Better Auth
Security and privacy
authentication library
SHOW HN2024
72points
44comments
#1,056of 3,515 in 2024
Top 31%of 2024 by points
How HN took it
RoastedHalf or more of the comments are critical
2 positive, 7 neutral or asking, 4 mixed, 16 critical, out of 29 comments about the project. Thread score -0.50.
Design: 1 for, 4 againstExecution: 0 for, 4 againstIdea: 1 for, 3 againstDocs: 0 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Docs and website look clean and polished
From 2 comments
Can you share your reasoning behind the tagline? It seems like a hard sell, which doesn't necessarily help the otherwise gorgeous looking website and solid-seeming API choices.…
bbor on HNThe website is beautifully done. Here it is: https://fumadocs.vercel.app/ edit: wow, i'm having fun and getting motivated by the creator. glad i went down this Saturday morning…
apsurd on HN
Has passkeys support
From 1 comment
Better auth has passkeys
dagmawibabi on HN
Objections
Depends on Node.js modules, so limits other runtimes like Cloudflare Workers and Deno
From 1 comment
With direct dependencies on Node.js modules, you outright prevent using other runtimes like Cloudflare workers, Deno, etc. Node has decent support for WebCrypto, for example,…
9dev on HN
No JWT support, which many commenters use
From 2 comments
Likely the most comprehensive library lacking JWT support. I can't remember last time I used anything but JWT at work.
codr7 on HNI was wondering about this too. The project explicitly states it as a non-goal, which seems odd to me as I haven't dealt with a REST api that was session based in a decade.…
claytongulick on HN
Name is too generic and hard to search for
From 2 comments
I cannot comment on the quality of the library, but please change the name to something else than "Better auth" - such generic names are difficult to search for. You do want your…
jakubmazanec on HNI seriously doubt that. If I google Best auth, or "Best auth", or best-auth, or "best-auth", I'm getting generic results (eg. a Reddit thread about best auth library).
jakubmazanec on HN
Docs lack practical code samples and a why section
From 3 comments
Looks interesting but the README desperately needs a few practical code samples to demonstrate usage. Sidenote: HN generally frowns on creating sock puppet accounts to post…
vunderba on HNThe API looks basically the same as any auth library and i have no idea how you approach this differently than other solutions? I checked out the docs and it looks great and you…
bilater on HNIt might be better auth, but it really needs better docs! Is this for node.js projects? I thought it would be something for a client side project.
melenaos on HN
Requests
Add generic OAuth/OIDC/SAML SSO support
From 1 comment
Looks pretty interesting, I see it supports social logins but doesn't look like generic oauth oidc / saml is supported yet - I think that'd be the killer feature, as rolling your…
mnahkies on HN
Add practical code examples to the README
From 2 comments
Looks interesting but the README desperately needs a few practical code samples to demonstrate usage. Sidenote: HN generally frowns on creating sock puppet accounts to post…
vunderba on HNThis looks promising! I agree with the need for more practical examples in the README. Authentication can be tricky, and clear code samples would definitely help to highlight how…
utkut on HN
Add comparisons with next-auth, Supabase auth and similar
From 1 comment
The API looks basically the same as any auth library and i have no idea how you approach this differently than other solutions? I checked out the docs and it looks great and you…
bilater on HN
Questions
How does this differ from other auth libraries?
From 1 comment
The API looks basically the same as any auth library and i have no idea how you approach this differently than other solutions? I checked out the docs and it looks great and you…
bilater on HN
Is it for Node.js only or client-side projects too?
From 1 comment
It might be better auth, but it really needs better docs! Is this for node.js projects? I thought it would be something for a client side project.
melenaos on HN
Alternatives named
Lucia
From 2 comments
What about https://lucia-auth.com/
thatxliner on HNDid you take a look at Lucia? If so, what were your thoughts on it?
mckirk on HN
Keycloak
From 1 comment
Why would I use this when I can just use keycloak and call it a day?
blazing234 on HN
Supertokens
From 1 comment
Do checkout supertokens.com - open source auth. We have tons of features and also full TS support.
rishabhpoddar on HN
next-auth / Auth.js
From 2 comments
The API looks basically the same as any auth library and i have no idea how you approach this differently than other solutions? I checked out the docs and it looks great and you…
bilater on HNI think I'll probably use Lucia for my second attempt, though initially Auth.js looked like it would work more rapidly out of the box. (I threw out the first attempt, and decided…
neilv on HN