diff --git a/packages/runtime/src/constants.ts b/packages/runtime/src/constants.ts
index 7bc87c82df..998f25ea34 100644
--- a/packages/runtime/src/constants.ts
+++ b/packages/runtime/src/constants.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import destr from 'destr'
+
 export const HANDLER_FUNCTION_NAME = '___netlify-handler'
 export const ODB_FUNCTION_NAME = '___netlify-odb-handler'
 export const IMAGE_FUNCTION_NAME = '_ipx'
@@ -7,18 +9,29 @@ export const HANDLER_FUNCTION_TITLE = 'Next.js SSR handler'
 export const ODB_FUNCTION_TITLE = 'Next.js ISR handler'
 export const IMAGE_FUNCTION_TITLE = 'next/image handler'
 // These are paths in .next that shouldn't be publicly accessible
-export const HIDDEN_PATHS = [
-  '/cache/*',
-  '/server/*',
-  '/serverless/*',
-  '/trace',
-  '/traces',
-  '/routes-manifest.json',
-  '/build-manifest.json',
-  '/prerender-manifest.json',
-  '/react-loadable-manifest.json',
-  '/BUILD_ID',
-]
+export const HIDDEN_PATHS = destr(process.env.NEXT_KEEP_METADATA_FILES)
+  ? []
+  : [
+      '/cache',
+      '/server',
+      '/serverless',
+      '/trace',
+      '/traces',
+      '/routes-manifest.json',
+      '/build-manifest.json',
+      '/prerender-manifest.json',
+      '/react-loadable-manifest.json',
+      '/BUILD_ID',
+      '/app-build-manifest.json',
+      '/app-path-routes-manifest.json',
+      '/export-marker.json',
+      '/images-manifest.json',
+      '/next-server.js.nft.json',
+      '/package.json',
+      '/prerender-manifest.js',
+      '/required-server-files.json',
+      '/static-manifest.json',
+    ]
 
 export const ODB_FUNCTION_PATH = `/.netlify/builders/${ODB_FUNCTION_NAME}`
 export const HANDLER_FUNCTION_PATH = `/.netlify/functions/${HANDLER_FUNCTION_NAME}`
diff --git a/packages/runtime/src/helpers/files.ts b/packages/runtime/src/helpers/files.ts
index 28c6e3c84e..93bf733ade 100644
--- a/packages/runtime/src/helpers/files.ts
+++ b/packages/runtime/src/helpers/files.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,18 @@ import { cpus } from 'os'
 
 import type { NetlifyConfig } from '@netlify/build'
 import { yellowBright } from 'chalk'
-import { existsSync, readJson, move, copy, writeJson, readFile, writeFile, ensureDir, readFileSync } from 'fs-extra'
+import {
+  existsSync,
+  readJson,
+  move,
+  copy,
+  writeJson,
+  readFile,
+  writeFile,
+  ensureDir,
+  readFileSync,
+  remove,
+} from 'fs-extra'
 import globby from 'globby'
 import { PrerenderManifest } from 'next/dist/build'
 import { outdent } from 'outdent'
@@ -10,7 +21,7 @@ import pLimit from 'p-limit'
 import { join, resolve, dirname } from 'pathe'
 import slash from 'slash'
 
-import { MINIMUM_REVALIDATE_SECONDS, DIVIDER } from '../constants'
+import { MINIMUM_REVALIDATE_SECONDS, DIVIDER, HIDDEN_PATHS } from '../constants'
 
 import { NextConfig } from './config'
 import { loadPrerenderManifest } from './edge'
@@ -138,8 +149,8 @@ export const moveStaticPages = async ({
       console.warn('Error moving file', source, error)
     }
   }
-  // Move all static files, except error documents and nft manifests
-  const pages = await globby(['{app,pages}/**/*.{html,json,rsc}', '!**/(500|404|*.js.nft).{html,json}'], {
+  // Move all static files, except nft manifests
+  const pages = await globby(['{app,pages}/**/*.{html,json,rsc}', '!**/*.js.nft.{html,json}'], {
     cwd: outputDir,
     dot: true,
   })
@@ -467,3 +478,15 @@ export const movePublicFiles = async ({
     await copy(publicDir, `${publish}${basePath}/`)
   }
 }
+
+export const removeMetadataFiles = async (publish: string) => {
+  // Limit concurrent deletions to number of cpus or 2 if there is only 1
+  const limit = pLimit(Math.max(2, cpus().length))
+
+  const removePromises = HIDDEN_PATHS.map((HIDDEN_PATH) => {
+    const pathToDelete = join(publish, HIDDEN_PATH)
+    return limit(() => remove(pathToDelete))
+  })
+
+  await Promise.all(removePromises)
+}
diff --git a/packages/runtime/src/helpers/redirects.ts b/packages/runtime/src/helpers/redirects.ts
index c7194a3b7b..8777951f4c 100644
--- a/packages/runtime/src/helpers/redirects.ts
+++ b/packages/runtime/src/helpers/redirects.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import type { PrerenderManifest, SsgRoute } from 'next/dist/build'
 import { outdent } from 'outdent'
 import { join } from 'pathe'
 
