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Server Components vs Client Components

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Spectacled bear posted this in #help-forum
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Spectacled bearOP
In a large Next.js app using the App Router, how do you decide between Server Components vs Client Components when dealing with complex interactive dashboards?

Example scenario:

Data-heavy dashboard (multiple API calls, filtering, charts)
Authenticated users
Needs fast initial load + smooth client interactions

Tradeoffs I’m running into:

Server Components reduce bundle size but limit interactivity
Client Components increase JS cost but simplify state management
Caching behavior with fetch vs client-side data libraries (like React Query) feels tricky

How do you structure this at scale?

Where do you draw the boundary?
Do you colocate data fetching on the server or shift to client after hydration?
Any patterns that worked well in production?

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