Better Auth customization and control
Better Auth provides full control to customize auth flows exactly as needed.
better auth/overview
25 notes, read out of this brain and free to use. Each one was extracted from a source and is re-checked against its exam.
Better Auth data ownership
With Better Auth, user data stays in your database, not with a third-party service.
Better Auth scaling costs
Better Auth has no per-user costs, allowing scaling without worrying about auth billing.
Better Auth data centralization
Better Auth provides a single source of truth with all user data in one place.
Better Auth security
Better Auth handles security with battle-tested auth flows and security practices.
Better Auth framework compatibility
Better Auth is framework agnostic and works with any framework, not limited to specific ones.
Better Auth migration command for custom adapters
For custom database adapters, run `npx auth generate` to generate the schema. For the default adapter, run `npx auth migrate`.
`getIp` renamed to `getIP`
The public `getIp` export is renamed `getIP`. Update imports of the IP helper to `getIP`.
Basic Better Auth instance setup with GitHub OAuth
A Better Auth instance for GitHub OAuth is created by importing betterAuth from 'better-auth' and calling it with socialProviders configuration. The configuration includes a socialProviders object with github key containing clientId and clientSecret from environment variables.
Better Auth does not require middleware for protection
Better Auth recommends handling auth checks on each page or route rather than in Next.js Middleware or Layout, as Middleware is not intended for slow data fetching and should only be used for optimistic checks like permission-based redirects.
Better Auth Infrastructure paid service overview
Better Auth Infrastructure is a paid service that extends an authentication system with a management dashboard, abuse protection, transactional messaging, and enterprise features without requiring management of additional infrastructure.
Lynx framework target platforms
Lynx is a cross-platform rendering framework that enables building applications for Android, iOS, and Web platforms with native rendering performance.
Auth.js (NextAuth.js) maintenance transition
Auth.js, formerly known as NextAuth.js, is now being maintained and overseen by the Better Auth team. Better Auth was created after the Auth.js team recognized limitations in Auth.js and had ideas for the future but could not execute them fully. The two projects' goals aligned, leading to Better Auth becoming the best home for Auth.js.
Better Auth inspiration and ecosystem goal
Better Auth was created inspired by Auth.js, and the combined direction of both projects is to enable developers to own their authentication without spending months wrestling with OAuth integrations or session management.
Better Auth joins Vercel
Better Auth is joining Vercel as announced on July 7, 2026. Vercel shares Better Auth's commitment to keeping auth open source and framework-agnostic. The acquisition gives Better Auth more resources to focus on building the authentication framework that the community relies on. Together, Vercel and Better Auth will invest in securing agent workflows, a future where agents act on users' behalf with secure, scoped, and revocable access.
Better Auth history and origins
Better Auth was created three years before July 2026 (starting around 2023). The creator was building an open-source web analytics platform and needed authentication. When NextAuth worked for simple use cases but not for organizations (multi-tenant, inviting teammates, roles, permissions, access control), the creator began experimenting with 'next-org', a wrapper on top of NextAuth. After hitting ergonomic walls with NextAuth APIs and facing similar auth challenges across different frameworks (Expo, Svelte), the creator decided to build a framework-agnostic auth framework. The name 'better-auth' was chosen as a sign after verifying the npm package name was available. The first version was released on September 28, 2024, after approximately seven months of development.
Better Auth framework design philosophy
Better Auth was designed as a framework-agnostic auth solution with a simple core for everyday apps, extensible with plugins for any auth feature needed. The creator wanted a framework that let developers own their auth rather than outsource it to third-party services. The framework prioritizes ergonomic APIs and developer experience.
Better Auth adjacent libraries
Better Auth required two adjacent libraries: 'better-fetch' (needed for the Better Auth client) and 'better-call' (a simple web server framework for the Better Auth backend). The creator built both while developing Better Auth.
Better Auth beta to 1.0 release cycle
Better Auth stayed in beta for the first three months after the September 28, 2024 release. Every Friday through the end of November 2024, a new release was shipped packed with fixes, improvements, and new features, until the framework reached version 1.0.
Better Auth raised capital and became a company
Better Auth received Y Combinator investment after the creator applied and was accepted. After Y Combinator, the company raised capital led by Peak XV (formerly Sequoia India & Southeast Asia), along with more than 50 funds and angel investors.
Better Auth acquired Auth.js and NextAuth.js
Better Auth acquired Auth.js / NextAuth.js. The creator learned through conversations with Balázs (Auth.js maintainer) that the direction of Better Auth was similar to the direction the Auth.js team had been thinking about. Better Auth took over the project with the plan to maintain Auth.js and NextAuth.js while continuing to fix security issues and bugs, with a long-term path to transition users. This acquisition resulted in the 'auth' npm package becoming available.
Better Auth monetization approach
Better Auth initially planned to build a hosted platform extending the framework with a dashboard, security features, and audit logs. This first attempt was launched on January 1 as 'Better Auth Infrastructure'. However, rather than building a traditional hosted auth service (the obvious path for open-source projects), the approach shifted toward addressing the agent auth problem as AI development accelerated. By joining Vercel, Better Auth can refocus on its original mission of helping developers own their auth without needing to shape strategy around monetization.
Agent Auth protocol and agentic workflows
Better Auth began researching auth for a world where agents act on behalf of users. This creates new security and authorization problems, with securing agentic workflows becoming one of the most important challenges in software. Better Auth launched the Agent Auth protocol and began exploring the next version with other companies, including Vercel. The focus is on key primitives shaping the agent security stack, with Vercel having already been at the forefront of agentic infrastructure with launches like Eve and Vercel Connect.
Better Auth future plans at Vercel
With Vercel's infrastructure, distribution, community, and product surface area, Better Auth can bring ideas to developers at a larger scale. The transition lets Better Auth refocus on its original mission of helping developers own their auth with greater access to resources. Better Auth will continue evolving the identity and access layer for infrastructure as the agentic world accelerates. Vercel Passport is mentioned as higher-level tooling that makes auth easier for internal apps.
Better Auth overview and purpose
Better Auth is a framework-agnostic authentication and authorization framework for TypeScript. It provides a comprehensive set of features out of the box and includes a plugin ecosystem for adding advanced functionalities. It supports features like 2FA and multi-tenant support.