-import { HANDLER_FUNCTION_PATH, HIDDEN_PATHS, ODB_FUNCTION_PATH } from '../constants'
+import { HANDLER_FUNCTION_PATH, ODB_FUNCTION_PATH } from '../constants'
 
 import { isAppDirRoute, loadAppPathRoutesManifest } from './edge'
 import { getMiddleware } from './files'
@@ -27,14 +27,6 @@ import {
 const matchesMiddleware = (middleware: Array<string>, route: string): boolean =>
   middleware.some((middlewarePath) => route.startsWith(middlewarePath))
 
-const generateHiddenPathRedirects = ({ basePath }: Pick<NextConfig, 'basePath'>): NetlifyConfig['redirects'] =>
-  HIDDEN_PATHS.map((path) => ({
-    from: `${basePath}${path}`,
-    to: '/404.html',
-    status: 404,
-    force: true,
-  }))
-
 const generateLocaleRedirects = ({
   i18n,
   basePath,
@@ -281,8 +273,6 @@ export const generateRedirects = async ({
     join(netlifyConfig.build.publish, 'routes-manifest.json'),
   )
 
-  netlifyConfig.redirects.push(...generateHiddenPathRedirects({ basePath }))
-
   if (i18n && i18n.localeDetection !== false) {
     netlifyConfig.redirects.push(...generateLocaleRedirects({ i18n, basePath, trailingSlash }))
   }
diff --git a/packages/runtime/src/helpers/utils.ts b/packages/runtime/src/helpers/utils.ts
index 7bb84478ab..386c6f91ac 100644
--- a/packages/runtime/src/helpers/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/runtime/src/helpers/utils.ts
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ export const redirectsForNext404Route = ({
 }): NetlifyConfig['redirects'] =>
   netlifyRoutesForNextRoute({ route, buildId, i18n }).map(({ redirect, locale }) => ({
     from: `${basePath}${redirect}`,
-    to: locale ? `${basePath}/server/pages/${locale}/404.html` : `${basePath}/server/pages/404.html`,
+    to: locale ? `${basePath}/${locale}/404.html` : `${basePath}/404.html`,
     status: 404,
     force,
   }))
diff --git a/packages/runtime/src/index.ts b/packages/runtime/src/index.ts
index 07b160e24d..e823eeebbd 100644
--- a/packages/runtime/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/runtime/src/index.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import {
 } from './helpers/config'
 import { onPreDev } from './helpers/dev'
 import { writeEdgeFunctions, loadMiddlewareManifest, cleanupEdgeFunctions } from './helpers/edge'
-import { moveStaticPages, movePublicFiles, patchNextFiles } from './helpers/files'
+import { moveStaticPages, movePublicFiles, patchNextFiles, removeMetadataFiles } from './helpers/files'
 import { splitApiRoutes } from './helpers/flags'
 import {
   generateFunctions,
@@ -254,6 +254,12 @@ const plugin: NetlifyPlugin = {
     warnForProblematicUserRewrites({ basePath, redirects })
     warnForRootRedirects({ appDir })
     await warnOnApiRoutes({ FUNCTIONS_DIST })
+
+    // we are removing metadata files from Publish directory
+    // we have to do this after functions were bundled as bundling still
+    // require those files, but we don't want to publish them
+    await removeMetadataFiles(publish)
+
     if (experimental?.appDir) {
       console.log(
         '🧪 Thank you for testing "appDir" support on Netlify. For known issues and to give feedback, visit https://ntl.fyi/next-13-feedback',
diff --git a/test/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap b/test/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
index d8ec3d361a..a322148a33 100644
--- a/test/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
+++ b/test/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
@@ -1087,6 +1087,14 @@ Array [
     "app/blog/sarah/second-post.rsc",
     "blog/sarah/second-post.rsc",
   ],
+  Array [
+    "pages/en/404.html",
+    "en/404.html",
+  ],
+  Array [
+    "pages/en/500.html",
+    "en/500.html",
+  ],
   Array [
     "pages/en/broken-image.html",
     "en/broken-image.html",
@@ -1207,6 +1215,14 @@ Array [
     "pages/en/static.html",
     "en/static.html",
   ],
+  Array [
+    "pages/es/404.html",
+    "es/404.html",
+  ],
+  Array [
+    "pages/es/500.html",
+    "es/500.html",
+  ],
   Array [
     "pages/es/broken-image.html",
     "es/broken-image.html",
@@ -1263,6 +1279,14 @@ Array [
     "pages/es/static.html",
     "es/static.html",
   ],
+  Array [
+    "pages/fr/404.html",
+    "fr/404.html",
+  ],
+  Array [
+    "pages/fr/500.html",
+    "fr/500.html",
+  ],
   Array [
     "pages/fr/broken-image.html",
     "fr/broken-image.html",
@@ -1456,7 +1480,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/_next/data/build-id/en/getStaticProps/:id.json",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/en/404.html",
+    "to": "/en/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": false,
@@ -1504,7 +1528,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/_next/data/build-id/en/getStaticProps/withRevalidate/:id.json",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/en/404.html",
+    "to": "/en/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": true,
@@ -1702,7 +1726,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/_next/data/build-id/es/getStaticProps/:id.json",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/es/404.html",
