Server actions regression in 14.2.8: “Failed to find Server Action”

[controversial]

When multiple components import from the same actions.ts file, server actions are missing/broken in the final build.

As seen in the attached repository, the structure I found which reliably reproduces this issue is as follows:

• actions.ts (marked with 'use server') exports two server actions.
• a page.tsx imports action1
• this page also renders a child component, which imports action2 from the same file.

If page.tsx calls action1, the action will return undefined (instead of its real return value) and a “failed to find Server Action” error will appear in the server console:

Link to the code that reproduces this issue

https://github.com/controversial/next-server-actions-regression-repro

To Reproduce

Clone the included repository, then

1. bun install
2. bunx next build && bunx next start
3. visit localhost:3000/my-page

Current vs. Expected behavior

Current behavior (next@canary and next@14.2.8)

• Server console shows:

  Error: Failed to find Server Action "84eb9c473d392e3d69c580b53ac4d200bdc426c8". This request might be from an older or newer deployment. Original error: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'workers')
      ...
  

• browser console shows: action1 returned: undefined

i.e. the server action is missing / broken

Expected behavior (next <= 14.2.7)

• Server console shows no error when calling action1
• Browser console shows action1 returned: {hello: 'world'}

i.e., all of the server actions that are imported from actions.ts get hooked up properly.

you can see this behavior by downgrading next to 14.2.7 within the included repro repository.

Provide environment information

Operating System:
  Platform: darwin
  Arch: arm64
  Version: Darwin Kernel Version 24.1.0: Fri Aug 16 19:18:30 PDT 2024; root:xnu-11215.40.42~4/RELEASE_ARM64_T6000
  Available memory (MB): 16384
  Available CPU cores: 10
Binaries:
  Node: 22.7.0
  npm: 10.8.2
  Yarn: 1.22.22
  pnpm: N/A
Relevant Packages:
  next: 14.2.8 // Latest available version is detected (14.2.8).
  eslint-config-next: N/A
  react: 18.3.1
  react-dom: 18.3.1
  typescript: 5.5.4
Next.js Config:
  output: N/A

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

Server actions, runtime, vercel deployments, app router

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

next build (local), next start (local), Vercel (Deployed)

Additional context

• This error also exists with the current next@canary (141)
  • I made the repro using 14.2.8 to show that the current “stable” version includes this regression, but you can change the package versions to observe that canary is broken but 14.2.7 is not.
• This regression in server actions is affecting our production app on Vercel.
• There are no issues in the dev server, only after a production build.
• This regression was introduced in Apply optimization for unused actions #69178
  • Based on debugging the webpack plugin, it seems like webpack’s own moduleGraph.getOutgoingConnections() may be returning incomplete/incorrect information inside connection.dependency.ids

[controversial]

Anecdotally affecting a few other people at the bottom of #58431

[mikestonecodes]

I just ran into this issue as well.

[davidaragundy]

Same issue here, was working well with 14.2.7.

I have an actions/index.ts file where I export all my actions.

[alexOS-dev]

I encountered the same issue, which was working fine with 14.2.7. After some investigation, I found a solution by changing the way I export server actions in my index.ts file.

Before:

index.ts

export * from './user/create-user';
export * from './auth/login';

After:

index.ts

export { createUser } from './user/create-user';
export { authenticate, login } from './auth/login';

The wildcard export (export *) seemed to cause problems with server actions, but explicitly naming the exports resolved the issue. This way, I was able to maintain the imports like this:

import { authenticate, login } from '@actions';

without having to reference the full path to the server action.

I hope this helps anyone facing a similar problem!

Note. My directory structure looks something like this:

.
└── src/
    ├── actions/
    │   ├── user/
    │   │   └── create-user.ts
    │   ├── auth/
    │   │   └── login.ts
    │   └── index.ts
    └── app/
        └── auth/
            └── login/page.tsx

[controversial]

Unfortunately, the reproduction I linked doesn't involve wildcard exports, so I don't think every case can be worked around by just avoiding wildcard exports.

