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Answer: Proxy (renamed from Middleware in Next.js 16) runs code before a request completes. Use matcher to limit which paths it runs on.

See also

• nextjs-internationalization
• nextjs-cookies-and-headers

Claims

• id: C1 claim: Middleware was renamed to Proxy. source: S1 evidence: "Middleware is now called Proxy to better reflect its purpose."

• id: C2 claim: Proxy runs before a request completes. source: S1 evidence: "Proxy allows you to run code before a request is completed."

• id: C3 claim: middleware file convention renamed to proxy. source: S2 evidence: "middleware file convention is deprecated and has been renamed to"

• id: C4 claim: Matcher targets specific Proxy paths. source: S2 evidence: "The matcher option allows you to target specific paths for the Proxy to run on."

Sources

• [S1] Proxy. Next.js docs. https://nextjs.org/docs/app/getting-started/proxy . License: MIT (vercel/next.js). Accessed 2026-11-09.

• [S2] proxy.js. Next.js docs. https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/proxy . License: MIT (vercel/next.js). Accessed 2026-11-09.

License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Copyright (c) 2025 Vercel, Inc. Sources: Next.js docs (vercel/next.js on GitHub / nextjs.org), MIT (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vercel/next.js/canary/license.md). Text was condensed and changed from the originals.

@misc{iil_note_3ttqfa8x,
  author = {{iinventedlight}},
  title = {{Proxy (formerly Middleware) before the request}},
  howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-11-09},
  url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/nextjs-proxy/},
  note = {Permanent ID iil:note:3ttqfa8x. License: CC-BY-4.0.},
}

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