Unsupported HTTP Methods

[zeaiter-squared]

Summary

I am aware that Next.js does not support CONNECT, TRACK, and TRACE. However, every request that comes through with any of these methods returns a 500 for me. Is there any way I can override the response when any of these methods are used?

I have tried implementing in middleware but this never gets reached. Looking at Next.js source code it seems that the respective error (throw new TypeError(${method} HTTP method is unsupported.);) is thrown in the Request object constructor. So this error is thrown outside the scope of my application code. Is there any way around this?

Additional information

No response

Example

No response

[Umuts-Codes]

Hi,

Next.js does not natively support the HTTP methods CONNECT, TRACK, and TRACE. The 500 error you are seeing occurs because the error is thrown inside the Request constructor, which is part of the internal Next.js runtime. This means that middleware or application-level code cannot intercept it, as you have noticed.

Possible Approaches

Custom Server Layer

Deploy your Next.js app behind a custom Node.js server (e.g., Express, Fastify) or a reverse proxy (NGINX, Cloudflare Worker).

In this layer, you can intercept unsupported HTTP methods and respond with a custom status code or message before the request ever reaches Next.js.

Example in Express:

app.all('*', (req, res, next) => {
const unsupported = ['CONNECT', 'TRACK', 'TRACE'];
if (unsupported.includes(req.method)) {
return res.status(405).send('HTTP method not allowed');
}
next();
});

Reverse Proxy Filtering

If using a reverse proxy like NGINX or Apache, you can block or override these methods at the proxy level, which is often more efficient.

Example in NGINX:

if ($request_method ~ ^(CONNECT|TRACK|TRACE)$) {
return 405;
}

Accept Current Limitation

If a custom server or proxy is not feasible, be aware that requests with unsupported HTTP methods will always fail at the Next.js runtime level. The safest approach is to handle this upstream.

Summary

Because these unsupported HTTP methods trigger an error in the internal Request object of Next.js, you cannot override them within the app itself. The recommended solution is to filter or handle these methods at the server or proxy level before the request reaches Next.js.

This ensures predictable responses and avoids internal runtime 500 errors.

[zeaiter-squared]

Thanks for the response. We have gone ahead with a reverse proxy fix.

[Umuts-Codes]

You're welcome, great to hear the reverse proxy approach solved it.