auth0 vs next-auth vs passport
Authentication Libraries for Node.js
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Authentication Libraries for Node.js

Authentication libraries are essential tools in web development that help manage user authentication and authorization processes. They simplify the integration of various authentication strategies, such as OAuth, OpenID Connect, and traditional username/password methods. These libraries provide developers with the ability to secure applications, manage user sessions, and protect sensitive data, ultimately enhancing user experience and application security. Choosing the right authentication library can significantly impact the development workflow, security posture, and scalability of the application.

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Feature Comparison: auth0 vs next-auth vs passport

Integration with Identity Providers

  • auth0:

    Auth0 provides out-of-the-box integration with numerous identity providers, including social logins (Google, Facebook, etc.), enterprise solutions (Active Directory, SAML), and custom databases. This makes it easy to implement a wide range of authentication options without extensive configuration.

  • next-auth:

    NextAuth offers built-in support for various authentication providers, including OAuth, Email, and Credentials. It allows developers to easily configure providers in a Next.js application, making it straightforward to implement authentication without boilerplate code.

  • passport:

    Passport supports a vast array of authentication strategies through its modular design. Developers can choose from over 500 strategies, including OAuth, OpenID, and local authentication, allowing for a highly customizable authentication process.

Ease of Use

  • auth0:

    Auth0 is designed to be user-friendly, providing a comprehensive dashboard for managing users, roles, and permissions. It abstracts much of the complexity involved in authentication, allowing developers to focus on building features rather than managing authentication logic.

  • next-auth:

    NextAuth is easy to set up and configure within a Next.js application. It provides a simple API and leverages the built-in features of Next.js, making it accessible for developers who are already familiar with the framework.

  • passport:

    Passport requires more manual setup compared to Auth0 and NextAuth, as it is a middleware that needs to be integrated into your application. While it offers flexibility, it may require more boilerplate code and configuration, which can be a barrier for beginners.

Customization and Extensibility

  • auth0:

    Auth0 allows for extensive customization through its rules and hooks, enabling developers to implement custom logic during the authentication process. This flexibility is beneficial for applications with specific security requirements or user flows.

  • next-auth:

    NextAuth is highly customizable, allowing developers to define their own authentication flows, callbacks, and session management strategies. This makes it suitable for applications that require unique authentication mechanisms.

  • passport:

    Passport's modular architecture allows developers to easily add or remove authentication strategies as needed. This extensibility is advantageous for applications that may evolve and require different authentication methods over time.

Session Management

  • auth0:

    Auth0 handles session management automatically, providing secure tokens and session storage options. It simplifies the process of managing user sessions, including token expiration and refresh, which enhances security and user experience.

  • next-auth:

    NextAuth provides built-in session management, allowing developers to easily configure session duration, storage, and handling. It supports both server-side and client-side session management, making it versatile for different application architectures.

  • passport:

    Passport does not provide built-in session management; instead, it relies on the developer to implement session handling using Express sessions or similar middleware. This gives developers full control but requires additional work to ensure secure session management.

Security Features

  • auth0:

    Auth0 offers advanced security features, including anomaly detection, brute force protection, and multi-factor authentication (MFA). These features help safeguard applications against common security threats and enhance overall security posture.

  • next-auth:

    NextAuth provides basic security features, such as CSRF protection and secure session handling. While it may not have as many advanced features as Auth0, it is sufficient for most applications and can be extended as needed.

  • passport:

    Passport itself does not include built-in security features; however, it can be combined with other libraries to implement security measures. Developers need to be proactive in ensuring that their authentication implementation is secure.

How to Choose: auth0 vs next-auth vs passport

  • auth0:

    Choose Auth0 if you need a comprehensive, cloud-based authentication service that supports multiple identity providers, social logins, and enterprise solutions. It's ideal for applications that require a high level of security and scalability without the need to manage the authentication infrastructure yourself.

  • next-auth:

    Choose NextAuth if you are building a Next.js application and want a flexible, easy-to-use authentication solution that integrates seamlessly with your app. It supports various authentication providers and is designed to work well with serverless architectures, making it suitable for modern web applications.

  • passport:

    Choose Passport if you prefer a lightweight, modular authentication middleware for Node.js that allows you to implement a wide range of authentication strategies. It's best suited for applications where you want more control over the authentication process and are comfortable managing your own user sessions.

