Which folders are required?

In Next.js there is no "strictly required" structure - everything is maximally lazy. But there is a minimum without which the application makes no sense.

#Required folders (in practice)

#app/ or pages/

At least one of them

• app/ - the modern standard (App Router)
• pages/ - the old Pages Router

Without one of them, there will be no routing at all.

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#What is required inside app/

#page.tsx

At least one page

Without page.tsx:

• the build will succeed
• but there will be no pages at all

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#Not required (but often needed)

#layout.tsx

• not required
• but if page.tsx exists, Next creates a default layout itself

However, in a real project a layout is almost always needed

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#loading.tsx

Skeleton / fallback Not required

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#not-found.tsx

Custom 404 Not required

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#error.tsx

Error Boundary Not required

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#Other folders are entirely optional

Next requires none of this.

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#Minimally valid project

Yes, this is genuinely enough.

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#Common misconceptions

"layout.tsx is required" → no

"components/ is needed" → no

"_app.tsx is needed" → only in pages/

"without public/ the project won't start" → it will start

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#Practical takeaway

Next.js ≠ a framework with a rigid architecture

It:

• provides routing rules
• but does not impose a structure

You decide:

• FSD / MVC / flat
• monorepo / single
• frontend-only or fullstack