Catalog
neondatabase/neon-auth

neondatabase

neon-auth

Add authentication to a new app. Use for "add auth", "add login", Neon Auth (Managed Better Auth), identity routing, sign-up, sign-in, password reset, email OTP, magic links, organizations, phone OTP, OAuth, OAuth server for MCP or third-party OAuth clients, passkeys, MFA, trusted domains, invalid domain, and @neon/auth. No existing identity: default to Managed Better Auth. Keep working Better Auth, Clerk, Supabase Auth, or another IdP. User asked to migrate from Supabase Auth: Managed Better Auth. A required plugin outside Managed support: self-managed Better Auth on a Neon Function or the existing app host. Also use for auth APIs in @neon/neon-js.

NewUpdated Oct 30, 2026

FIRST: Use the parent neon skill for a Neon overview, getting started with Neon, Neon development best practices, and more.

If the neon skill is not installed, fetch it from https://neon.com/docs/ai/skills/neon/SKILL.md or install it with:

neon skills -s neon -y

Neon Auth

Neon Auth is Managed Better Auth: users, sessions, and auth config live in the neon_auth schema on the branch's Lakebase Postgres, and auth state branches with the database. The client API is the Better Auth method set (signIn.email, signIn.social, getSession) through @neon/auth. That wrapper is not a drop-in for bare better-auth/client: it pins the plugin list and adds Neon-specific OAuth verifier, iframe popup, and JWT handling. Stay on the wrapper while Auth is managed.

This skill chooses identity, then implements Managed Better Auth. It does not replace a working auth server in order to use Postgres, Functions, Object Storage, or the AI Gateway.

When to Use

Inspect existing identity and the required login features before provisioning. A supplied DATABASE_URL is not a reason to change identity. Adding a Neon Function is not a reason to change identity.

Situation What to do
No existing auth Default to Managed Better Auth. Managed setup, then references/managed-auth.md.
Needs a feature Managed does not offer Self-managed Better Auth on the existing app host (Vercel or similar) or a Neon Function. Keep Lakebase Postgres. Confirm the installed Better Auth version documents that exact flow before recommending the move. If support stays unresolved, keep the current identity. references/self-managed.md.
Already has Better Auth Keep it. It works with the other Neon primitives. Migrate to Managed only if the user asks.
User asked to migrate from Supabase Auth Managed Better Auth. Supabase Auth. Moving only Postgres or adding a Function keeps Supabase Auth.
Clerk, Auth.js, Supabase Auth, or another working IdP Keep it unless the user asks to migrate.

Google, GitHub, Microsoft, Vercel, and Apple social OAuth are offered on Managed Auth. They are not a reason to leave Managed Auth. Microsoft and Apple need your own credentials: Apple and Microsoft OAuth. Making Neon Auth the OAuth server for your own MCP server or third-party OAuth clients is supported: references/oauth-server.md. Other OAuth providers, generic OAuth, MFA, passkeys, API keys, SSO, custom plugins, hooks, and custom JWT claims are the plugin matrix check.

Before enabling Managed Auth, confirm the project is on AWS and does not use IP Allow or Private Networking. Leave those protections in place.

Configure supported Managed plugins through Neon (Console, API, or neon neon-auth), not by passing plugins into @neon/auth. Enabling auth: true is not implementing login.

What It Does

  • Managed identity in Postgres — users and sessions in neon_auth, queryable with SQL, compatible with RLS.
  • Auth emails without an app mailer — verification, email OTP, magic links, and password reset. Getting started uses shared SMTP (auth@mail.myneon.app). You do not add Resend or SendGrid to implement login. Production needs custom SMTP: https://neon.com/docs/auth/production-checklist.md
  • Branches with the database — each branch has its own Auth URL and isolated auth state.
  • Better Auth client methods via the Neon SDK — @neon/auth (auth only) or @neon/neon-js/auth (combined SDK). Optional UI: Better Auth UI (@better-auth-ui/react with its shadcn/ui components).
  • Fixed plugin set — the Managed client does not accept a plugins option. See plugin support.

Availability

Managed Better Auth is generally available. AWS regions only. It cannot be enabled on a project with IP Allow or Private Networking.

