Hoist Static I/O to Module Level
Impact: HIGH (avoids repeated file/network I/O per request)
When loading static assets (fonts, logos, images, config files) in route handlers or server functions, hoist the I/O operation to module level. Module-level code runs once when the module is first imported, not on every request. This eliminates redundant file system reads or network fetches that would otherwise run on every invocation.
Incorrect: reads font file on every request
// app/api/og/route.tsx
import { ImageResponse } from 'next/og'
export async function GET(request: Request) {
// Runs on EVERY request - expensive!
const fontData = await fetch(
new URL('./fonts/Inter.ttf', import.meta.url)
).then(res => res.arrayBuffer())
const logoData = await fetch(
new URL('./images/logo.png', import.meta.url)
).then(res => res.arrayBuffer())
return new ImageResponse(
<div style={{ fontFamily: 'Inter' }}>
<img src={logoData} />
Hello World
</div>,
{ fonts: [{ name: 'Inter', data: fontData }] }
)
}Correct: loads once at module initialization
// app/api/og/route.tsx
import { ImageResponse } from 'next/og'
// Module-level: runs ONCE when module is first imported
const fontData = fetch(
new URL('./fonts/Inter.ttf', import.meta.url)
).then(res => res.arrayBuffer())
const logoData = fetch(
new URL('./images/logo.png', import.meta.url)
).then(res => res.arrayBuffer())
export async function GET(request: Request) {
// Await the already-started promises
const [font, logo] = await Promise.all([fontData, logoData])
return new ImageResponse(
<div style={{ fontFamily: 'Inter' }}>
<img src={logo} />
Hello World
</div>,
{ fonts: [{ name: 'Inter', data: font }] }
)
}Alternative: synchronous file reads with Node.js fs
// app/api/og/route.tsx
import { ImageResponse } from 'next/og'
import { readFileSync } from 'fs'
import { join } from 'path'
// Synchronous read at module level - blocks only during module init
const fontData = readFileSync(
join(process.cwd(), 'public/fonts/Inter.ttf')
)
const logoData = readFileSync(
join(process.cwd(), 'public/images/logo.png')
)
export async function GET(request: Request) {
return new ImageResponse(
<div style={{ fontFamily: 'Inter' }}>
<img src={logoData} />
Hello World
</div>,
{ fonts: [{ name: 'Inter', data: fontData }] }
)
}General Node.js example: loading config or templates
// Incorrect: reads config on every call
export async function processRequest(data: Data) {
const config = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile("./config.json", "utf-8"));
const template = await fs.readFile("./template.html", "utf-8");
return render(template, data, config);
}
// Correct: loads once at module level
const configPromise = fs.readFile("./config.json", "utf-8").then(JSON.parse);
const templatePromise = fs.readFile("./template.html", "utf-8");
export async function processRequest(data: Data) {
const [config, template] = await Promise.all([
configPromise,
templatePromise,
]);
return render(template, data, config);
}When to use this pattern:
- Loading fonts for OG image generation
- Loading static logos, icons, or watermarks
- Reading configuration files that don't change at runtime
- Loading email templates or other static templates
- Any static asset that's the same across all requests
When NOT to use this pattern:
- Assets that vary per request or user
- Files that may change during runtime (use caching with TTL instead)
- Large files that would consume too much memory if kept loaded
- Sensitive data that shouldn't persist in memory
With Vercel's Fluid Compute: Module-level caching is especially effective because multiple concurrent requests share the same function instance. The static assets stay loaded in memory across requests without cold start penalties.
In traditional serverless: Each cold start re-executes module-level code, but subsequent warm invocations reuse the loaded assets until the instance is recycled.