# Vertical Nav Sections V0 Template: The Sidebar Playbook for Next.js Dashboards - Tool: V0 Templates - Last updated: July 2026 ## TL;DR The Vertical Nav Sections v0 template gives you a production-ready sticky sidebar with collapsible NavSection groups, active route highlighting, and animated chevrons — all built on Next.js, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, Framer Motion, and Lucide React. Fork it in five minutes and use the prompt pack to add Clerk role-based visibility, badge counts, URL-synced section state, or a live Clerk UserFooter. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Vertical Nav Sections v0 template free to use? Yes. The template is published in the V0 community and free to fork. Forking uses one of your monthly V0 credits (the free plan includes credits each month). All underlying libraries — Next.js, Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion, Lucide React, shadcn/ui — are MIT-licensed and free for any use. ### Can I use this template commercially? Yes. Once you fork the template, the code is yours with no V0 licensing restriction on commercial use. The component libraries (shadcn/ui, Framer Motion, Lucide React) are all MIT-licensed, which permits commercial use without royalties or attribution requirements. ### Why does my fork show the wrong active NavItem highlight (or no highlight at all)? This usually means the NavItem is reading pathname from a prop instead of calling usePathname() directly, or the NavItem file is missing 'use client'. In Next.js App Router, usePathname() is a client-side hook — the file that calls it must have 'use client' at the top, and the hook must be called directly in the NavItem (not passed down from a parent). See the second gotcha above for the exact fix prompt. ### Why does the NavSection expansion jump instead of sliding in my fork? Animating from height 0 to 'auto' in Framer Motion requires either the layout prop on the parent or an explicitly measured pixel height. Without it, the SectionContent snaps open instead of sliding. Use the fix prompt in the gotchas section above — it adds the layout prop and ensures overflow: hidden is applied during the animation to prevent content bleeding. ### Why does my fork break in V0 preview after I add Clerk authentication? The most common issue is the Clerk avatar CDN blocking the V0 Vercel Sandbox preview domain, causing broken images in preview (but not in production). A secondary issue is calling Clerk hooks in files that are Server Components — add 'use client' to any file that uses useUser(), useAuth(), or UserButton. See the UserFooter CORS gotcha above for the avatar fallback fix. ### How do I make the sidebar show on mobile? By default, the SidebarNav uses a fixed pixel width that overflows small screens. Add 'hidden md:block' to the SidebarNav to hide it on mobile, then add a hamburger button in your top navigation bar that toggles a mobile overlay sidebar. Use the gotcha fix prompt above to generate this pattern automatically in V0. ### Can I connect the UserFooter to my actual user account? Yes — the UserFooter is a placeholder by design. Use the advanced prompt in the pack above to wire it to Clerk's useUser() hook, which pulls the user's real name, email, and avatar. The prompt also adds Clerk's UserButton component for a built-in profile popup and a sign-out button. ### Can RapidDev customize this sidebar for my SaaS app? Yes. RapidDev can extend this V0 prototype with Clerk role-based nav visibility, dynamic section items from a Supabase CMS, and a mobile-responsive overlay sidebar — delivered as a production-ready integration. Learn more at rapidevelopers.com. --- Source: https://www.rapidevelopers.com/v0-template/vertical-nav-sections © RapidDev — https://www.rapidevelopers.com/v0-template/vertical-nav-sections