Next config setup not working

[damien-schneider]

When trying to implement the claude code server in the next.config:

import { startServer } from "@react-grab/claude-code/server";

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "development") {
  startServer();
}

But as soon as adding this I get this error:

bun dev
$ next dev --port=3000
 ⨯ Failed to load next.config.js, see more info here https://nextjs.org/docs/messages/next-config-error
Error: Dynamic require of "child_process" is not supported
    at ignore-listed frames

error: script "dev" exited with code 1

[aidenybai]

can you try upgrading to latest @damien-schneider ?

[damien-schneider]

It was already on the 0.0.88 and I've just retried but still the same. (and similar error on vite environment too btw)

[aidenybai]

will look into this now @tt-a1i any ideas?

[tt-a1i]

Looked into the code - the issue is in the tsup build config.

In tsup.config.ts, the server entry uses noExternal: [/.*/] which bundles all deps. Even though external: module.builtinModules excludes node builtins, the bundled dist/server.cjs still ends up with require('child_process') calls.

When Next.js processes next.config.js, it tries to bundle all imports. It chokes on dynamic requires of node builtins.

Workaround - run the server in a separate script:

// start-claude-server.mjs
import { startServer } from "@react-grab/claude-code/server";
startServer();

// package.json
{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "node start-claude-server.mjs & next dev --port=3000"
  }
}

This way the server runs in its own node process and won't go through Next.js bundler.

Longer term fix - might be worth tweaking the tsup config to keep server entry deps as external instead of bundling everything, that way there's no dynamic require issue.

[damien-schneider]

Does this work around well kill automatically the claude-code server when exiting the dev script ?

[tt-a1i]

Good question! Short answer: No, not automatically - the backgrounded process may become an orphan when you exit.

However, there's a mitigation built into startServer:

await fkill(`:${port}`, { force: true, silent: true }).catch(() => {});

This kills any process using the port on startup, so the next time you run dev, the old server gets cleaned up.

Better solution - use concurrently for proper process lifecycle management:

npm install -D concurrently

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "concurrently -k \"node start-claude-server.mjs\" \"next dev\""
  }
}

The -k flag kills all processes when any one exits, giving you clean shutdown behavior.

[damien-schneider]

Ok thanks for the details and the workarounds !!