Add Authentication (Auth.js)
Use this skill when the user asks to add authentication, login, sign-up, OAuth, or session management.
Steps
- Install dependencies
npm install next-auth@beta - Generate an auth secret
npx auth secretThis addsAUTH_SECRETto.env.local. - Create the auth config — create
auth.tsin the project root:import NextAuth from "next-auth"; import GitHub from "next-auth/providers/github"; import Google from "next-auth/providers/google"; export const {handlers, signIn, signOut, auth} = NextAuth({providers: [GitHub, Google],}); - Add the route handler — create
app/api/auth/[...nextauth]/route.ts:import {handlers} from "@/auth"; export const {GET, POST} = handlers; - Add environment variables for each provider:
AUTH_SECRET=... AUTH_GITHUB_ID=... AUTH_GITHUB_SECRET=... AUTH_GOOGLE_ID=... AUTH_GOOGLE_SECRET=... - Add sign-in/sign-out UI — create components that call the
signInandsignOutserver actions, or use<Link href="/api/auth/signin">. - Protect routes — use the
auth()function in server components or middleware:import {auth} from "@/auth"; export default async function ProtectedPage() {const session = await auth(); if (!session) redirect("/api/auth/signin"); return <div>Welcome {session.user?.name}</div>;} - Add database adapter (optional) — if the user needs persistent sessions or user records, install a database adapter (e.g.
@auth/drizzle-adapter,@auth/prisma-adapter) and configure it in the auth config.
Notes
- Auth.js v5 works with Next.js App Router and Server Actions natively.
- For Pages Router, use
getServerSessioningetServerSidePropsanduseSessionon the client. - Add
NEXTAUTH_URLfor production deployments. - Store minimal user data in the session; fetch full profiles from the database when needed.