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Better Auth

Better Auth is a framework-agnostic authentication and authorization library for TypeScript that lives inside your application.

  • Development
  • Security
Better Auth is a framework-agnostic authentication and authorization library for TypeScript that lives inside your application. It provides built-in features including sessions, email verification, 2FA, and multi-tenant support, along with a plugin ecosystem for adding advanced capabilities with minimal code. Developers building web or full-stack TypeScript applications use it to avoid assembling multiple third-party authentication services.

Platform availability

Available on 1 of 9 platforms

  • Unraid (not listed)
  • TrueNAS (not listed)
  • Umbrel (not listed)
  • ZimaOS (not listed)
  • Proxmox (not listed)
  • Helm (not listed)
  • Mac (not listed)
  • Windows (not listed)
  • Linux

Health score?A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). When the source code has been checked, a fifth factor, security check (20%: automated scan for committed secrets, unsafe desktop-app settings, known-vulnerable dependencies and project hygiene; any serious finding caps it at 20), is added. Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

79/100 Good

Maintained
100last commit 1 day ago
Popular
9030,264 GitHub stars
Easy to install
251 install platform, install notes
Light to run
No data

Based on 3 of 4 factors.

GitHub stars
30,264
Open issues
865
Last commit
2026-10-11
Latest release
v1.7.7
License
MIT
Activity
unknown

Checked yesterday - source: GitHub (better-auth/better-auth)

Resources & Compatibility

Requirements not published yet.

First-install notes

  • Install the paired Better Auth packages Install the Better Auth add-on for Convex (the database service this setup uses) together with the listed Better Auth version, and make sure Convex is 1.25.0 or later. If the versions don't match, login and signup can fail even though the app looks installed. source
  • Set your Convex URL variables Set your Convex URL (web address) as the environment variables your framework expects, such as NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_URL for Next.js or VITE_CONVEX_URL for TanStack Start. These app settings tell the server where the Better Auth backend lives, and without them logins and protected pages can fail. source
  • Expo needs a secure cookie store If you're building an Expo mobile app, also install expo-secure-store so login cookies are stored securely. This helps keep session tokens protected on the device instead of plain storage. source
  • Initialize via CLI Run npx auth init in your project to scaffold a Better Auth configuration and select your storage backend. This is the recommended starting point listed on the project website. source

Fetched yesterday - each note links to its source

Alternatives (5)

  • Auth0 - You can connect any application (written in any language or on any stack) to Auth0 and define its Connection, the method used to authentica…
  • Keycloak - Keycloak is an open-source Identity and Access Management platform for adding authentication to self-hosted applications.
  • Okta - Okta's Workforce and Customer Identity Clouds enable secure access, authentication, and automation—putting identity at the heart of busines…
  • Ory - Ory builds cloud-native authentication (login), authorization (permission), delegation (OAuth2, OpenID Connect), and user management softwa…
  • authentik - Authentik is an open-source identity provider that adds flexible single sign-on, user management, and common sign-in protocol support to se…

Checked yesterday - source: AlternativeTo

Common questions

Do Better Auth and Convex need matching versions when using the Convex backend?

Install the paired Better Auth add-on and listed Better Auth version, and keep Convex at 1.25.0 or later. If the versions do not match, login and signup can fail even though the app appears installed.

What package should I add for secure session cookies in an Expo mobile app?

Install expo-secure-store so login cookies are stored securely. It keeps session tokens protected on the device instead of plain storage.

Can Better Auth run as a standalone self-hosted auth server?

Yes, it can run alongside your app or as a standalone self-hosted auth server. Users stay in your database rather than a third-party service, with no per-user costs.

Which database is supported when migrating managed Better Auth user data to self-hosted storage?

The managed service supports Postgres for that migration. It does not support MySQL or other databases for moving user data to self-hosted storage.

Does Better Auth include enterprise SSO capabilities?

Yes, it lists SSO, SAML 2.0, SCIM, and directory sync as enterprise-ready features.

Answers sourced from better-auth.com, better-auth.com, labs.convex.dev, labs.convex.dev, www.reddit.com

Community

Collected yesterday - public community threads