README for auth0

Node.js client library for Auth0

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📚 Documentation - 🚀 Getting Started - 💻 API Reference - 💬 Feedback

Documentation

Getting Started

Requirements

This library supports the following tooling versions:

  • Node.js: ^20.19.0 || ^22.12.0 || ^24.0.0

Installation

Using npm in your project directory run the following command:

npm install auth0

Configure the SDK

Authentication API Client

This client can be used to access Auth0's Authentication API.

import { AuthenticationClient } from "auth0";

const auth0 = new AuthenticationClient({
    domain: "{YOUR_TENANT_AND REGION}.auth0.com",
    clientId: "{YOUR_CLIENT_ID}",
    clientSecret: "{OPTIONAL_CLIENT_SECRET}",
});

Management API Client

The Auth0 Management API is meant to be used by back-end servers or trusted parties performing administrative tasks. Generally speaking, anything that can be done through the Auth0 dashboard (and more) can also be done through this API.

Initialize your client class with a domain and token:

import { ManagementClient } from "auth0";

const management = new ManagementClient({
    domain: "{YOUR_TENANT_AND REGION}.auth0.com",
    token: "{YOUR_API_V2_TOKEN}",
});

Or use client credentials:

import { ManagementClient } from "auth0";

const management = new ManagementClient({
    domain: "{YOUR_TENANT_AND REGION}.auth0.com",
    clientId: "{YOUR_CLIENT_ID}",
    clientSecret: "{YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET}",
    withCustomDomainHeader: "auth.example.com", // Optional: Auto-applies to whitelisted endpoints
});

UserInfo API Client

This client can be used to retrieve user profile information.

import { UserInfoClient } from "auth0";

const userInfo = new UserInfoClient({
    domain: "{YOUR_TENANT_AND REGION}.auth0.com",
});

// Get user info with an access token
const userProfile = await userInfo.getUserInfo(accessToken);

Legacy Usage

If you are migrating from the legacy node-auth0 package (v4.x) or need to maintain compatibility with legacy code, you can use the legacy export which provides the node-auth0 v4.x API interface.

Installing Legacy Version

The legacy version (node-auth0 v4.x) is available through the /legacy export path:

// Import the legacy version (node-auth0 v4.x API)
import { ManagementClient, AuthenticationClient } from "auth0/legacy";

// Or using CommonJS
const { ManagementClient, AuthenticationClient } = require("auth0/legacy");

Legacy Configuration

The legacy API uses the node-auth0 v4.x configuration format and method signatures, which are different from the current v5 API:

Legacy Management Client

import { ManagementClient } from "auth0/legacy";

const management = new ManagementClient({
    domain: "{YOUR_TENANT_AND REGION}.auth0.com",
    clientId: "{YOUR_CLIENT_ID}",
    clientSecret: "{YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET}",
    scope: "read:users update:users",
});

// Legacy API methods use promise-based patterns (node-auth0 v4.x style)
management.users
    .getAll()
    .then((users) => console.log(users))
    .catch((err) => console.error(err));

// Or with async/await
try {
    const users = await management.users.getAll();
    console.log(users);
} catch (err) {
    console.error(err);
}

Legacy Authentication Client

import { AuthenticationClient } from "auth0/legacy";

const auth0 = new AuthenticationClient({
    domain: "{YOUR_TENANT_AND REGION}.auth0.com",
    clientId: "{YOUR_CLIENT_ID}",
    clientSecret: "{YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET}",
});

// Legacy authentication methods (node-auth0 v4.x style)
auth0.oauth
    .passwordGrant({
        username: "user@example.com",
        password: "password",
        audience: "https://api.example.com",
    })
    .then((userData) => {
        console.log(userData);
    })
    .catch((err) => {
        console.error("Authentication error:", err);
    });

// Or with async/await
try {
    const userData = await auth0.oauth.passwordGrant({
        username: "user@example.com",
        password: "password",
        audience: "https://api.example.com",
    });
    console.log(userData);
} catch (err) {
    console.error("Authentication error:", err);
}

Migration from Legacy (node-auth0 v4) to v5

When migrating from node-auth0 v4.x to the current v5 SDK, note the following key differences:

  1. Method Names: Many method names have changed to be more descriptive
  2. Type Safety: Enhanced TypeScript support with better type definitions
  3. Error Handling: Unified error handling with specific error types
  4. Configuration: Simplified configuration options

Example Migration

Legacy (node-auth0 v4.x) code:

const { ManagementClient } = require("auth0/legacy");

const management = new ManagementClient({
    domain: "your-tenant.auth0.com",
    clientId: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID",
    clientSecret: "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET",
    scope: "read:users",
});

// With promises
management.users
    .getAll({ search_engine: "v3" })
    .then((users) => {
        console.log(users);
    })
    .catch((err) => {
        console.error(err);
    });

