---
title: Intercepting Routes
description: Use intercepting routes to load a new route within the current layout while masking the browser URL, useful for advanced routing patterns such as modals.
related:
  title: Next Steps
  description: Learn how to use modals with Intercepted and Parallel Routes.
  links:
    - app/building-your-application/routing/parallel-routes
---

Intercepting routes allows you to load a route from another part of your application within the current layout. This routing paradigm can be useful when you want to display the content of a route without the user switching to a different context.

For example, when clicking on a photo in a feed, you can display the photo in a modal, overlaying the feed. In this case, Next.js intercepts the `/photo/123` route, masks the URL, and overlays it over `/feed`.

<Image
  alt="Intercepting routes soft navigation"
  srcLight="/docs/light/intercepting-routes-soft-navigate.png"
  srcDark="/docs/dark/intercepting-routes-soft-navigate.png"
  width="1600"
  height="617"
/>

However, when navigating to the photo by clicking a shareable URL or by refreshing the page, the entire photo page should render instead of the modal. No route interception should occur.

<Image
  alt="Intercepting routes hard navigation"
  srcLight="/docs/light/intercepting-routes-hard-navigate.png"
  srcDark="/docs/dark/intercepting-routes-hard-navigate.png"
  width="1600"
  height="604"
/>

## Convention

Intercepting routes can be defined with the `(..)` convention, which is similar to relative path convention `../` but for segments.

You can use:

- `(.)` to match segments on the **same level**
- `(..)` to match segments **one level above**
- `(..)(..)` to match segments **two levels above**
- `(...)` to match segments from the **root** `app` directory

For example, you can intercept the `photo` segment from within the `feed` segment by creating a `(..)photo` directory.

<Image
  alt="Intercepting routes folder structure"
  srcLight="/docs/light/intercepted-routes-files.png"
  srcDark="/docs/dark/intercepted-routes-files.png"
  width="1600"
  height="604"
/>

> Note that the `(..)` convention is based on _route segments_, not the file-system.

## Examples

### Modals

Intercepting Routes can be used together with [Parallel Routes](/docs/app/building-your-application/routing/parallel-routes) to create modals.

Using this pattern to create modals overcomes some common challenges when working with modals, by allowing you to:

- Make the modal content **shareable through a URL**
- **Preserve context** when the page is refreshed, instead of closing the modal
- **Close the modal on backwards navigation** rather than going to the previous route
- **Reopen the modal on forwards navigation**

<Image
  alt="Intercepting routes modal example"
  srcLight="/docs/light/intercepted-routes-modal-example.png"
  srcDark="/docs/dark/intercepted-routes-modal-example.png"
  width="1600"
  height="976"
/>

> In the above example, the path to the `photo` segment can use the `(..)` matcher since `@modal` is a _slot_ and not a _segment_. This means that the `photo` route is only one _segment_ level higher, despite being two _file-system_ levels higher.

Other examples could include opening a login modal in a top navbar while also having a dedicated `/login` page, or opening a shopping cart in a side modal.

[View an example](https://github.com/vercel-labs/nextgram) of modals with Intercepted and Parallel Routes.
