Next.js Built .next Into a Path That Doesn't Exist
A Windows junction made the build look for routes-manifest.json at C:\...\maxwell-tech-hub\I:\Relocated\...\.next\. Two drive letters in one path.
This repo is a Windows junction: C:\Users\Mnixo\Desktop\Max\maxwell-tech-hub points at I:\Relocated\Desktop-Max-2026-10-13\maxwell-tech-hub. Explorer and git are fine with that. Next.js 15 is not.
A local build died looking for .next/routes-manifest.json at C:\Users\Mnixo\Desktop\Max\maxwell-tech-hub\I:\Relocated\Desktop-Max-2026-10-13\maxwell-tech-hub\.next\routes-manifest.json. That's the junction path glued onto the real path. The file never existed there. It exists on I:.
Nothing in next.config.js was wrong. The workaround is to run the dev server and the build from the real I: path, not from the Desktop junction. Same files, one extra hop that Next's path join cannot survive.
If the error path contains two drive letters, stop debugging the app. You're standing on the wrong side of the junction.