// Or with async/await
try {
    const users = await management.users.getAll({ search_engine: "v3" });
    console.log(users);
} catch (err) {
    console.error(err);
}

v5 equivalent:

import { ManagementClient } from "auth0";

const management = new ManagementClient({
    domain: "your-tenant.auth0.com",
    clientId: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID",
    clientSecret: "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET",
});

// With promises
management.users
    .list({
        searchEngine: "v3",
    })
    .then((users) => {
        console.log(users);
    })
    .catch((error) => {
        console.error(error);
    });

// Or with async/await
try {
    const users = await management.users.list({
        searchEngine: "v3",
    });
    console.log(users);
} catch (error) {
    console.error(error);
}

Request and Response Types

The SDK exports all request and response types as TypeScript interfaces. You can import them directly:

import { ManagementClient, Management, ManagementError } from "auth0";

const client = new ManagementClient({
    domain: "your-tenant.auth0.com",
    token: "YOUR_TOKEN",
});

// Use the request type
const listParams: Management.ListActionsRequestParameters = {
    triggerId: "post-login",
    actionName: "my-action",
};

const actions = await client.actions.list(listParams);

API Reference

Generated Documentation

Key Classes

  • ManagementClient - for Auth0 Management API operations
  • AuthenticationClient - for Auth0 Authentication API operations
  • UserInfoClient - for retrieving user profile information

Exception Handling

When the API returns a non-success status code (4xx or 5xx response), a subclass of the following error will be thrown.

import { ManagementError } from "auth0";

try {
    await client.actions.create({
        name: "my-action",
        supported_triggers: [{ id: "post-login" }],
        code: "exports.onExecutePostLogin = async (event, api) => { console.log('Hello World'); };",
    });
} catch (err) {
    if (err instanceof ManagementError) {
        console.log(err.statusCode);
        console.log(err.message);
        console.log(err.body);
        console.log(err.rawResponse);
    }
}

Pagination

Some list endpoints are paginated. You can iterate through pages using default values:

import { ManagementClient } from "auth0";

const client = new ManagementClient({
    domain: "your-tenant.auth0.com",
    token: "YOUR_TOKEN",
});

// Using default pagination (page size defaults vary by endpoint)
let page = await client.actions.list();
for (const item of page.data) {
    console.log(item);
}

while (page.hasNextPage()) {
    page = await page.getNextPage();
    for (const item of page.data) {
        console.log(item);
    }
}

Or you can explicitly control pagination using page and per_page parameters:

// Offset-based pagination (most endpoints)
let page = await client.actions.list({
    page: 0, // Page number (0-indexed)
    per_page: 25, // Number of items per page
});

for (const item of page.data) {
    console.log(item);
}

while (page.hasNextPage()) {
    page = await page.getNextPage();
    for (const item of page.data) {
        console.log(item);
    }
}

Some endpoints use checkpoint pagination with from and take parameters:

// Checkpoint-based pagination (e.g., connections, organizations)
let page = await client.connections.list({
    take: 50, // Number of items per page
});

for (const item of page.data) {
    console.log(item);
}

while (page.hasNextPage()) {
    page = await page.getNextPage();
    for (const item of page.data) {
        console.log(item);
    }
}

Advanced

Additional Headers

If you would like to send additional headers as part of the request, use the headers request option.

const response = await client.actions.create(
    {
        name: "my-action",
        supported_triggers: [{ id: "post-login" }],
    },
    {
        headers: {
            "X-Custom-Header": "custom value",
        },
    },
);

Request Helpers

The SDK provides convenient helper functions for common request configuration patterns:

import { ManagementClient, CustomDomainHeader, withTimeout, withRetries, withHeaders, withAbortSignal } from "auth0";

const client = new ManagementClient({
    domain: "your-tenant.auth0.com",
    token: "YOUR_TOKEN",
});

// Example 1: Use custom domain header for specific requests
const reqOptions = {
    ...CustomDomainHeader("auth.example.com"),
    timeoutInSeconds: 30,
};
await client.actions.list({}, reqOptions);

// Example 2: Combine multiple options
const reqOptions = {
    ...withTimeout(30),
    ...withRetries(3),
    ...withHeaders({
        "X-Request-ID": crypto.randomUUID(),
        "X-Operation-Source": "admin-dashboard",
    }),
};
await client.actions.list({}, reqOptions);

// Example 3: For automatic custom domain header on whitelisted endpoints
const client = new ManagementClient({
    domain: "your-tenant.auth0.com",
    token: "YOUR_TOKEN",
    withCustomDomainHeader: "auth.example.com", // Auto-applies to whitelisted endpoints
});

