Vercel “No Next.js version detected” for Next 15 app in pnpm monorepo

Current versus Expected behavior

Current:

Deploying apps/student-web fails with:

Error: No Next.js version detected. Make sure your package.json has "next" in either "dependencies" or "devDependencies". Also check your Root Directory setting matches the directory of your package.json file.

Running locally from the app directory yields the same error:

$ cd apps/student-web && vercel
...
Error: No Next.js version detected...

apps/teacher-web (Vite) deploys successfully.

Expected:
- Vercel detects Next.js in apps/student-web and builds/deploys normally.

Code, configuration, and steps that reproduce this issue

Monorepo with pnpm workspaces; apps are under apps/.

From apps/student-web, run:

vercel pull --yes --environment=preview --token=$VERCEL_TOKEN
vercel build --token=$VERCEL_TOKEN
vercel deploy --prebuilt --token=$VERCEL_TOKEN

Observe the “No Next.js version detected” error.

apps/student-web/package.json:

{
  "name": "@crabit/student-web",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
    "build": "next build",
    "check-types": "tsc --noEmit",
    "dev": "NEXT_PUBLIC_API_MOCKING=false next dev",
    "dev:mock": "NEXT_PUBLIC_API_MOCKING=true next dev",
    "lint": "biome check .",
    "start": "next start",
    "test": "vitest run",
    "test:e2e": "playwright test",
    "test:e2e:ui": "playwright test --ui",
    "test:watch": "vitest watch"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@crabit/api": "workspace:*",
    "@crabit/assets": "workspace:*",
    "@crabit/assets-icons": "workspace:*",
    "@crabit/crabit-ui": "workspace:*",
    "@sentry/nextjs": "^9.32.0",
    "@t3-oss/env-nextjs": "^0.13.8",
    "next": "15.3.4"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@playwright/test": "^1.53.1",
    "@svgr/core": "^8.1.0",
    "@tsconfig/next": "^2.0.3",
    "@types/file-loader": "^5.0.4",
    "@vanilla-extract/next-plugin": "^2.4.14",
    "msw": "^2.10.2",
    "next-plugin-svgr": "^1.1.12"
  },
  "peerDependencies": {
    "@hookform/resolvers": "^5",
    "@tanstack/react-query": "^5",
    "react": "^19",
    "react-dom": "^19",
    "react-hook-form": "^7",
    "zod": "^3"
  }
}

apps/student-web/vercel.json:

{ "framework": "nextjs" }

apps/student-web/next.config.ts: exists; exports a valid NextConfig.
pnpm-workspace.yaml:

onlyBuiltDependencies:
  - sharp

packages:
  - apps/*
  - packages/*
  - packages/assets/*

GitHub Actions (student) excerpt:

- name: Pull Vercel Environment Information
  run: vercel pull --yes --environment=${{ github.event_name == 'push' && 'production' || 'preview' }} --token=${{ secrets.VERCEL_TOKEN }}
  working-directory: ./apps/student-web

- name: Build Project Artifacts with Vercel
  run: vercel build ${{ github.event_name == 'push' && '--prod' || '' }} --token=${{ secrets.VERCEL_TOKEN }}
  working-directory: ./apps/student-web

- name: Deploy to Vercel
  run: vercel deploy --prebuilt ${{ github.event_name == 'push' && '--prod' || '' }} --token=${{ secrets.VERCEL_TOKEN }}
  working-directory: ./apps/student-web

Project information (URL, framework, environment, project settings)

Monorepo: Turborepo + pnpm
Package manager: pnpm 10.14.0
Node: 22.x
Vercel CLI: 44.7.3
Frameworks:
- apps/student-web: Next.js 15.3.4
- apps/teacher-web: Vite (deploys fine)
.gitignore includes .vercel at repo root.
apps/teacher-web/.vercel/project.json exists and is linked.
apps/student-web/.vercel was not found at one point; running vercel from that folder still shows the detection error.

What I’ve tried

Running all Vercel commands strictly from apps/student-web.
Ensuring next is in dependencies (not just devDependencies).
Setting framework: "nextjs" in apps/student-web/vercel.json.
Using working-directory: ./apps/student-web in CI.
Verifying next.config.ts is present and valid.

Question

In a pnpm monorepo, why would Vercel fail to detect Next.js for apps/student-web even when:
- next is present in that app’s dependencies,
- commands run from the app directory,
- and framework: "nextjs" is set?
Is there a monorepo Root Directory/linking nuance I’m missing (per-app .vercel link, dashboard Root Directory must be apps/student-web, etc.)?
Any additional settings required for pnpm workspaces so Vercel can correctly resolve the app-level package.json during build?

Title: Vercel “No Next.js version detected” for Next 15 app in pnpm monorepo under apps/student-web (teacher Vite app deploys fine)

Hi , welcome to the Vercel Community!

I'm sorry that you are running into this issue. Can you confirm that the Vercel project apps/student-web has the Root directory set as apps/student-web?