How we migrated from CRA to Next.js AppRouter in 5 pull requests

Description and use

Migrated a CRA project to Next.js AppRouter in five pull requests, preserving functionality and improving performance.

Problem

Migrating a large Create‑React‑App (CRA) project to Next.js AppRouter while minimizing disruption.

Outcome

The migration was completed in five pull requests, preserving functionality and improving performance with server‑side rendering.

Workflow

• 1. Created a new Next.js 13 project and added the existing CRA source files.
• 2. Moved pages into the app directory and replaced React Router with AppRouter routes.
• 3. Updated API calls to use Next.js API routes and removed client‑side fetch logic.
• 4. Adjusted build scripts and environment variables for Next.js.
• 5. Ran tests, fixed remaining issues, and merged the changes into production.

Evidence

We migrated from CRA to Next.js AppRouter in 5 pull requests

Source