Authentication Setup

Budget Bee uses Better Auth for authentication, providing email/password and social login with Google.

Overview

Better Auth provides:

Email & Password authentication with verification
OAuth integration (Google Sign-In)
Account linking across auth methods
Session management with JWT tokens
Organization support for multi-tenant features
Password reset via email

Configuration

Authentication is configured in packages/core/auth.ts:

import { betterAuth } from "better-auth";
import { nextCookies } from "better-auth/next-js";
import { bearer, customSession, jwt, organization } from "better-auth/plugins";
import { polar } from "@polar-sh/better-auth";

export const auth = betterAuth({
  database: authAdminClient,
  appName: "Budgetbee",
  trustedOrigins: [
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL!,
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL!,
  ],
  baseURL: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL!,
  
  // Email & Password configuration
  emailAndPassword: {
    enabled: true,
    requireEmailVerification: true,
    sendResetPassword: async (data) => {
      // Send password reset email via Resend
    },
  },
  
  // Email verification
  emailVerification: {
    sendVerificationEmail: async (data) => {
      // Send verification email via Resend
    },
    sendOnSignUp: true,
    sendOnSignIn: true,
  },
  
  // Social providers
  socialProviders: {
    google: {
      enabled: true,
      prompt: "select_account",
      clientId: process.env.GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID!,
      clientSecret: process.env.GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET!,
    },
  },
  
  // Plugins
  plugins: [
    customSession(),
    organization(),
    polar(),
    jwt(),
    bearer(),
    nextCookies(),
  ],
});

Email & Password Authentication

Requirements

Passwords must meet these criteria:

Password Requirements

Minimum 8 characters
At least 1 lowercase letter (a-z)
At least 1 uppercase letter (A-Z)
At least 1 number (0-9)

User Submits Form

const res = await authClient.signUp.email({
  name: "John Doe",
  email: "john@example.com",
  password: "SecurePass123",
});

User Created

Better Auth creates a user record in the database.

Verification Email Sent

A verification email is sent via Resend:

sendVerificationEmail: async data => {
  await resend.emails.send({
    from: `${process.env.SMTP_SENDER_NAME} <${process.env.SMTP_MAIL}>`,
    to: [data.user.email],
    subject: "Verify your email",
    html: verificationLink(data.url),
  });
}

User Verifies Email

User clicks the link in the email to verify their account.

Access Granted

After verification, user can sign in and access Budget Bee.

const res = await authClient.signIn.email({
  email: "john@example.com",
  password: "SecurePass123",
  rememberMe: true,
  callbackURL: "/transactions",
});

if (res.error) {
  // Handle error
  console.error(res.error.message);
} else {
  // Redirect to callbackURL
  router.push(res.data.url || "/transactions");
}

Password Reset

Request Reset

User clicks “Forgot Password” and enters their email.

Reset Email Sent

sendResetPassword: async data => {
  await resend.emails.send({
    from: `${process.env.SMTP_SENDER_NAME} <${process.env.SMTP_MAIL}>`,
    to: [data.user.email],
    subject: "Password reset",
    html: resetPassword(data.url),
  });
}

User Creates New Password

User clicks the link and enters a new password meeting requirements.

Password Updated

New password is hashed and stored. User can sign in immediately.

Google OAuth

Setup Google OAuth

Create Google Cloud Project

Go to Google Cloud Console
Create a new project or select existing
Enable the Google+ API

Create OAuth Credentials

Navigate to APIs & Services → Credentials
Click Create Credentials → OAuth 2.0 Client ID
Select Web application
Add authorized redirect URIs:
- Development: http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback/google
- Production: https://your-domain.com/api/auth/callback/google

Copy Credentials

Copy the Client ID and Client Secret to your .env file:

GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=123456789-abc.apps.googleusercontent.com
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=GOCSPX-abc123xyz789

const handleGoogleSignIn = async () => {
  const res = await authClient.signIn.social({
    provider: "google",
    callbackURL: "/transactions",
  });
  
  if (res.error) {
    setError(res.error.message);
  } else if (res.data && res.data.redirect) {
    router.push(res.data.url || "/transactions");
  }
};

Account Linking

Users can link multiple authentication methods:

account: {
  accountLinking: {
    enabled: true,
    trustedProviders: ["google"],
  },
}

Scenarios:

User signs up with email/password, later links Google account
User signs in with Google, account automatically created
Existing email account automatically links to Google if emails match

Session Management

Custom Session Data

Budget Bee extends sessions with subscription information:

customSession(async ({ session, user }) => {
  const subscription = `select product_id from app_subscriptions 
    where user_id = $1 and period_start <= now() and period_end >= now()`;
  
  const subscriptionRes = await authAdminClient.query(subscription, [user.id]);
  
  const isSubscribed = subscriptionRes?.rows?.length > 0;
  
  return {
    user,
    session,
    subscription: {
      isSubscribed,
      productId: subscriptionRes.rows[0]?.product_id,
    },
  };
})

JWT Tokens

JWT tokens include user and organization context:

jwt({
  jwt: {
    definePayload: async ({ user, session }) => {
      let organizationRole: string | null = null;

      if (session.activeOrganizationId) {
        const result = await authAdminClient.query(
          `SELECT role FROM members 
           WHERE user_id = $1 AND organization_id = $2 LIMIT 1`,
          [user.id, session.activeOrganizationId]
        );
        
        if (result.rows.length > 0) {
          organizationRole = result.rows[0].role;
        }
      }

      return {
        sub: user.id,
        user_id: user.id,
        role: "authenticated",
        email: user.email,
        claims: {
          organization_id: session.activeOrganizationId,
          organization_role: organizationRole,
          subscription: session.subscription,
        },
      };
    },
    issuer: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL!,
    audience: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL!,
    expirationTime: "1h",
  },
})

