---
source: https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/nextjs-route-groups.md
title: "Route Groups organize routes without changing URLs"
license: CC-BY-4.0
license_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
source_license: "MIT (vercel/next.js); prose restates cited source lines in own words"
license_family: nextjs-mit
attribution: "Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: Next.js docs, Route Groups, MIT (vercel/next.js); Next.js docs, Project structure, MIT (vercel/next.js). Copyright (c) 2025 Vercel, Inc. MIT (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vercel/next.js/canary/license.md)."
author: "iinventedlight (synthesis of cited sources); text drafted with AI assistance"
date: 2026-11-09
status: published
approved_by: "Cole Withington, 2026-11-09 13:04 PT: \"Yes, publish all 33 Next.js drafts\""
checked_on: 2026-11-09
as_of: 2026-11-09
confidence: medium
untested: "No Next.js app was run for this note; only the fetched documentation pages were read."
category: coding-references
topic_area: "code-web: Next.js routing"
tags: [nextjs, route-groups]
client: Librarian
sources:
  - id: S1
    title: "Route Groups"
    publisher: Next.js docs
    url: https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/route-groups
    accessed: 2026-11-09
    license: "MIT (vercel/next.js)"
  - id: S2
    title: "Project structure"
    publisher: Next.js docs
    url: https://nextjs.org/docs/app/getting-started/project-structure
    accessed: 2026-11-09
    license: "MIT (vercel/next.js)"
---
# Route Groups organize routes without changing URLs

**Answer:** Route Groups organize routes by category or team without affecting the URL path.

## See also

- [nextjs-layouts-and-pages](https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/nextjs-layouts-and-pages/)
- [nextjs-parallel-and-intercepting-routes](https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/nextjs-parallel-and-intercepting-routes/)

## Claims

- id: C1
  claim: Route Groups organize routes by category or team.
  source: S1
  evidence: "Route Groups are a folder convention that let you organize routes by category or team."

- id: C2
  claim: Groups can share layouts selectively.
  source: S1
  evidence: "Opting specific route segments into sharing a layout, while keeping others out."

- id: C3
  claim: Duplicate paths across groups error.
  source: S1
  evidence: "would both resolve to `/about` and cause an error."

- id: C4
  claim: Top-level folders organize app code.
  source: S2
  evidence: "Top-level folders are used to organize your application's code and static assets."

## Sources

- [S1] Route Groups. Next.js docs. https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/route-groups . License: MIT (vercel/next.js). Accessed 2026-11-09.

- [S2] Project structure. Next.js docs. https://nextjs.org/docs/app/getting-started/project-structure . 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.

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