What is the public folder in Next.js?

The public directory located at the root of a Next.js project serves static assets directly from the root domain path without going through Webpack or build bundling pipelines.

### Directory Structure Example:

my-next-app/
├── public/
│   ├── favicon.ico       --> Accessible at https://example.com/favicon.ico
│   ├── robots.txt        --> Accessible at https://example.com/robots.txt
│   ├── sitemap.xml       --> Accessible at https://example.com/sitemap.xml
│   └── images/
│       └── hero.webp     --> Accessible at https://example.com/images/hero.webp

### Usage in Code:
Refer to assets starting with a forward slash (/):

import Image from 'next/image';

export function HeroBanner() {
  return <Image src="/images/hero.webp" alt="Hero Banner" width={800} height={400} />;
}

### Important Security Rules:

• Never put secret files, private keys, or server code in public because every file inside is publicly downloadable.
• Assets in public should have static names; dynamic assets produced at runtime should be stored in S3/Cloud Storage or handled via API responses.