Session Storage

Sessions are stored in the database:

create table sessions (
  id text primary key,
  expires_at timestamp not null,
  ip_address text,
  user_agent text,
  user_id text references users(id) on delete cascade,
  active_organization_id text,
  created_at timestamp default current_timestamp,
  updated_at timestamp default current_timestamp
);

Organization Plugin

Better Auth’s organization plugin enables multi-tenancy:

organization({
  allowUserToCreateOrganization: async (user) => {
    // Check if user has Teams subscription
    if (!user.emailVerified) return false;
    const subscriptionRes = await subscriptionAdminClient.query(
      `SELECT product_id FROM app_subscriptions 
       WHERE user_id = $1 
       AND period_start <= now() 
       AND period_end >= now()`,
      [user.id]
    );
    return subscriptionRes.rows.length > 0 && 
      subscriptionRes.rows.filter(x => isTeamsOrHigher(x.product_id)).length > 0;
  },
  organizationLimit: 5,
  membershipLimit: 50,
  creatorRole: "owner",
  ac: accessControl,
  roles: { owner, admin, editor, viewer },
  invitationExpiresIn: 60 * 60 * 24 * 7, // 7 days
  requireEmailVerificationOnInvitation: true,
  sendInvitationEmail: async (data) => {
    // Send invitation email via Resend
  },
})

Email Templates

Budget Bee sends these emails:

Verification Email

<div style="font-family: sans-serif; max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;">
  <h2>Verify your email</h2>
  <p>Thanks for signing up for Budget Bee!</p>
  <p style="margin: 24px 0;">
    <a href="${verificationUrl}" 
       style="background-color: #10b981; color: white; 
              padding: 12px 24px; text-decoration: none; 
              border-radius: 6px; display: inline-block;">
      Verify Email Address
    </a>
  </p>
  <p style="color: #666; font-size: 14px;">
    This link will expire in 24 hours.
  </p>
</div>

Password Reset Email

<div style="font-family: sans-serif; max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;">
  <h2>Reset your password</h2>
  <p>You requested to reset your Budget Bee password.</p>
  <p style="margin: 24px 0;">
    <a href="${resetUrl}" 
       style="background-color: #10b981; color: white; 
              padding: 12px 24px; text-decoration: none; 
              border-radius: 6px; display: inline-block;">
      Reset Password
    </a>
  </p>
  <p style="color: #666; font-size: 14px;">
    If you didn't request this, you can safely ignore this email.
  </p>
</div>

Organization Invitation Email

See Invitations for invitation email template.

Security Features

Email Verification

Prevents unauthorized account creation and spam.

Password Hashing

Passwords hashed with bcrypt before storage.

JWT Tokens

Stateless authentication with signed tokens.

Session Tracking

Track all active sessions with IP and user agent.

Client-Side Usage

Using the auth client in React components:

import { authClient } from "@budgetbee/core/auth-client";

export function MyComponent() {
  const { data: session, isPending } = authClient.useSession();
  
  if (isPending) {
    return <div>Loading...</div>;
  }
  
  if (!session) {
    return <div>Not signed in</div>;
  }
  
  return (
    <div>
      <p>Welcome, {session.user.name}!</p>
      <p>Email: {session.user.email}</p>
      {session.subscription?.isSubscribed && (
        <p>Subscription: {session.subscription.productId}</p>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

Troubleshooting

Verification email not received

Check:

Resend API key is valid
Sender email is verified in Resend
Check spam/junk folder
Review Resend dashboard for delivery logs
Verify SMTP_MAIL and SMTP_SENDER_NAME are set

Google Sign-In not working

Session expired quickly

Ensure:

Browser cookies are enabled
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET hasn’t changed
JWT expiration time is appropriate (default 1h)
System clock is accurate

Cannot create organization

Check:

User email is verified
User has active Teams subscription
Haven’t reached organization limit (5)
Subscription admin database user has correct permissions

Next Steps

Environment Variables

Configure all authentication-related environment variables.

Database Setup

Set up database tables and users for authentication.

Get Started

Core Features

Organizations

Configuration

Authentication Setup

Authentication Setup

Overview

Configuration

Email & Password Authentication

Requirements

Password Reset

Google OAuth

Setup Google OAuth

Account Linking

Session Management

Custom Session Data

JWT Tokens

Session Storage

Organization Plugin

Email Templates

Verification Email

Password Reset Email

Organization Invitation Email

Security Features

Email Verification

Password Hashing

JWT Tokens

Session Tracking

Client-Side Usage

Troubleshooting

Next Steps

Environment Variables

Database Setup

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Features

Organizations

Configuration

Documentation Index

​Authentication Setup

​Overview

​Configuration

​Email & Password Authentication

​Requirements

​Sign-Up Flow

​Sign-In Flow

​Password Reset

​Google OAuth

​Setup Google OAuth

​Google Sign-In Flow

​Account Linking

​Session Management

​Custom Session Data

​JWT Tokens

​Session Storage

​Organization Plugin

​Email Templates

​Verification Email

​Password Reset Email

​Organization Invitation Email

​Security Features

Email Verification

Password Hashing

JWT Tokens

Session Tracking

​Client-Side Usage

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps

Environment Variables

Database Setup

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Authentication Setup

Overview

Configuration

Email & Password Authentication

Requirements

Sign-Up Flow

Sign-In Flow

Password Reset

Google OAuth

Setup Google OAuth

Google Sign-In Flow

Account Linking

Session Management

Custom Session Data

JWT Tokens

Session Storage

Organization Plugin

Email Templates

Verification Email

Password Reset Email

Organization Invitation Email

Security Features

Client-Side Usage

Troubleshooting

Next Steps