Next.js 16 build fails during prerendering /_global-error with Cannot read properties of null (reading 'useContext') #94667

NikhilBhagoria · 2026-06-10T19:12:03Z

NikhilBhagoria
Jun 10, 2026

Summary

Environment

Next.js: 16.2.9
App Router
Shared Hosting deployment
Webpack build mode

Build Command

NODE_ENV=production npm run build

Error

Error occurred prerendering page "/_global-error".
TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'useContext')
    at C (.next/server/chunks/715.js:9:33183)

Export encountered an error on /_global-error/page: /_global-error
⨯ Next.js build worker exited with code: 1 and signal: null

Additional Warnings

I also get repeated warnings during build:

Each child in a list should have a unique "key" prop.

Check the top-level render call using:
<meta>
<head>
<html>
<script>

Full Build Output

NODE_ENV=production npm run build

> new-nextjs@0.1.0 build
> next build --webpack

⚠ You are using a non-standard "NODE_ENV" value in your environment.

▲ Next.js 16.2.9 (webpack)

Creating an optimized production build ...
✓ Compiled successfully
✓ Finished TypeScript
✓ Collecting page data

Each child in a list should have a unique "key" prop.
...

Error occurred prerendering page "/_global-error"
TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'useContext')

Export encountered an error on /_global-error/page

What I Already Checked

Added "use client" where needed
Using App Router (app/)
Removed some invalid imports
Project compiles successfully before prerendering step

Questions

What commonly causes useContext to become null during prerendering?
Could this be related to providers/layout setup?
Are the repeated "key" warnings connected to the build failure?
Could shared hosting or webpack mode affect this?

Any suggestions or debugging tips would help a lot.

Additional information

No response

Example

No response

Answered by icyJoseph

Jun 10, 2026

Please post back npm run build -- --debug-prerender that'll give us a more detailed print out.

View full answer

icyJoseph · 2026-06-10T19:47:28Z

icyJoseph
Jun 10, 2026
Collaborator

Please post back npm run build -- --debug-prerender that'll give us a more detailed print out.

3 replies

icyJoseph Jun 10, 2026
Collaborator

Also, always good to try out canary, and see if the problem gets fixed on that version, or if the error logging is better.

icyJoseph Jun 10, 2026
Collaborator

And yes, I have some candidates for potential issues, but would like to have some more input from you first.

NikhilBhagoria Jun 11, 2026
Author

Thanks. I'll run npm run build -- --debug-prerender and share the output.

Regarding the version, I've already tested multiple Next.js versions, including the latest release, and I'm seeing the same error across all of them. So far, changing the Next.js version hasn't affected the behavior.

I'll post the debug output shortly.

Provide feedback

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Next.js 16 build fails during prerendering /_global-error with Cannot read properties of null (reading 'useContext') #94667

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NikhilBhagoria Jun 10, 2026

Summary

Environment

Build Command

Error

Additional Warnings

Full Build Output

What I Already Checked

Questions

Additional information

Example

Replies: 1 comment · 3 replies

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icyJoseph Jun 10, 2026 Collaborator

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icyJoseph Jun 10, 2026 Collaborator

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icyJoseph Jun 10, 2026 Collaborator

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NikhilBhagoria Jun 11, 2026 Author

NikhilBhagoria
Jun 10, 2026

Replies: 1 comment 3 replies

icyJoseph
Jun 10, 2026
Collaborator

icyJoseph Jun 10, 2026
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icyJoseph Jun 10, 2026
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NikhilBhagoria Jun 11, 2026
Author