Can’t resolve ‘encoding’” warning in NextJS caused by try/require from `node_modules`

Can’t resolve ‘encoding’ warning in NextJS caused by try/require from `node_modules`

If you are working with NextJS and encounter the warning “Can’t resolve ‘encoding’” caused by try/require from node_modules, don’t worry, you are not alone. This warning typically occurs when you have a dependency that relies on the ‘encoding’ module, which is not natively supported in the browser environment. In this blog post, we will explore a couple of solutions to resolve this warning and get your NextJS project up and running smoothly.

Solution 1: Installing the ‘encoding’ package

The simplest solution is to install the ‘encoding’ package directly into your NextJS project. This package provides a polyfill for the ‘encoding’ module, allowing it to work in the browser environment.

To install the ‘encoding’ package, open your terminal and navigate to your NextJS project directory. Then, run the following command:

npm install encoding --save

Once the installation is complete, you can import the ‘encoding’ package in your code to resolve the warning. Here’s an example:

// Import the 'encoding' package
import 'encoding';

// Your code goes here
// ...

By importing the ‘encoding’ package, you ensure that the required module is available in the browser environment, resolving the warning.

Solution 2: Configuring NextJS to ignore the ‘encoding’ module

If you prefer not to install the ‘encoding’ package, you can configure NextJS to ignore the ‘encoding’ module during the build process. This solution is useful if you know that the ‘encoding’ module is not required for your specific use case.

To configure NextJS to ignore the ‘encoding’ module, you need to modify your NextJS configuration file (usually next.config.js). Add the following lines to your configuration:

module.exports = {
  webpack: (config, { isServer }) => {
    // Ignore the 'encoding' module
    if (!isServer) {
      config.resolve.fallback = {
        ...config.resolve.fallback,
        encoding: false,
      };
    }

    return config;
  },
};

By adding this configuration, NextJS will exclude the ‘encoding’ module from the client-side bundle, preventing the warning from appearing.

These are two possible solutions to resolve the “Can’t resolve ‘encoding’” warning in NextJS caused by try/require from node_modules. Choose the solution that best fits your requirements and get back to coding without any pesky warnings!

That’s it for this blog post. We hope you found the solutions helpful. Happy coding!