+    "to": "/es/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": false,
@@ -1750,7 +1774,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/_next/data/build-id/es/getStaticProps/withRevalidate/:id.json",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/es/404.html",
+    "to": "/es/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": false,
@@ -1912,7 +1936,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/_next/data/build-id/fr/getStaticProps/:id.json",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/fr/404.html",
+    "to": "/fr/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": false,
@@ -1960,7 +1984,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/_next/data/build-id/fr/getStaticProps/withRevalidate/:id.json",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/fr/404.html",
+    "to": "/fr/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": false,
@@ -2206,24 +2230,6 @@ Array [
     "status": 200,
     "to": "/.netlify/functions/___netlify-handler",
   },
-  Object {
-    "force": true,
-    "from": "/BUILD_ID",
-    "status": 404,
-    "to": "/404.html",
-  },
-  Object {
-    "force": true,
-    "from": "/build-manifest.json",
-    "status": 404,
-    "to": "/404.html",
-  },
-  Object {
-    "force": true,
-    "from": "/cache/*",
-    "status": 404,
-    "to": "/404.html",
-  },
   Object {
     "force": false,
     "from": "/css",
@@ -2360,7 +2366,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/es/getStaticProps/:id",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/es/404.html",
+    "to": "/es/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": false,
@@ -2408,7 +2414,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/es/getStaticProps/withRevalidate/:id",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/es/404.html",
+    "to": "/es/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": false,
@@ -2600,7 +2606,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/fr/getStaticProps/:id",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/fr/404.html",
+    "to": "/fr/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": false,
@@ -2648,7 +2654,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/fr/getStaticProps/withRevalidate/:id",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/fr/404.html",
+    "to": "/fr/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": false,
@@ -2756,7 +2762,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/getStaticProps/:id",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/en/404.html",
+    "to": "/en/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": false,
@@ -2804,7 +2810,7 @@ Array [
     "force": false,
     "from": "/getStaticProps/withRevalidate/:id",
     "status": 404,
-    "to": "/server/pages/en/404.html",
+    "to": "/en/404.html",
   },
   Object {
     "force": true,
@@ -2883,54 +2889,24 @@ Array [
     "status": 200,
     "to": "/.netlify/functions/___netlify-handler",
   },
-  Object {
-    "force": true,
-    "from": "/prerender-manifest.json",
-    "status": 404,
-    "to": "/404.html",
-  },
   Object {
     "force": false,
     "from": "/previewTest",
     "status": 200,
     "to": "/.netlify/functions/___netlify-handler",
   },
-  Object {
-    "force": true,
-    "from": "/react-loadable-manifest.json",
-    "status": 404,
-    "to": "/404.html",
-  },
   Object {
     "force": false,
     "from": "/redirectme",
     "status": 200,
     "to": "/.netlify/functions/___netlify-handler",
   },
-  Object {
-    "force": true,
-    "from": "/routes-manifest.json",
-    "status": 404,
-    "to": "/404.html",
-  },
   Object {
     "force": false,
     "from": "/script",
     "status": 200,
     "to": "/.netlify/functions/___netlify-handler",
   },
-  Object {
-    "force": true,
-    "from": "/server/*",
-    "status": 404,
-    "to": "/404.html",
-  },
-  Object {
-    "force": true,
-    "from": "/serverless/*",
-    "status": 404,
-    "to": "/404.html",
-  },
   Object {
     "force": false,
     "from": "/shows/:id",
@@ -2966,17 +2942,5 @@ Array [
     "status": 200,
     "to": "/.netlify/functions/___netlify-handler",
   },
-  Object {
-    "force": true,
-    "from": "/trace",
-    "status": 404,
-    "to": "/404.html",
-  },
-  Object {
-    "force": true,
-    "from": "/traces",
-    "status": 404,
-    "to": "/404.html",
-  },
 ]
 `;
diff --git a/test/e2e/next-test-lib/next-modes/next-deploy.ts b/test/e2e/next-test-lib/next-modes/next-deploy.ts
index 793f41ea18..1463cbc1af 100644
--- a/test/e2e/next-test-lib/next-modes/next-deploy.ts
+++ b/test/e2e/next-test-lib/next-modes/next-deploy.ts
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ export class NextDeployInstance extends NextInstance {
         NETLIFY_SITE_ID: this._netlifySiteId,
         NODE_ENV: 'production',
         DISABLE_IPX: platform() === 'linux' ? undefined : '1',
+        NEXT_KEEP_METADATA_FILES: 'true',
       },
     })
 
