Repository: vercel/next.js
Pull request: Next.js sticky scroll standards

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### What?
Adds documentation for handling sticky headers with Next.js navigation using `scroll-padding-top`.

### Why?
Next.js's auto-scroll behavior explicitly skips sticky and fixed positioned elements. This can cause content to appear behind sticky headers when navigating to a hash fragment or using the `scroll` prop on `Link`. This documentation provides a web-standards solution using CSS `scroll-padding-top` to correctly position the scroll target.

### How?
- Added a new "Handling sticky headers with `scroll-padding-top`" subsection to the `Link` component API reference (`docs/01-app/03-api-reference/02-components/link.mdx`) under the `scroll` prop.
- Added a new "Scrolling with sticky headers" example to the "Linking and Navigating" guide (`docs/01-app/01-getting-started/04-linking-and-navigating.mdx`).

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[Slack Thread](https://vercel.slack.com/archives/C03KAR5DCKC/p1771434038077029?thread_ts=1771434038.077029&cid=C03KAR5DCKC)

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Changed files:
filename: docs/01-app/01-getting-started/04-linking-and-navigating.mdx
patch: @@ -158,6 +158,8 @@ Next.js avoids this with client-side transitions using the `<Link>` component. I
 
 Client-side transitions are what makes a server-rendered apps _feel_ like client-rendered apps. And when paired with [prefetching](#prefetching) and [streaming](#streaming), it enables fast transitions, even for dynamic routes.
 
+Next.js also handles [scrolling to the top of the page](/docs/app/api-reference/components/link#scroll) during client-side transitions. If content scrolls behind a sticky or fixed header after navigation, you can fix this with CSS [`scroll-padding-top`](/docs/app/api-reference/components/link#scroll-offset-with-sticky-headers).
+
 ## What can make transitions slow?
 
 These Next.js optimizations make navigation fast and responsive. However, under certain conditions, transitions can still _feel_ slow. Here are some common causes and how to improve the user experience:

filename: docs/01-app/03-api-reference/02-components/link.mdx
patch: @@ -884,6 +884,58 @@ export default function Home() {
 
 </PagesOnly>
 
+### Scroll offset with sticky headers
+
+Because Next.js skips sticky and fixed positioned elements when finding the scroll target, content may end up behind a sticky header after navigation. For example, if your layout has a sticky header:
+
+```tsx filename="app/layout.tsx" switcher
+import './globals.css'
+
+export default function RootLayout({
+  children,
+}: {
+  children: React.ReactNode
+}) {
+  return (
+    <html lang="en">
+      <body>
+        <header className="sticky top-0 h-16 bg-white">
+          {/* Navigation */}
+        </header>
+        {children}
+      </body>
+    </html>
+  )
+}
+```
+
+```jsx filename="app/layout.js" switcher
+import './globals.css'
+
+export default function RootLayout({ children }) {
+  return (
+    <html lang="en">
+      <body>
+        <header className="sticky top-0 h-16 bg-white">
+          {/* Navigation */}
+        </header>
+        {children}
+      </body>
+    </html>
+  )
+}
+```
+
+You can account for its height using [`scroll-padding-top`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/scroll-padding-top) on the scroll container:
+
+```css filename="app/globals.css"
+html {
+  scroll-padding-top: 64px; /* Match the height of your sticky header */
+}
+```
+
+This is a browser CSS property that offsets scroll-based positioning. It applies whenever Next.js uses the native [`scrollIntoView()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Element/scrollIntoView) API, including hash fragment (`#id`) navigation. Alternatively, you can use [`scroll-margin-top`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/scroll-margin-top) on individual target elements instead of setting a global offset.
+
 ### Prefetching links in Proxy
 
 It's common to use [Proxy](/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/proxy) for authentication or other purposes that involve rewriting the user to a different page. In order for the `<Link />` component to properly prefetch links with rewrites via Proxy, you need to tell Next.js both the URL to display and the URL to prefetch. This is required to avoid un-necessary fetches to proxy to know the correct route to prefetch.