[adelrodriguez]

I also ran into this issue, and I could reproduce it consistently by exporting server actions from a barrel file in the same way that @alexOS-dev mentioned. I'm thinking this might be related to this fix? #69178

[huozhi]

Folks, we had a fix in patch release 14.2.9, please upgrade and let us know if it fixed for you 🙏

[WoetDev]

@huozhi I've upgraded to version 14.2.9, but still receiving this error which seems related to this issue, the server action I'm using is structured as in https://sdk.vercel.ai/examples/next-app/assistants/stream-assistant-responses.

When downgrading to v14.2.7, I'm not receiving this error.

I'm not sure if this is related to the ai package, or a change in next, when I upgrade either one of those, the AI functionality in my production app breaks.

I've logged a ticket on the ai package: vercel/ai#2948

Reproduction can be found here: https://github.com/WoetDev/bug-next-ai-sdk

[janvennemann]

@huozhi @WoetDev Here is a CodeSandbox reproduction case based on the Save and Restore AI State example.

Just enter a message and hit "Send Message" and the error is shown. Downgrading to Nextjs v14.2.7 fixes the issue.

[huozhi]

@WoetDev thanks fore reporting, we'll look into that specific case, as usually the function in "use server" module should be async actions, but AI is a component, not a valid server action. The analysis only found AI but not submitMessage.

A workaround would be having a new file for AI component itself, then import AI into your layout.

import { createAI, } from "ai/rsc";
import { submitMessage } from "./actions";
export const AI = createAI({
  actions: {
    submitMessage,
  },
});

This way make sure submitMessage is used.

[ezeparziale]

I encountered the same issue, which was working fine with 14.2.7. After some investigation, I found a solution by changing the way I export server actions in my index.ts file.

Before:

index.ts

export * from './user/create-user';
export * from './auth/login';

After:

index.ts

export { createUser } from './user/create-user';
export { authenticate, login } from './auth/login';

The wildcard export (export *) seemed to cause problems with server actions, but explicitly naming the exports resolved the issue. This way, I was able to maintain the imports like this:

import { authenticate, login } from '@actions';

without having to reference the full path to the server action.

I hope this helps anyone facing a similar problem!

Note. My directory structure looks something like this:

.
└── src/
    ├── actions/
    │   ├── user/
    │   │   └── create-user.ts
    │   ├── auth/
    │   │   └── login.ts
    │   └── index.ts
    └── app/
        └── auth/
            └── login/page.tsx

I was having issues, but I tried this solution, and now all the server actions work with version 14.2.9. A bit strange behavior, as with version 14.2.7, everything was working fine with the export * from './file'.

Does anyone know the reason why? Or is it just an issue?

[WebDevTrop]

Just ran into this issue too. Had a server action exported (also with the 'use server' at the top of the function) with 'use server' at the top of the file. Reverting to 14.2.7 fixed this issue.

The server action was imported into a server component and then passed down to a client component via props.

[BlakeHastings]

I'm facing the same issue. Each of my server actions are their own file and I centralize them with a _module.ts which I import:

That way I can import them however needed from one file:

I'm getting this in the console:
Error: Failed to find Server Action "f64d873775c513ae3c50af1469c9c00d76b735cf". This request might be from an older or newer deployment. Original error: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'workers')

[huozhi]

We released v14.2.10 with the fix, could you upgrade to the latest version and verify if that fixed for you? 🙏 Thanks

[ezeparziale]

Server actions work well in 14.2.10 and 14.2.11.

[luskin]

This error is still present in next@15.0.0-canary.158 in production builds only. No issues in dev server.

[huozhi]

@luskin can you file a new issue with your reproduction?

[BleedingDev]

@luskin can you file a new issue with your reproduction?

Fixed in Next.js canary.163 with React 19.0.0-rc-5d19e1c8-20240923. Had this problem on canary.160.

[github-actions]

This closed issue has been automatically locked because it had no new activity for 2 weeks. If you are running into a similar issue, please create a new issue with the steps to reproduce. Thank you.