Link to the code that reproduces this issuehttps://github.com/MkeyhaniM/nextjs-apache-deplay-issue To Reproduce- Set up an Apache server with WordPress at the root (https://example.com/) and Next.js proxied under a subfolder (https://example.com/projects/tickets).
- Build the Next.js app with:
npm run buildnpm run start
- Access the Next.js app at:
https://example.com/projects/tickets - Observe that:
The page HTML renders. Requests to /_next/static/... return responses, but the content is incorrect (HTML instead of CSS/JS). As a result, styles are not applied and the page renders unstyled. - Navigate to a non-existent route (e.g.https://example.com/projects/tickets/does-not-exist) and note that the Next.js 404 page does load styles correctly.
Notes Screenshots can be added showing the browser console with 404s or incorrect asset responses. Syntax highlighting for code blocks should be set to apache for VirtualHost config and bash for commands. Current vs. Expected behaviorNext.js styles and static assets fail to load when deployed under Apache subfolder with WordPress root Description I am deploying a Next.js application alongside WordPress on the same Apache server. WordPress runs at the root domain (https://example.com/), and Next.js is mounted under a subfolder (https://example.com/projects/tickets). In production, the Next.js pages render but CSS styles do not load at all. The browser downloads the files, but they contain incorrect content (often HTML from WordPress). As a result, the page renders completely unstyled Interestingly, the Next.js 404 page loads styles correctly, which suggests the issue is related to Apache rewriting and not the Next.js build itself. Steps to Reproduce - Configure Apache VirtualHost with WordPress at root and Next.js proxied under
/projects/tickets. - Build Next.js with
npm run build and run withnpm run start. - Access
https://example.com/projects/tickets - Observe that CSS/JS files under
/_next/static/... are downloaded but styles are not applied.
Current vs Expected Behavior - Current: Assets are downloaded but contain incorrect content (HTML instead of CSS/JS). Styles are not applied, so the page renders unstyled.
- Expected: Assets should be served correctly from Next.js and styles should load and apply to the page.
Apache Configuration Here is the exact VirtualHost configuration I am using (with domain anonymized to example.com): <VirtualHost 192.0.2.10:80> SuexecUserGroup "#1000" "#1000" ServerName example.com ServerAlias www.example.com mail.example.com webmail.example.com admin.example.com DocumentRoot /home/example/public_html ProxyPreserveHost On ProxyRequests Off ProxyPass /projects/tickets/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/ ProxyPassReverse /projects/tickets/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/ ProxyPass /_next/static/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/_next/static/ ProxyPassReverse /_next/static/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/_next/static/ ProxyPass /fonts/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/fonts/ ProxyPassReverse /fonts/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/fonts/ ProxyPass /_next/image/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/_next/image/ ProxyPassReverse /_next/image/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/_next/image/ ProxyPass /opus-recorder/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/opus-recorder/ ProxyPassReverse /opus-recorder/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/opus-recorder/ RequestHeader set X-Forwarded-Proto "https" RequestHeader set X-Forwarded-Port "443" ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/example-error.log CustomLog /var/log/apache2/example-access.log combined DirectoryIndex index.php index.html <Directory /home/example/public_html> Options -Indexes +IncludesNOEXEC +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch Require all granted AllowOverride All </Directory></VirtualHost><VirtualHost 192.0.2.10:443> SuexecUserGroup "#1000" "#1000" ServerName example.com ServerAlias www.example.com mail.example.com webmail.example.com admin.example.com DocumentRoot /home/example/public_html ProxyPreserveHost On ProxyRequests Off ProxyPass /projects/tickets/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/ ProxyPassReverse /projects/tickets/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/ ProxyPass /_next/static/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/_next/static/ ProxyPassReverse /_next/static/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/_next/static/ ProxyPass /fonts/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/fonts/ ProxyPassReverse /fonts/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/fonts/ ProxyPass /_next/image/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/_next/image/ ProxyPassReverse /_next/image/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/_next/image/ ProxyPass /opus-recorder/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/opus-recorder/ ProxyPassReverse /opus-recorder/ http://127.0.0.1:3000/opus-recorder/ RequestHeader set X-Forwarded-Proto "https" RequestHeader set X-Forwarded-Port "443" ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/example-error.log CustomLog /var/log/apache2/example-access.log combined SSLEngine on SSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/example/ssl.cert SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/example/ssl.key SSLCACertificateFile /etc/ssl/example/ssl.ca</VirtualHost>
Additional Observations The issue does not occur when running Next.js alone (without Apache/WordPress). The issue does not occur on Netlify or Vercel. Adding [NE] flag to RewriteRule helps with percent-encoded dynamic routes (%5Bid%5D), but CSS/JS styles still fail under subfolder deployment. I cannot use basePath in next.config.js due to multi-project constraints. Question: Is there a recommended configuration for running Next.js under a subfolder with Apache (while WordPress is at root)? How can I ensure that /_next/static/... assets are proxied correctly and styles are applied, instead of being intercepted by DocumentRoot?  Provide environment informationOperating System: Platform: linux Arch: x64 Version: Ubuntu (Cloudways stack)Binaries: Node: 24.0.2 npm: 11.0.2 Yarn: not installed pnpm: not installedRelevant Packages: next: 15.5.7 eslint-config-next: N/A react: ^19.0.0 react-dom: ^19.0.0 Which area(s) are affected? (Select all that apply)CSS Which stage(s) are affected? (Select all that apply)Other (Deployed) Additional contextThe application is deployed on Cloudways (Ubuntu stack) with Apache + Nginx. WordPress runs at the root domain (https://example.com/), and Next.js is proxied under a subfolder (https://example.com/projects/tickets). The issue only occurs in production when served through Apache/Nginx. On Netlify and Vercel, the same build works correctly (styles load as expected). Locally (npm run dev and npm run start), everything works fine. The problem is reproducible across browsers (tested on Chrome and Firefox latest). In the Network tab, CSS files are requested and downloaded successfully, and in the rendered HTML all tags for styles are present. However, styles are not applied to the page. Adding [NE] flag to RewriteRule fixes percent-encoded dynamic routes (%5Bid%5D), but does not solve the CSS/JS style issue. I cannot use basePath in next.config.js due to multi-project constraints. |