// Example 4: Request cancellation
const controller = new AbortController();
const reqOptions = {
    ...withAbortSignal(controller.signal),
    ...withTimeout(30),
};
const promise = client.actions.list({}, reqOptions);

// Cancel after 10 seconds
setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 10000);

Available helper functions:

  • CustomDomainHeader(domain) - Configure custom domain header for specific requests
  • withTimeout(seconds) - Set request timeout
  • withRetries(count) - Configure retry attempts
  • withHeaders(headers) - Add custom headers
  • withAbortSignal(signal) - Enable request cancellation

To apply the custom domain header globally across your application, use the withCustomDomainHeader option when initializing the ManagementClient. This will automatically inject the header for all whitelisted endpoints.

Retries

The SDK is instrumented with automatic retries with exponential backoff. A request will be retried as long as the request is deemed retryable and the number of retry attempts has not grown larger than the configured retry limit (default: 2).

A request is deemed retryable when any of the following HTTP status codes is returned:

  • 408 (Timeout)
  • 429 (Too Many Requests)
  • 5XX (Internal Server Errors)

Use the maxRetries request option to configure this behavior.

const response = await client.actions.create(
    {
        name: "my-action",
        supported_triggers: [{ id: "post-login" }],
    },
    {
        maxRetries: 0, // override maxRetries at the request level
    },
);

Timeouts

The SDK defaults to a 60 second timeout. Use the timeoutInSeconds option to configure this behavior.

const response = await client.actions.create(
    {
        name: "my-action",
        supported_triggers: [{ id: "post-login" }],
    },
    {
        timeoutInSeconds: 30, // override timeout to 30s
    },
);

Aborting Requests

The SDK allows users to abort requests at any point by passing in an abort signal.

const controller = new AbortController();
const response = await client.actions.create(
    {
        name: "my-action",
        supported_triggers: [{ id: "post-login" }],
    },
    {
        abortSignal: controller.signal,
    },
);
controller.abort(); // aborts the request

Logging

The SDK supports configurable logging for debugging API requests and responses. By default, logging is silent.

import { ManagementClient } from "auth0";

const client = new ManagementClient({
    domain: "your-tenant.auth0.com",
    clientId: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID",
    clientSecret: "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET",
    logging: {
        level: "debug", // "debug" | "info" | "warn" | "error"
        silent: false, // Set to false to enable logging output
    },
});

You can also provide a custom logger implementation:

import { ManagementClient } from "auth0";

const customLogger = {
    debug: (msg, ...args) => myLogger.debug(msg, args),
    info: (msg, ...args) => myLogger.info(msg, args),
    warn: (msg, ...args) => myLogger.warn(msg, args),
    error: (msg, ...args) => myLogger.error(msg, args),
};

const client = new ManagementClient({
    domain: "your-tenant.auth0.com",
    clientId: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID",
    clientSecret: "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET",
    logging: {
        level: "info",
        logger: customLogger,
        silent: false,
    },
});

Access Raw Response Data

The SDK provides access to raw response data, including headers, through the .withRawResponse() method. The .withRawResponse() method returns a promise that results to an object with a data and a rawResponse property.

const { data, rawResponse } = await client.actions
    .create({
        name: "my-action",
        supported_triggers: [{ id: "post-login" }],
    })
    .withRawResponse();

console.log(data);
console.log(rawResponse.headers);

Runtime Compatibility

The SDK defaults to node-fetch but will use the global fetch client if present. The SDK works in the following runtimes:

  • Node.js 20.19.0+, 22.12.0+, 24+
  • Vercel
  • Cloudflare Workers
  • Deno v1.25+
  • Bun 1.0+
  • React Native

Feedback

Contributing

We appreciate feedback and contribution to this repo! Before you get started, please see the following:

While we value open-source contributions to this SDK, this library is generated programmatically. Additions made directly to this library would have to be moved over to our generation code, otherwise they would be overwritten upon the next generated release. Feel free to open a PR as a proof of concept, but know that we will not be able to merge it as-is. We suggest opening an issue first to discuss with us!

On the other hand, contributions to the README are always very welcome!

Raise an issue

To provide feedback or report a bug, please raise an issue on our issue tracker.

Vulnerability Reporting

Please do not report security vulnerabilities on the public GitHub issue tracker. The Responsible Disclosure Program details the procedure for disclosing security issues.

What is Auth0?

Auth0 Logo

Auth0 is an easy to implement, adaptable authentication and authorization platform. To learn more checkout Why Auth0?

This project is licensed under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more info.