Organization is separately Partial / Beta. Hosting self-managed Better Auth in a Neon Function follows Functions availability and claim rules; use the neon-functions skill for that host. An unclaimed project that can enable Auth still cannot use Functions until claim.

Managed setup

Merge Auth into the existing neon.ts. Do not replace other fields:

import { defineConfig } from "@neon/config/v1";

export default defineConfig({
  auth: true,
});
neon deploy
neon neon-auth status

If Function env in that config reads process.env, use neon deploy --env <file> as the parent skill describes. The manual service command is neon neon-auth enable; do not run both enable and deploy as redundant required steps when neon.ts already declares auth: true.

Then implement login: references/managed-auth.md. To make Neon Auth the OAuth server for an MCP server or OAuth clients, continue to references/oauth-server.md.

Claimable projects: follow the parent Claimable path, then auth: true and neon deploy when login is requested and no existing provider should be preserved.

Supabase Auth

When the user asked to migrate login from Supabase Auth, recommend Managed Better Auth and follow https://neon.com/docs/auth/migrate/from-supabase.md. Moving only Postgres or adding a Function is not that request: keep Supabase Auth.

SupabaseAuthAdapter() keeps method shapes such as signInWithPassword and signInWithOAuth. Those calls are not interchangeable with default Better Auth examples (signIn.email). Keep an existing adapter caller on that API.

Inventory the auth methods and database calls actually used:

  • Password hashes cannot transfer. Users create new accounts or sign in with OAuth.
  • Do not promise unchanged user IDs, sessions, or account linking. Plan application foreign keys with the owner.
  • updateUser() cannot change email or password on Managed Auth. Email verification needs application UI (codes work on shared SMTP; links need custom SMTP).
  • The migration guide lists Supabase phone/SMS/WhatsApp, SAML, and Web3 as unsupported on Managed Auth. Confirm the installed Better Auth version if the user still needs that exact flow; if support stays unresolved, keep Supabase Auth and stop the auth cutover. That page's "no phone auth" claim is about Supabase phone sign-in, not the constrained Managed Phone Number plugin (existing users link a number).
  • @supabase/supabase-js used only for Auth does not justify enabling the Data API. Keep Data API only for existing PostgREST / Supabase database-client queries.

Verification

Managed path: sign-up, sign-in, sign-out, session restoration after reload, and protected access, including error and loading states. Exercise email verification (code on shared SMTP) when it is on. Report any flow that remains unverified.

A required plugin on the self-managed path is verified in that app's Better Auth setup, not as a Managed flow.

Plugin support

Checked 2026-10-30 against https://neon.com/docs/auth/guides/plugins.md, https://neon.com/docs/auth/guides/plugins/oauth-provider.md, https://neon.com/docs/auth/roadmap.md, and the @neon/auth client plugin list. Re-fetch those pages if this skill may be stale. An unlisted upstream plugin needs a live check; do not treat absence from this table as a dated roadmap item.

"Not exposed" means the Managed SDK/UI contract. It is not a claim that every raw server request was tested.

Feature Managed Auth Boundary
Email/password Supported signUp.email, signIn.email
Social OAuth (Google, GitHub, Microsoft, Vercel, Apple) Supported signIn.social. Shared Google credentials are for development; production and GitHub/Vercel need your own OAuth apps. Microsoft and Apple always need your own (details). https://neon.com/docs/auth/guides/setup-oauth.md
Admin Supported Admin session required. Plugin customization is on the roadmap.
Email OTP Supported Managed delivery. emailOtp.sendVerificationOtp, signIn.emailOtp.
Magic Link Supported Enable on the branch (off by default). signIn.magicLink.
Organization Partial, Beta Members, invitations, owner/admin/member. No Teams, server hooks, custom roles/permissions, or dynamic access control. Emailed invitations: managed-auth.md.
JWT Supported EdDSA (Ed25519), 15-minute expiry, no custom claims. Default client: .token() then data.token. SupabaseAuthAdapter(): getSession() then data.session.access_token (no .token()).
Open API Supported Server routes /reference and /open-api/generate-schema.
Phone Number Supported with constraints Browser client: existing users link a number, then sign in; no phone-first signup; own SMS webhook; custom UI. Next.js auth.handler() forwards the catch-all path, including phone OTP. A missing auth.phoneNumber server method is a missing typed helper, not a proxy rejection. https://neon.com/docs/auth/guides/plugins/phone-number.md
MFA / Two-Factor Roadmap Unavailable on Managed Auth. If required: self-managed.md, after confirming the installed Better Auth version.
Passkey, API Key, Generic OAuth, One Tap, Multi Session Not exposed by Managed SDK/UI If required: self-managed.md. Generic OAuth is not Google/GitHub/Microsoft/Vercel/Apple social sign-in.
OAuth Provider (OAuth server, MCP auth) Supported (beta) Neon Auth is the OAuth 2.1 / OIDC server for your MCP server or third-party OAuth clients. You host the login and consent pages; no client credentials grant. See references/oauth-server.md.
SSO / SAML Not listed or exposed If required: self-managed.md, after confirming the installed Better Auth version.

