vercel/next.js · error · Error

Route ${workStore.route} used `unstable_prefetch()`, which r

Error message

Route ${workStore.route} used `unstable_prefetch()`, which requires Cache Components to be enabled. Learn more: https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/cacheComponents

What it means

Error "Route ${workStore.route} used `unstable_prefetch()`, which requires Cache Components to be enabled. Learn more: https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/cacheComponents" thrown in vercel/next.js.

Source

Thrown at packages/next/src/server/request/cache-stages.ts:37

 * a prefetch (i.e. when using `<Link prefetch={true}>`) or a navigation.
 *
 * It has no effect during static prerendering — static output is computed
 * once and shared across many clients, so there's no per-request cost to
 * save — and no effect on the initial load of a page.
 *
 * Unlike `connection()`, it does not mark the subtree as request-dependent —
 * content below `await unstable_prefetch()` remains fully cacheable.
 */
export function unstable_prefetch(): Promise<void> {
  const workStore = workAsyncStorage.getStore()
  const workUnitStore = workUnitAsyncStorage.getStore()

  if (!workStore || !workUnitStore) {
    const callingExpression = 'unstable_prefetch'
    throwForMissingRequestStore(callingExpression)
  }
  if (!process.env.__NEXT_CACHE_COMPONENTS) {
    throw new Error(
      `Route ${workStore.route} used \`unstable_prefetch()\`, which requires Cache Components to be enabled. Learn more: https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/cacheComponents`
    )
  }

  if (!isRequestApiAllowedInCurrentPhase(workUnitStore)) {
    throw new Error(
      `Route ${workStore.route} used \`unstable_prefetch()\` inside \`after()\` while rendering. The \`unstable_prefetch()\` function is used to indicate the subsequent code must not run in the app shell, but \`after()\` executes after the request, so this function is not allowed in this scope. See more info here: https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/functions/after`
    )
  }

  switch (workUnitStore.type) {
    case 'prerender': {
      // Content below `prefetch()` is excluded from the shell, but it's
      // deliberately included in the static output (and thus in static
      // prefetches), so we only delay it until the static prefetch stage.
      const { stagedRendering } = workUnitStore
      if (!stagedRendering) {
        // Prospective prerender

View on GitHub (pinned to 258b1c1bc0)

Solutions

1. Enable Cache Components by setting experimental.cacheComponents: true in next.config.js (the __NEXT_CACHE_COMPONENTS flag this guard checks)
2. Remove the unstable_prefetch() call from the route
3. If you only need to defer work out of the app shell, check whether the cacheComponents-less alternative connection() fits, or upgrade to a configuration that supports prefetching

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/next/src/server/request/cache-stages.ts:36 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of vercel/next.js@258b1c1bc0 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/25d92af49ee7f2bb. Report an issue: GitHub.