---
title: public Folder
nav_title: public
description: Next.js allows you to serve static files, like images, in the public directory. You can learn how it works here.
---

{/* The content of this doc is shared between the app and pages router. You can use the `<PagesOnly>Content</PagesOnly>` component to add content that is specific to the Pages Router. Any shared content should not be wrapped in a component. */}

Next.js can serve static files, like images, under a folder called `public` in the root directory. Files inside `public` can then be referenced by your code starting from the base URL (`/`).

For example, the file `public/avatars/me.png` can be viewed by visiting the `/avatars/me.png` path. The code to display that image might look like:

```jsx filename="avatar.js"
import Image from 'next/image'

export function Avatar({ id, alt }) {
  return <Image src={`/avatars/${id}.png`} alt={alt} width="64" height="64" />
}

export function AvatarOfMe() {
  return <Avatar id="me" alt="A portrait of me" />
}
```

## Caching

Next.js cannot safely cache assets in the `public` folder because they may change. The default caching headers applied are:

```jsx
Cache-Control: public, max-age=0
```

## Robots, Favicons, and others

<PagesOnly>

The folder is also useful for `robots.txt`, `favicon.ico`, Google Site Verification, and any other static files (including `.html`). But make sure to not have a static file with the same name as a file in the `pages/` directory, as this will result in an error. [Read more](/docs/messages/conflicting-public-file-page).

</PagesOnly>

<AppOnly>

For static metadata files, such as `robots.txt`, `favicon.ico`, etc, you should use [special metadata files](/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/metadata) inside the `app` folder.

</AppOnly>