diff --git a/test/helpers/utils.spec.ts b/test/helpers/utils.spec.ts
index 19d70fcae2..a6c5c9398c 100644
--- a/test/helpers/utils.spec.ts
+++ b/test/helpers/utils.spec.ts
@@ -149,8 +149,8 @@ describe('redirectsForNext404Route', () => {
     }
 
     expect(redirectsForNext404Route(mockRoute)).toStrictEqual([
-      { force: false, from: '/_next/data/test/test.json', status: 404, to: '/server/pages/404.html' },
-      { force: false, from: '/test', status: 404, to: '/server/pages/404.html' },
+      { force: false, from: '/_next/data/test/test.json', status: 404, to: '/404.html' },
+      { force: false, from: '/test', status: 404, to: '/404.html' },
     ])
   })
 
@@ -166,12 +166,12 @@ describe('redirectsForNext404Route', () => {
     }
 
     expect(redirectsForNext404Route(mockRoute)).toStrictEqual([
-      { force: false, from: '/_next/data/test/en/test.json', status: 404, to: '/server/pages/en/404.html' },
-      { force: false, from: '/test', status: 404, to: '/server/pages/en/404.html' },
-      { force: false, from: '/_next/data/test/es/test.json', status: 404, to: '/server/pages/es/404.html' },
-      { force: false, from: '/es/test', status: 404, to: '/server/pages/es/404.html' },
-      { force: false, from: '/_next/data/test/fr/test.json', status: 404, to: '/server/pages/fr/404.html' },
-      { force: false, from: '/fr/test', status: 404, to: '/server/pages/fr/404.html' },
+      { force: false, from: '/_next/data/test/en/test.json', status: 404, to: '/en/404.html' },
+      { force: false, from: '/test', status: 404, to: '/en/404.html' },
+      { force: false, from: '/_next/data/test/es/test.json', status: 404, to: '/es/404.html' },
+      { force: false, from: '/es/test', status: 404, to: '/es/404.html' },
+      { force: false, from: '/_next/data/test/fr/test.json', status: 404, to: '/fr/404.html' },
+      { force: false, from: '/fr/test', status: 404, to: '/fr/404.html' },
     ])
   })
 
@@ -182,13 +182,13 @@ describe('redirectsForNext404Route', () => {
           force: false,
           from: '/_next/data/test/getStaticProps/:id.json',
           status: 404,
-          to: '/server/pages/404.html',
+          to: '/404.html',
         },
         {
           force: false,
           from: '/getStaticProps/:id',
           status: 404,
-          to: '/server/pages/404.html',
+          to: '/404.html',
         },
       ],
       dynamicRoutesThatMatchMiddleware: [],
diff --git a/test/index.spec.ts b/test/index.spec.ts
index ec81feb12a..d18baa8685 100644
--- a/test/index.spec.ts
+++ b/test/index.spec.ts
@@ -1031,6 +1031,23 @@ describe('onPostBuild', () => {
       },
     ])
   })
+
+  it(`removes metadata files`, async () => {
+    await moveNextDist()
+
+    // routes-manifest.json is one of metadata files that seems to be created with default demo site
+    // there are a lot of other files, but we will test just one
+    const manifestPath = path.resolve('.next/routes-manifest.json')
+
+    expect(await pathExists(manifestPath)).toBe(true)
+
+    await nextRuntime.onPostBuild({
+      ...defaultArgs,
+      utils: { ...utils, cache: { save: jest.fn() }, functions: { list: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([]) } },
+    })
+
+    expect(await pathExists(manifestPath)).toBe(false)
+  })
 })
 
 describe('function helpers', () => {