How to Fix Type Compatibility Issues Between Next.js Link and Material-UI MenuItem

Target Audience

• Developers new to Next.js
• Developers starting with Material-UI
• Web application development beginners

TL;DR

Type compatibility issues arise between Next.js and Material-UI components. The solution involves:

• Using proper type definitions with UrlObject
• Wrapping MenuItem with NextLink instead of using the component prop

Development Environment

• Next.js: 14.2.11
• Material UI: 6.1.0
• TypeScript: 5.0

The Problematic Code

Initially, when trying to combine MenuItem and NextLink directly, you'll encounter a type error:

interface MobileMenuProps {
    menuItems: Array<{
        href: string;
        label: string;
    }>;
}

export function MobileMenu({ menuItems }: MobileMenuProps) {
    return (
        <>
            {menuItems.map((item) => (
                <MenuItem 
                    key={item.href} 
                    component={NextLink} 
                    href={item.href} 
                    onClick={handleClose}
                >
                    {item.label}
                </MenuItem>
            ))}
        </>
    );
}

The Error

No overload matches this call.
Type '{ children: string; key: string; component: <RouteType>(props: LinkProps<RouteType>) => Element; href: string; onClick: () => void; }' 
is not assignable to type 'IntrinsicAttributes & { href: string; } & MenuItemOwnProps & Omit<ButtonBaseOwnProps, "classes"> & CommonProps & Omit<...>'.
Property 'component' does not exist on type 'IntrinsicAttributes & { href: string; } & MenuItemOwnProps...'

The Solution

To resolve this issue, we need to make two key changes:

1. Change the href type from string to UrlObject
2. Modify the component structure by wrapping MenuItem with NextLink

import { MenuItem } from "@mui/material";
import NextLink from "next/link";
import { UrlObject } from "url";

interface MobileMenuProps {
    menuItems: {
        href: UrlObject;
        label: string;
    }[];
}

export function MobileMenu({ menuItems }: MobileMenuProps) {
    return (
        <>
            {menuItems.map((item) => (
                <NextLink 
                    passHref 
                    href={item.href} 
                    key={item.label} 
                    style={{ textDecoration: "none", color: "inherit" }}
                >
                    <MenuItem onClick={handleClose}>
                        {item.label}
                    </MenuItem>
                </NextLink>
            ))}
        </>
    );
}

Key Changes Explained

1. Type Definition Changes

   • Changed href type from string to UrlObject for better compatibility with Next.js type system
   • UrlObject is the expected type definition for Next.js Link component, resolving the type issues

2. Component Structure Changes

   • Instead of using MenuItem with component={NextLink}, we wrap MenuItem with NextLink
   • Added passHref property to ensure proper link functionality
   • Added styling to override default link styles (optional)

Summary

We encountered type compatibility issues between Next.js and Material-UI components. The solution involves using proper type definitions with UrlObject and restructuring the components by wrapping MenuItem with NextLink instead of using the component prop.

References

• Stack Overflow: ReactJS and TypeScript: refers to a value, but is being used as a type here (TS2749)

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Tags: #typescript #nextjs #react #materialui