Before the framework's clever parts matter, you need a project that builds and runs, and a clear picture of what the generator created. This section covers what Next.js 10,514 adds to plain React 7,897 , the version and platform requirements, create-next-app, the generated tree, the development and production commands, and the one structural decision every Next.js project makes. The project built here, bookshelf-web, is the front end used for the rest of the chapter.