The default Managed client method is getAnonymousToken(). That JWT is a Neon anonymous Data API token. It is not Better Auth's Anonymous-account plugin (signIn.anonymous). anonymousTokenClient() is the SDK plugin factory, not a method on the public client. Do not call it, and do not call getAnonymousToken() on SupabaseAuthAdapter().

Trusted domains and webhooks are Neon settings, not installable Better Auth plugins.

Apple and Microsoft OAuth

Both providers reject shared credentials; add them with your own via neon neon-auth oauth-provider add|update (Console and API work too). A multi-line secret goes in a file with --oauth-client-secret-file, not inline.

  • Apple: client_id is the Services ID, client_secret is the full .p8 private key. Also pass --apple-team-id and --apple-key-id (10 characters). Neon Auth signs the client-secret JWT itself, so there is nothing to rotate. Rotating the key needs the new --apple-key-id in the same update. The return URL must be HTTPS (https://<auth host>/<db>/auth/callback/apple); Apple rejects localhost, so test through a tunnel or a deployed preview.
  • Microsoft: client_id and client_secret from the Entra app registration. --microsoft-tenant-id is optional: common (default), organizations, consumers, a tenant GUID, or a domain. The redirect URI is <base_url>/callback/microsoft.
  • Microsoft email verification: an email counts as verified only when the ID token carries xms_edov = true and acct = 0. Add xms_edov and acct as optional ID-token claims in Entra. Without them, a same-email existing user gets account_not_linked, link-social fails with unable_to_link_account, and new users stay unverified.

Trusted domains

Auth redirects only to origins on its allowlist. invalid domain means the app origin is missing. Include the scheme, omit a trailing slash, register production and preview origins before pointing users at them, and target the correct branch:

neon neon-auth domain add https://app.example.com
neon neon-auth domain list
neon neon-auth domain delete https://old.example.com

Localhost ports are pre-approved by default. An existing project can have that off: neon neon-auth domain allow-localhost get|enable|disable. Docs: https://neon.com/docs/auth/guides/configure-domains.md

OAuth provider redirect is {NEON_AUTH_BASE_URL}/callback/{provider} (the Auth URL includes its path). callbackURL on signIn.social is the later app landing origin and must be trusted.

The Managed SDK handles iframe OAuth popup and neon_auth_session_verifier. Keep the wrapper, callback route, and middleware. Do not reimplement that flow, and do not promise third-party cookies in every browser.

Functions and Data API

A Function authenticates whoever already signs the user in. Do not switch identity to call a Function. Verify the token in the neon-functions skill and https://neon.com/docs/compute/functions/authentication.md.

Managed Auth: injected NEON_AUTH_JWKS_URL, issuer from NEON_AUTH_BASE_URL. Token: default client .token() then data.token; SupabaseAuthAdapter() getSession() then data.session.access_token. A valid token is not permission to read another user's rows. Sign-out ends the browser session; do not claim it immediately revokes an already-issued JWT.

Data API identity: references/managed-auth.md. New apps query Postgres from Functions or existing handlers, not the Data API.

Files4
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Overall Score

82/100

Grade

B

Good

Grades are signals, not a certification. Always review a skill yourself before use.

