Even with the simplicity Supabase Auth offers, you might run into a few common hiccups. Don't worry, most of them are easily solvable! This section will walk you through some of the most frequent issues and how to fix them.
This is a classic! It usually means one of a few things:
- Typo in Email/Password: Double-check that you've entered the correct email address and password. Case sensitivity matters!
- User Not Yet Confirmed: If your authentication flow requires email confirmation, the user might be trying to log in before clicking the confirmation link. You can either prompt them to check their email or, for development, temporarily disable email confirmation in your Supabase project settings (under Auth -> Settings -> Email Templates -> Confirmation Email).
- Incorrect User: The email address you're using might not exist in your Supabase Auth table. Ensure you're signing up with the correct email first.
These errors typically indicate a problem with your authentication tokens (JWTs - JSON Web Tokens). Here's what to check:
- Expired Token: JWTs have an expiration time. If your app is making requests after the token has expired, you'll get this error. You'll need to implement a refresh token flow to get a new JWT. Supabase clients often handle this automatically, but it's good to be aware of.
- Incorrect Token: Ensure the token being sent in your requests is the correct, valid JWT obtained after a successful login. Sometimes, residual stale tokens in local storage or session storage can cause this.
- Client Configuration: Verify that your Supabase client is correctly configured with your project's URL and anon key. An incorrectly initialized client might not be sending or validating tokens properly.
import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
const supabaseUrl = 'YOUR_SUPABASE_URL'
const supabaseAnonKey = 'YOUR_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY'
const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseAnonKey)Social logins (like Google, GitHub, etc.) are super convenient but can sometimes be tricky to set up.
- Provider Configuration: The most common issue is incorrect configuration in the Supabase Dashboard. Navigate to Auth -> Providers and ensure you've correctly entered the Client ID and Client Secret for the provider you're using. Make sure the redirect URLs are also accurate.
graph TD
A[User Clicks Social Login Button] --> B{Supabase Auth Redirects to Provider}
B --> C{User Authenticates with Provider}
C --> D{Provider Redirects Back to App with Token}
D --> E{Supabase Verifies Token & Logs User In}
E --> F[User is Authenticated]
- Callback URLs: Ensure the authorized callback URLs in your social provider's developer settings exactly match the URLs Supabase is configured to use (often found in your Supabase project settings under Auth -> Providers).
- Environment Variables: If you're using environment variables for your provider secrets, double-check that they are correctly loaded in your application.
Supabase has rate limits to protect against abuse. If you're making too many authentication requests in a short period (e.g., during testing or due to a bug), you might hit these limits.
- Check Logs: Supabase logs can indicate if you're encountering rate limiting. You'll usually see a specific error message related to this.
- Implement Delays: If you're performing bulk operations, introduce small delays between requests.
- Review Your Logic: Ensure your application isn't inadvertently triggering multiple login or signup attempts.
This is almost always a client-side configuration problem.
- Supabase Client Initialization: As shown in the earlier code example, make sure you're passing the correct
supabaseUrlandsupabaseAnonKeywhen initializing your Supabase client. These can be found in your Supabase project dashboard under Project Settings -> API. - Environment Variables: If you're storing these in environment variables, confirm that they are being loaded correctly into your application's build process or runtime.
- Check Supabase Status: Visit the Supabase status page to see if there are any ongoing incidents that might be affecting authentication.
- Consult Supabase Docs: The official Supabase documentation is an invaluable resource for detailed explanations and troubleshooting guides.
- Use Browser Developer Tools: For web applications, use your browser's developer console to inspect network requests, identify error messages, and debug JavaScript.
- Reproduce Locally: Try to reproduce the issue in a controlled local environment. This can help isolate the problem and make it easier to debug.