next-plugin-open-browser

Automatically open browser when Next.js dev server starts.

This plugin works with webpack only.

Installation

npm install --save-dev next-plugin-open-browser

Usage

Add the plugin to your next.config.ts:

import type { NextConfig } from "next";
import { OpenBrowserPlugin } from "next-plugin-open-browser";

const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
  webpack: (config, { dev, isServer }) => {
    // only applies in dev mode
    if (dev && !isServer) {
      config.plugins.push(new OpenBrowserPlugin());
    }
    return config;
  },
};

export default nextConfig;

Start your dev server:

npm run dev

Your default browser will automatically open to http://localhost:3000

Screen.Recording.2025-11-29.at.10.19.50.mov

Configuration

You can pass options to customize the behavior:

new OpenBrowserPlugin({
  port: 3000,           // custom port (default: process.env.PORT or 3000)
  path: '/',            // custom path (default: '/')
  browser: 'chrome',    // specific browser (default: system default)
  background: true     // open in background without focus (default: false)
})

Supported Browsers

The plugin automatically handles browser names across different operating systems:

• Chrome: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Firefox: Cross-platform support
• Edge: Windows and macOS
• Brave: Cross-platform support
• Browser: Uses system default browser

Development

Commands for maintainers:

pnpm install
pnpm build
pnpm test
pnpm playground

License

MIT