Safety

80

Quality

85

Clarity

83

Completeness

78

Summary

The neon-auth skill guides agents to add authentication to applications using Neon's Managed Better Auth. It covers identity selection (defaulting to Managed Better Auth for new apps), implementation across frameworks (Next.js, React, Vite), and advanced features like OAuth servers, phone OTP, and multi-factor authentication routing. The skill intelligently preserves existing identity providers and includes migration guidance from Supabase Auth.

Static Analysis Findings

1 finding

Patterns detected by deterministic static analysis before AI scoring. Hover over any finding code for detailed information and remediation guidance.

Credential Exposure
SEC-020Direct .env File Access7x in 3 files

Direct .env file access

SKILL.md.env
references/managed-auth.md.env3x
references/oauth-server.md.env3x

Detected Capabilities

file readconfiguration guidanceenvironment variable referencecode snippet generationframework-specific instructionexternal documentation linkingAPI documentation referenceCLI command guidance

Trigger Keywords

Phrases that agents use to match this skill to user intent.

add authenticationset up loginimplement oauthemail verificationmagic linkspassword resetsocial sign-inmfa setuporganization rolesoauth server

Risk Signals

INFO

Direct .env file access reference

SKILL.md | references/managed-auth.md | references/oauth-server.md
INFO

.env environment variable name references (NEON_AUTH_BASE_URL, NEON_AUTH_COOKIE_SECRET, VITE_NEON_AUTH_URL, NEON_AUTH_JWKS_URL)

SKILL.md (Environment section) and references/managed-auth.md
WARNING

Credential configuration guidance (Apple/Microsoft OAuth with private keys)

SKILL.md | Apple and Microsoft OAuth section
WARNING

Client secret handling in confidential OAuth clients

references/oauth-server.md | Section 2: Register clients
INFO

JWKS URL and token verification

references/oauth-server.md | Section 5: Endpoints and discovery; references/oauth-server.md | Section 4: Protect an MCP server

Referenced Domains

External domains referenced in skill content, detected by static analysis.

api.example.comapp.example.combetter-auth.comep-example.neonauth.us-east-1.aws.neon.techgithub.comlocalhostmcp.example.comneon.comold.example.comreports.example.comwww.apache.orgyour-idp

Use Cases

  • Add authentication to a new Neon application
  • Implement email/password sign-in and sign-up flows
  • Configure OAuth providers (Google, GitHub, Microsoft, Apple)
  • Migrate authentication from Supabase Auth to Managed Better Auth
  • Set up Neon Auth as an OAuth server for MCP clients or third-party applications
  • Enable multi-factor authentication or passkeys via self-managed Better Auth
  • Implement organization/multi-tenant features with role-based access
  • Configure email OTP, magic links, and password reset flows

Quality Notes

  • Comprehensive decision tree for identity selection (When to Use table) guides users to preserve existing providers correctly
  • Clear separation of concerns: Managed vs. self-managed Better Auth with explicit routing based on feature requirements
  • Well-structured reference files for different implementation paths (managed-auth, oauth-server, self-managed)
  • Framework-specific code examples (Next.js, React/Vite) with correct error handling and session patterns
  • Production guidance included: SMTP configuration, email verification, Data API identity, and trusted domain setup
  • Security best practice documented: .env file handling, token verification, and OAuth secret management (store immediately, never commit)
  • Appropriate warnings about common pitfalls: do not call non-existent methods, do not modify Managed plugin config at the SDK level, middleware patterns for route protection
  • Verification checklist provided at end of managed-auth.md for testing complete auth flows
  • All supported and unsupported features clearly listed in plugin matrix with documentation links
  • Limitations transparently stated: Managed Auth unavailable on projects with IP Allow or Private Networking
  • References are hyperlinked to live Neon documentation, enabling up-to-date guidance
Model: claude-haiku-4-5-20251001Analyzed: Oct 30, 2026

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Version History

  1. v3.0

    Contract changed: description

    ✦ AIAdds OAuth server capability for MCP and third-party clients with dedicated guidance in references/oauth-server.md; updates plugin support table and documentation links.

    triggering2026-10-30

    LATEST
  2. v2.0

    Contract changed: description

    ✦ AIPackage name @neondatabase/auth → @neon/auth; adds Microsoft and Apple social OAuth; UI now Better Auth UI not Neon-authored.

    triggering2026-10-30

    View This Version
  3. v1.0

    2026-09-17

    View This VersionInitial version

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