NextAuth

Initially released in 2016 by Iain Collins as NextAuth.js, the project has evolved into Auth.js, a comprehensive, open-source authentication solution for web applications. It is now led by Balázs Orbán and maintained by a core team and community contributors. The project is not affiliated with a commercial organization like Vercel, though Vercel has expressed support for multiple authentication options within the community.

Auth.js provides a flexible framework for managing user authentication and session handling across various JavaScript frameworks, including Next.js, SvelteKit, Qwik, and Express. This evolution from a Next.js-specific library to a framework-agnostic solution began in late 2022 to meet broader developer adoption. The business model is centered on its open-source nature, encouraging community contributions and offering support through platforms like Open Collective.

The library simplifies implementing complex authentication systems by supporting multiple strategies such as OAuth, email-based magic links, credentials, and WebAuthn (Passkeys). It offers built-in support for numerous popular services like Google, GitHub, and Apple. A key feature is its data ownership model, allowing developers to use it with or without a database. It supports various databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB, through adapters. Security is a core design principle, incorporating features like Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) token validation, signed server-only cookies, and encrypted JSON Web Tokens (JWE) by default.

Keywords: open-source, authentication, JavaScript, web applications, session management, OAuth, passwordless, framework agnostic, data ownership, cybersecurity