Using CSS-in-JS in Next.js – Style Registries, Streaming Support, and Concurrent Rendering

Introduction

CSS-in-JS libraries let you define styles directly inside your React components. In Next.js, using these libraries with Server Components and streaming requires compatibility with React 18’s concurrent rendering model.

Supported Libraries

The following libraries are supported in Client Components within the app directory:

ant-design
chakra-ui
@fluentui/react-components
kuma-ui
@mui/material
@mui/joy
pandacss
styled-jsx
styled-components
stylex
tamagui
tss-react
vanilla-extract

emotion is currently working on support.

Three-Step Configuration

To use CSS-in-JS with Server Components and streaming, follow these steps:

Create a style registry to collect styles during rendering
Use useServerInsertedHTML to inject styles before content
Wrap your app with the registry in a top-level Client Component

Using styled-jsx

Step 1: Create the registry

// app/registry.tsx
'use client'

import React, { useState } from 'react'
import { useServerInsertedHTML } from 'next/navigation'
import { StyleRegistry, createStyleRegistry } from 'styled-jsx'

export default function StyledJsxRegistry({ children }) {
  const [jsxStyleRegistry] = useState(() => createStyleRegistry())

  useServerInsertedHTML(() => {
    const styles = jsxStyleRegistry.styles()
    jsxStyleRegistry.flush()
    return <>{styles}</>
  })

  return <StyleRegistry registry={jsxStyleRegistry}>{children}</StyleRegistry>
}

Step 2: Wrap your layout

// app/layout.tsx
import StyledJsxRegistry from './registry'

export default function RootLayout({ children }) {
  return (
    <html>
      <body>
        <StyledJsxRegistry>{children}</StyledJsxRegistry>
      </body>
    </html>
  )
}

Using styled-components

Step 1: Enable in next.config.js

// next.config.js
module.exports = {
  compiler: {
    styledComponents: true,
  },
}

Step 2: Create the registry

// lib/registry.tsx
'use client'

import React, { useState } from 'react'
import { useServerInsertedHTML } from 'next/navigation'
import { ServerStyleSheet, StyleSheetManager } from 'styled-components'

export default function StyledComponentsRegistry({ children }) {
  const [styledComponentsStyleSheet] = useState(() => new ServerStyleSheet())

  useServerInsertedHTML(() => {
    const styles = styledComponentsStyleSheet.getStyleElement()
    styledComponentsStyleSheet.instance.clearTag()
    return <>{styles}</>
  })

  if (typeof window !== 'undefined') return <>{children}</>

  return (
    <StyleSheetManager sheet={styledComponentsStyleSheet.instance}>
      {children}
    </StyleSheetManager>
  )
}

Step 3: Wrap your layout

// app/layout.tsx
import StyledComponentsRegistry from './lib/registry'

export default function RootLayout({ children }) {
  return (
    <html>
      <body>
        <StyledComponentsRegistry>{children}</StyledComponentsRegistry>
      </body>
    </html>
  )
}

Good to Know

During SSR, styles are extracted and flushed into the <head> tag
During streaming, styles from each chunk are appended to existing styles
Client Component registries avoid re-generating styles on subsequent renders
For advanced configuration, refer to the Next.js styled-components API reference

Conclusion

CSS-in-JS libraries in Next.js offer powerful styling capabilities. With proper registry setup and useServerInsertedHTML, you can safely use them alongside Server Components and streaming for modern, scalable applications.