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Handling Dynamic `<h1>` Values in Root Layout While Maintaining Server Component Benefits

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Asiatic Lion posted this in #help-forum
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Asiatic LionOP
Hello everyone,

I’ve previously explored Next.js 13 with the App Router at a learning level, and now I’m diving back in with Next.js 15.

This time, I’m particularly focused on maximizing the use of server components wherever possible.

In my root layout, I have an <h1> tag, and I’d like to dynamically set its value based on input passed from a child component. My initial thought was to use a context to handle this state. However, implementing this approach requires using 'use client', which effectively converts parts of the tree into client components.

This leads to a secondary issue: if the page.js file becomes a client component, I lose the ability to use export const metadata for defining metadata, which is a server component-specific feature.

Here’s a simplified example of what my root layout looks like:

export default function RootLayout({ children }) {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>?????</h1>
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}


I’d like to know:
1. Is there a way to pass data from child components to dynamically update the <h1> in the root layout while keeping it a server component?
2. If not, what would be the best practice to handle this scenario in Next.js 15 without losing access to metadata or sacrificing performance?

Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Answered by B33fb0n3
thanks for clarifying. For the static pages like /Post or /Categorie you can just define the h1 with the text in it.

For the ones that are dynamic like /Categories/Cat/[name] you can await the api response and then put it inside your h1.

Everything is on serverside. BUT everything is inside your page.tsx. The layout exists to lay-out your app. At also have some performance improvements.

Inside your page.tsx it could look like this:
export default async function Page() {
  const data = await fetch('https://yourapi.com/endpoint')
  const yourData = await data.json()
  return (
    <h1>{yourData.title}<h1/>
    // ... more
  )
}
View full answer

11 Replies

@Asiatic Lion Hello everyone, I’ve previously explored Next.js 13 with the App Router at a learning level, and now I’m diving back in with Next.js 15. This time, I’m particularly focused on maximizing the use of **server components** wherever possible. In my root layout, I have an `<h1>` tag, and I’d like to dynamically set its value based on input passed from a child component. My initial thought was to use a `context` to handle this state. However, implementing this approach requires using `'use client'`, which effectively converts parts of the tree into client components. This leads to a secondary issue: if the `page.js` file becomes a client component, I lose the ability to use `export const metadata` for defining metadata, which is a server component-specific feature. Here’s a simplified example of what my root layout looks like: js export default function RootLayout({ children }) { return ( <div> <h1>?????</h1> {children} </div> ); } I’d like to know: 1. Is there a way to pass data from child components to dynamically update the `<h1>` in the root layout while keeping it a server component? 2. If not, what would be the best practice to handle this scenario in Next.js 15 without losing access to metadata or sacrificing performance? Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
B33fb0n3
Is there a way to pass data from child components to dynamically update the <h1> in the root layout while keeping it a server component?
the server does not have many states, but you may use the query params or the dynamic route params. Both are fine depending on your use case.

If not, what would be the best practice to handle this scenario in Next.js 15 without losing access to metadata or sacrificing performance?
Normally you would split the clientside stuff into an extra component and import the client component into the server component (layout.tsx). Like that the layout and it's children stays serverside and the specific client component is a client component
@B33fb0n3 > Is there a way to pass data from child components to dynamically update the <h1> in the root layout while keeping it a server component? the server does not have many states, but you may use the query params or the dynamic route params. Both are fine depending on your use case. > If not, what would be the best practice to handle this scenario in Next.js 15 without losing access to metadata or sacrificing performance? Normally you would split the clientside stuff into an extra component and import the client component into the server component (layout.tsx). Like that the layout and it's children stays serverside and the specific client component is a client component
Asiatic LionOP
Thank you for your response.

From what I understand, the intention behind your suggestion is to avoid creating a state variable in the layout itself while maintaining the layout as a server component. This is achieved by introducing a client component to handle the state variable for the <h1>.

However, I would also like to keep page.js as a server component. To set the state variable for the <h1>, it seems that introducing a client component becomes unavoidable.

What I feel is that components should primarily exist for design purposes. But in this scenario, a component is created solely to act as a context for updating the <h1> value.

This approach feels more like a workaround rather than a clean design. Is this an inevitable choice to maintain the server component architecture?
Asiatic LionOP
Thank you for your prompt response.

As I am not a native English speaker, I am using GPT to translate my messages. I strive to convey the content accurately, but please keep in mind that there might occasionally be mistakes.

My goal is to retain the server components while displaying a unique page title for each page within the layout.

### Scenario
- All pages share the same header and title styles (declared in the layout design).
- However, the text of the title varies for each page (declared in the page data).

I believe this should be achievable without converting server components to client components for something so minor. (Why can't we retrieve the title already defined in the page's metadata during the SSR stage?)
Asiatic LionOP
When accessing /Post, the page should display <h1>포스트(Korean)</h1>.
When accessing /Categories, it should display <h1>카테고리 (Korean)</h1>.

For /Categories/Cat, the page should display <h1>고양이 (Korean)</h1>.
For /Categories/Cat/[name], it should display <h1>[form the api data]</h1>.

This is the scenario I’m envisioning.
The root layout includes <h1>{title}</h1>, and each page.js file either has metadata defined or generates it dynamically.
@Asiatic Lion When accessing /Post, the page should display <h1>포스트(Korean)</h1>. When accessing /Categories, it should display <h1>카테고리 (Korean)</h1>. For /Categories/Cat, the page should display <h1>고양이 (Korean)</h1>. For /Categories/Cat/[name], it should display <h1>[form the api data]</h1>. This is the scenario I’m envisioning. The root layout includes <h1>{title}</h1>, and each page.js file either has metadata defined or generates it dynamically.
B33fb0n3
thanks for clarifying. For the static pages like /Post or /Categorie you can just define the h1 with the text in it.

For the ones that are dynamic like /Categories/Cat/[name] you can await the api response and then put it inside your h1.

Everything is on serverside. BUT everything is inside your page.tsx. The layout exists to lay-out your app. At also have some performance improvements.

Inside your page.tsx it could look like this:
export default async function Page() {
  const data = await fetch('https://yourapi.com/endpoint')
  const yourData = await data.json()
  return (
    <h1>{yourData.title}<h1/>
    // ... more
  )
}
Answer
Asiatic LionOP
My intention is to define the <h1> in the RootLayout to avoid duplication, as it needs to appear on every page.

I understand how to achieve the design I want, but I am looking for a way to minimize duplication while still maintaining server components.

It feels like the design I am trying to implement isn't directly supported by Next.js' structure.
@Asiatic Lion My intention is to define the <h1> in the RootLayout to avoid duplication, as it needs to appear on every page. I understand how to achieve the design I want, but I am looking for a way to minimize duplication while still maintaining server components. It feels like the design I am trying to implement isn't directly supported by Next.js' structure.
B33fb0n3
it is completly supported from nextjs and it's not a duplication as the title is different everytime. For me a duplication is something, that is repeated and stays the same. That's not the case here.

Of course you should put your data fetching method method inside a function, to call the same function inside your generateMetadata without redudant code
Asiatic LionOP
Thank you for your prompt response.

Thanks to your answer, my doubts have been somewhat resolved.

I truly appreciate it once again.
B33fb0n3
sure thing