Better Auth

What it is

Better Auth is a comprehensive TypeScript authentication framework designed for developers building web applications. It provides a self-hosted, open-source alternative to SaaS authentication solutions, enabling full control over user authentication infrastructure. It is targeted at developers working with modern JavaScript and TypeScript stacks who require a flexible, type-safe, and scalable auth solution.

Main Features

Core Authentication

• Email and password-based authentication
• Session and account management

Social & OAuth Sign-on

• Support for multiple OAuth providers including GitHub, Google, Discord, and Twitter

Security Features

• Two-factor/multi-factor authentication (2FA/MFA)
• Built-in security protections

Multi-Tenancy & Organizations

• Organization and team management
• Member invitations and access control
• Multi-tenant support

Framework & Ecosystem

• Framework-agnostic design supporting React, Vue, Svelte, Astro, Solid, Next.js, Nuxt, Tanstack Start, Hono, and others
• Extensible plugin ecosystem with official and community plugins
• Automatic database schema generation (e.g., for DrizzleORM)

How it works

Typical Setup

Developers install the package via npm (npm add better-auth) and configure an auth instance by defining database connections, enabling authentication methods (like email/password), and adding plugins for extended functionality (like 2FA or organizations). The framework generates necessary database schemas and provides type-safe APIs.

Integration with Frontend Frameworks

The framework provides client libraries that integrate seamlessly with popular frontend frameworks. Developers can create sign-in components that communicate with the backend auth instance, handling sessions and user state management.

Plugin System

Additional features are enabled through a plugin system. Developers can add plugins like organization() or twoFactor() to their auth configuration to extend functionality without writing boilerplate code.

Key Points

• Provides full type safety throughout the authentication flow
• Emphasizes developer experience (DX) with simple setup and intuitive APIs
• Self-hosted solution that maintains data ownership and control
• Designed to work at scale from small projects to large production applications
• Generates necessary database schemas automatically (e.g., users, sessions)
• Well-regarded by developers for its ease of use compared to alternatives

Additional Details

• Available as an npm package (better-auth)
• Open-source with source code hosted on GitHub
• Comprehensive documentation available at the project website
• Currently free to use (no mentioned pricing)
• Requires a database connection (e.g., PostgreSQL via connection string)
• Demo application available for testing purposes
• Active community with discussion forums and changelogs