Supabase Auth offers a robust foundation for managing user identities. While the basic sign-up and sign-in flows are straightforward, understanding advanced patterns and best practices will empower you to build more secure, scalable, and user-friendly applications. Let's dive into some of these key areas.
Social logins via OAuth providers like Google, GitHub, or Facebook significantly improve user experience by reducing friction. Supabase Auth makes integrating these a breeze. You'll need to configure your chosen providers in the Supabase dashboard and then use the Supabase client library to initiate the OAuth flow.
import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
const supabaseUrl = 'YOUR_SUPABASE_URL'
const supabaseAnonKey = 'YOUR_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY'
const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseAnonKey)
async function signInWithGoogle() {
const { data, error } = await supabase.auth.signInWithOAuth({
provider: 'google',
})
if (error) {
console.error('Error signing in with Google:', error)
}
}When a user successfully signs in, Supabase Auth issues JWTs (JSON Web Tokens) – an access token and a refresh token. The access token is used for authenticated API requests, while the refresh token is used to obtain new access tokens without requiring the user to re-authenticate. The Supabase client library automatically manages token refresh for you, but it's good to be aware of this process for advanced scenarios.
graph TD
A[User Initiates Login] --> B{Supabase Auth:
Verify Credentials/OAuth}
B -- Success --> C[Supabase Issues JWTs
(Access & Refresh Token)]
C --> D[Client Stores Tokens]
D --> E{Authenticated API Request}
E -- Uses Access Token --> F[Supabase Backend]
F -- Access Token Expired --> G[Supabase Client
Uses Refresh Token]
G --> H[Supabase Auth:
Issues New Access Token]
H --> E