The Auth Rabbit Hole
Every developer falls in. We did.
JWT vs Sessions. OAuth vs Passwords. Magic links vs Codes.
Here's what we learned.
Our Current Stack
Supabase Auth
- Email/password
- Magic links
- OAuth (Google, GitHub)
- Password reset
- Email verification
All built-in. We don't think about auth.
What We Tried Before
1. Custom JWT Implementation
Built it ourselves. Took 2 weeks.
Had bugs. Had security issues. Rewrote it.
Never again.
2. Auth0
Good. Expensive. Complex.
For startups, it's overkill.
3. NextAuth.js
Good for Next.js. Requires some setup.
We still recommend it for non-Supabase projects.
The Decision Framework
Use Supabase Auth If:
- Using Supabase anyway
- Need email + OAuth
- Don't want to think about auth
Use NextAuth If:
- Not using Supabase
- Need custom auth UI
- Have auth requirements
Use Auth0 If:
- Enterprise requirements
- Need advanced features
- Have budget for it
The Implementation
// Supabase Auth
const { data, error } = await supabase.auth.signUp({
email: 'user@example.com',
password: 'password123'
})
const { data, error } = await supabase.auth.signInWithPassword({
email: 'user@example.com',
password: 'password123'
})
That's it. Auth works.
Security Essentials
1. Password Requirements
Minimum 8 characters. No need for crazy requirements.
Users hate password rules.
2. Rate Limiting
Prevent brute force. Supabase handles this.
3. Email Verification
For SaaS, verify emails. Prevents spam accounts.
4. Session Management
Short sessions. Refresh tokens. Logout everywhere.
Supabase handles this too.
The Honest Answer
Don't build auth yourself.
Use Supabase, NextAuth, or Auth0.
Auth is a solved problem. Stop solving it.
