Client-side navigation fails when server component uses redirect() with Middleware/Proxy in production build

[stkimmoyo]

Link to the code that reproduces this issue

https://github.com/stkimmoyo/next-16-redirect-issue

To Reproduce

1. Clone the repository and install dependencies
2. Run npm run build then npm run start
3. Navigate to http://localhost:3000/my-start
4. Click the "Go to Internal Redirect Page" link
5. Observe the page fails to render (blank page or error)

Note: The issue does NOT occur in development mode (npm run dev).
Note: Direct URL access works correctly, only client-side navigation via Link fails.

src/proxy.ts (Middleware/Proxy):

export function proxy(request: NextRequest) {
  const url = new URL(request.url);
  if (!url.searchParams.has("proxy-params")) {
    url.searchParams.set("proxy-params", "my-proxy");
    return NextResponse.redirect(url.toString());
  }
  return NextResponse.next();
}

src/app/my-startpage.tsx (Server Component):

import Link from "next/link";

export default function MyStartPage() {
  return (
    <div>
        <Link href="/my-internal-redirect">
          Go to Internal Redirect Page →
        </Link>
    </div>
  );
}

src/app/my-internal-redirect/page.tsx (Server Component):

export default async function MyInternalRedirectPage({ searchParams }: Props) {
  const params = await searchParams;
  if (!params["internal-params"]) {
    currentParams.set("internal-params", "my-params");
    redirect(`/my-internal-redirect?${currentParams.toString()}`);
  }
  return <div>...</div>;
}

Current vs. Expected behavior

Current behavior:
When clicking a Link to navigate from /my-start to /my-internal-redirect in production build, the page fails to render. The client-side navigation appears to break when handling multiple redirects (one from Middleware/Proxy and one from Server Component's redirect()).

Expected behavior:
The page should render correctly after both redirects complete:

1. Middleware/Proxy adds proxy-params=my-proxy
2. Server Component adds internal-params=my-params
3. Final URL: /my-internal-redirect?proxy-params=my-proxy&internal-params=my-params
4. Page renders successfully showing the params

Provide environment information

Operating System:
  MacOs 26.1
Binaries:
  Node: 22.17.1
  npm: 10.9.2
Relevant Packages:
  next: 16.0.10
  react: 19.2.1
  react-dom: 19.2.1
Next.js Config:
  output: N/A & standalone

Which area(s) are affected? (Select all that apply)

Linking and Navigating, Redirects, Middleware

Which stage(s) are affected? (Select all that apply)

next build (local), next start (local)

Additional context

Summary

Client-side navigation (via <Link>) fails when:

1. Middleware/Proxy performs a redirect to add query params
2. Server Component also performs a redirect() to add different query params

Browser Console Error:

Throttling navigation to prevent the browser from hanging. See . Command line switch --disable-ipc-flooding-protection can be used to bypass the protection

Key observations:

• ✅ Works in npm run dev (development mode)
• ✅ Works with direct URL access (full page load)
• ✅ Works with client-side hard navigation via Link in production build
• ❌ Fails only with client-side navigation via Link(include prefetch) in production build

Workaround:

Using prefetch={false} on the Link component works around the issue:

Real-world Use Case & Migration Context

Business Requirements:

1. Middleware/Proxy: Needs to maintain common search params across all pages
2. (e.g., tracking params, session identifiers, feature flags)
3. Specific Pages: Some pages need to initialize their own search params on first visit
4. (e.g., default filters, page-specific state)

This is a common pattern where:

• Middleware/Proxy handles global/shared query params
• Individual pages handle page-specific query params

Migration Context:

• This issue was discovered during migration from Next.js 14 to Next.js 16
• The same code pattern worked correctly in Next.js 14
• After upgrading to Next.js 16, multiple redirects causes infinite loop

[Aryan-Jadon18]

Hi, thanks for the details. I’d like to work on this issue.
Could you please assign it to me, or let me know if there are any prerequisites I should be aware of?

[airdrop6161]

Thanks for the discussion here.
This was helpful to read and understand the issue better.
Appreciate the work on this project.