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Tolerim
22 days ago

What is the method for determining whether a chrome extension's service worker is performing client-side or server-side rendering?

The website I am targeting uses Next.js and the next/link or <Link> component for client-side navigation between routes. However, I am unable to see any of the pre-bundled source code. The page content is obtained through a private API, and the URL is updated through the url object. My goal is to determine if the page is being rendered through server-side rendering (e.g. by clicking refresh or entering the URL in the browser bar) or client-side rendering (by navigating between routes). I need to pass messages between the content script of my chrome extension and the service worker, indicating which type of rendering occurred. My current attempts involve using the window.onload event and chrome.tabs.onUpdated listener in the service worker, as well as chrome.webNavigation.onHistoryStateUpdated listener and await chrome.tabs.sendMessage method for detecting client-side rendering. None of these approaches have provided a suitable solution thus far. I welcome any suggestions for a more effective and elegant solution.
Answers(2)
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Vogi
21 days ago
Verified Answer
It seems like you are trying to determine whether a Next.js page is being rendered through server-side rendering or client-side rendering. One way to do this is by checking if the page was rendered on the server-side or client-side. According to StackOverflow, you can find out if the page is currently executed on the server by checking for the req attribute inside getInitialProps. Another way is to check if the data is retrieved via an /api/ route. If so, it is always fetched on the client side and never used for server-side rendering. If the user then navigates to a different page, all the components to display the page are already available in the browser, then only getServerSideProps is run on the server and the data is sent to the client, which then renders the React components directly into the DOM with this data. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Sources

How does server side rendering really work in Next.js?Next.js Server-Side Rendering Practical Example - DailyDev.ioHow does Next JS server side rendering works when result hits client?Nextjs check if initial render was done on server sideNext.js: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet To Page Rendering
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Tolerim
22 days ago
It sounds like you are trying to figure out whether your code is being loaded during server-side rendering or client-side rendering in a Next.js app. One approach to achieving this is by checking for the existence of certain global objects or properties that are only available during client-side rendering. Here's an example: 
const isClientSideRendering = () => {
  return typeof window !== 'undefined' && typeof document !== 'undefined';
};

if (isClientSideRendering()) {
  // Code here will only run during client-side rendering
} else {
  // Code here will only run during server-side rendering
}
In this example, we check for the existence of the window and document objects, which are only available during client-side rendering. If they exist, we assume that the code is being loaded during client-side rendering and execute the corresponding code block. Otherwise, we assume that the code is being loaded during server-side rendering and execute the other code block. Note that this approach may not work in all cases, as there may be other factors that affect whether your code is being loaded during server-side or client-side rendering. Nonetheless, it's a common approach that can be useful in many situations.
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