Skip to main content
Version: v4

Getting Started

The example code below describes how to add authentication to a Next.js app.

New Project​

The easiest way to get started is to clone the example app and follow the instructions in README.md. You can try out a live demo at https://next-auth-example.vercel.app/

Existing Project​

Install NextAuth​

npm install next-auth
info

If you are using TypeScript, NextAuth.js comes with its types definitions within the package. To learn more about TypeScript for next-auth, check out the TypeScript documentation

Add API route​

To add NextAuth.js to a project create a file called [...nextauth].js in pages/api/auth. This contains the dynamic route handler for NextAuth.js which will also contain all of your global NextAuth.js configurations.

pages/api/auth/[...nextauth].js
import NextAuth from "next-auth"import GithubProvider from "next-auth/providers/github"export const authOptions = {  // Configure one or more authentication providers  providers: [    GithubProvider({      clientId: process.env.GITHUB_ID,      clientSecret: process.env.GITHUB_SECRET,    }),    // ...add more providers here  ],}export default NextAuth(authOptions)

All requests to /api/auth/* (signIn, callback, signOut, etc.) will automatically be handled by NextAuth.js.

Further Reading:

  • See the options documentation for more details on how to configure providers, databases and other options.
  • Read more about how to add authentication providers here.

Configure Shared session state​

To be able to use useSession first you'll need to expose the session context, <SessionProvider />, at the top level of your application:

pages/_app.jsx
import { SessionProvider } from "next-auth/react"export default function App({  Component,  pageProps: { session, ...pageProps },}) {  return (    <SessionProvider session={session}>      <Component {...pageProps} />    </SessionProvider>  )}

Instances of useSession will then have access to the session data and status. The <SessionProvider /> also takes care of keeping the session updated and synced between browser tabs and windows.

tip

Check out the client documentation to see how you can improve the user experience and page performance by using the NextAuth.js client.

Frontend - Add React Hook​

The useSession() React Hook in the NextAuth.js client is the easiest way to check if someone is signed in.

components/login-btn.jsx
import { useSession, signIn, signOut } from "next-auth/react"export default function Component() {  const { data: session } = useSession()  if (session) {    return (      <>        Signed in as {session.user.email} <br />        <button onClick={() => signOut()}>Sign out</button>      </>    )  }  return (    <>      Not signed in <br />      <button onClick={() => signIn()}>Sign in</button>    </>  )}

You can use the useSession hook from anywhere in your application (e.g. in a header component).

Backend - API Route​

To protect an API Route, you can use the getServerSession() method.

pages/api/restricted.js
import { getServerSession } from "next-auth/next"import { authOptions } from "./auth/[...nextauth]"export default async (req, res) => {  const session = await getServerSession(req, res, authOptions)  if (session) {    res.send({      content:        "This is protected content. You can access this content because you are signed in.",    })  } else {    res.send({      error: "You must be signed in to view the protected content on this page.",    })  }}

Extensibility​

Using NextAuth.js Callbacks​

NextAuth.js allows you to hook into various parts of the authentication flow via our built-in callbacks.

For example, to pass a value from the sign-in to the frontend, client-side, you can use a combination of the session and jwt callback like so:

pages/api/auth/[...nextauth].js
...
callbacks: {
  async jwt({ token, account }) {
    // Persist the OAuth access_token to the token right after signin
    if (account) {
      token.accessToken = account.access_token
    }
    return token
  },
  async session({ session, token, user }) {
    // Send properties to the client, like an access_token from a provider.
    session.accessToken = token.accessToken
    return session
  }
}
...

Now whenever you call getSession or useSession, the data object which is returned will include the accessToken value.

components/accessToken.jsx
import { useSession, signIn, signOut } from "next-auth/react"export default function Component() {  const { data } = useSession()  const { accessToken } = data  return <div>Access Token: {accessToken}</div>}

Configuring callback URL (OAuth only)​

If you are using an OAuth provider either through one of our built-in providers or through a custom provider, you'll need to configure a callback URL in your provider's settings. Each provider has a "Configuration" section that should give you pointers on how to do that.

Follow these steps to learn how to integrate with an OAuth provider.

Deploying to production​

When deploying your site set the NEXTAUTH_URL environment variable to the canonical URL of the website.

NEXTAUTH_URL=https://example.com
tip

In production, this needs to be set as an environment variable on the service you use to deploy your app.

To set environment variables on Vercel, you can use the dashboard or the vercel env pull command.

For more information please check out our deployment page.