legitimate bug. To ask a question open a GitHub Discussion.
• The provided reproduction is a minimal reproducible example of the bug.

[EvHaus]

Does it work if you add use client on the file which imports react-pdf-charts?

[rodrgds]

It doesn't. It now displays a different error:

Error: Attempted to call the default export of /home/kraktoos/dev/abc/pdfs/report.tsx from the server but it's on the client. It's not possible to invoke a client function from the server, it can only be rendered as a Component or passed to props of a Client Component.

[EvHaus]

I was able to get around the ReactServerComponentsError by using experimental.serverComponentsExternalPackages, but recharts is now failing to render on the server because it's using some client code that Next 14 can't run in a route handler. 😠

Here's where I got to: https://stackblitz.com/edit/stackblitz-starters-zt49kv?file=package.json

It currently fails with:

TypeError: Super expression must either be null or a function
node_modules/react-smooth/es6/Animate.js (19:112)
node_modules/react-smooth/es6/Animate.js (34:2)
node_modules/react-smooth/es6/Animate.js (314:2)

UPDATE: Unfortunately Next 14.2 still has the same issue. Here's a repo to reproduce the issue: https://github.com/EvHaus/react-pdf-charts-next-14

[dominik-juriga]

I was able to get around the ReactServerComponentsError by using experimental.serverComponentsExternalPackages, but recharts is now failing to render on the server because it's using some client code that Next 14 can't run in a route handler. 😠

Here's where I got to: https://stackblitz.com/edit/stackblitz-starters-zt49kv?file=package.json

It currently fails with:

TypeError: Super expression must either be null or a function
node_modules/react-smooth/es6/Animate.js (19:112)
node_modules/react-smooth/es6/Animate.js (34:2)
node_modules/react-smooth/es6/Animate.js (314:2)

Hi,

Have you ever found the solution to this problem? I have a couple charts that I need to render into a PDF in a route handler. This seems like the most elegant option, but I am stuck on the Animate.js issue.

[poojas10]

I am getting this issue "Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'react/jsx-runtime" and "Module not found: Error: Can't resolve 'react-dom/server" in react app where my react and react-dom both are pointing to version 17. How can I resolve it

[EvHaus]

I don't know how to resolve it. It seems to be a bug (or limitation of) Next.js. I've opened an issue with them here. Feel free to upvote it to raise its priority.

[poojas10]

I don't know how to resolve it. It seems to be a bug (or limitation of) Next.js. I've opened an issue with them here. Feel free to upvote it to raise its priority.

I am not using nextjs I have a react app with version 17 but I am getting the same error

[EvHaus]

Can you please create a repo with your setup and share it with me? I can take a look.

[Willem-Jaap]

You probably do not want to use any serverside rendering for libs like react-pdf and react-pdf-charts. I have yet to get it to work.

In my experience you only want to execute this code in the browser (client-side), not to be confused with "use client".
Client components in Next.js still get prerendered on the server (docs)

For loading components client-side without SSR there is next/dynamic (docs)

import dynamic from 'next/dynamic';

const AnalyticsPDF = dynamic(() => import('../pdf/analytics-pdf'), {
    ssr: false,
});

const Viewer = ({ customer }: Props) => {
    return <AnalyticsPDF customer={customer} />;
}

Hope this helps!

[fgarciap-novared]

I was able to get around the ReactServerComponentsError by using experimental.serverComponentsExternalPackages, but recharts is now failing to render on the server because it's using some client code that Next 14 can't run in a route handler. 😠
Here's where I got to: https://stackblitz.com/edit/stackblitz-starters-zt49kv?file=package.json
It currently fails with:

TypeError: Super expression must either be null or a function
node_modules/react-smooth/es6/Animate.js (19:112)
node_modules/react-smooth/es6/Animate.js (34:2)
node_modules/react-smooth/es6/Animate.js (314:2)

Hi,

Have you ever found the solution to this problem? I have a couple charts that I need to render into a PDF in a route handler. This seems like the most elegant option, but I am stuck on the Animate.js issue.

Hi! Same issue here; @EvHaus were you able to find a solution?

Thanks in advance!

[EvHaus]

@fgarciap-novared Sorry, I just tried it again using the latest Next.js version but it still shows the same error. I've opened a new bug report for the Next.js team here: vercel/next.js#80129 Feel free to 👍 it so it gets more attention.

I also updated the minimal repro example here: https://github.com/EvHaus/react-pdf-charts-next-14 Feel free to play around with it to see if you can find some way to get it to work.

From what I can see, this appears to be a Next.js limitation. The same code works just fine in plain Node.js, or in Bun.