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Error library

SPA 404 on refresh: Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages

On Vercel this shows as the NOT_FOUND error. The host looks for a file at /dashboard, finds none, and returns 404 because routing happens in the browser. Add a rewrite that serves /index.html for unknown paths: vercel.json rewrites on Vercel, a _redirects rule on Netlify, and on Cloudflare Pages remove any top-level 404.html.

Cause: No SPA fallback rewrite to index.html is configured on the host.

How to fix it

  1. Vercel: add a catch-all rewrite to /index.html in vercel.json.
  2. Netlify: add /* /index.html 200 to public/_redirects.
  3. Cloudflare Pages: SPA fallback is the default unless a top-level 404.html exists; remove it or add a _redirects rule.
  4. Redeploy and test a deep link in a fresh tab.

Example

Illustrative example, not from a customer project.

+ // vercel.json
+ { "rewrites": [{ "source": "/(.*)", "destination": "/index.html" }] }

+ # public/_redirects (Netlify)
+ /*  /index.html  200

FAQ

Why does the home page work?

/ maps to index.html; only deep links need the fallback.

Will the rewrite break my API routes?

Order matters: put API routes or functions before the catch-all.

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