JWT

gau uses JWTs (JSON Web Tokens) to keep users logged in. When someone signs in, gau creates a signed token that contains their session info. Since the token itself holds all the data needed to verify who the user is, you don’t need to store sessions in a database.

Config

You can configure JWT behavior via the jwt object in createAuth.

auth.ts

export const auth = createAuth({
  // ...
  jwt: {
    secret: process.env.AUTH_SECRET,
    algorithm: 'ES256',
    ttl: 3600, // 1 hour
  },
})

See the jwt option in the configuration guide.

Advanced Usage: Private Beta Invites

gau exposes its internal signJWT and verifyJWT methods on the auth object. This allows you to create and validate your own custom JWTs for use cases beyond sessions.

A great example is building a private beta invite system where new users can only sign up if they have a valid, single-use invite token. This works seamlessly thanks to automatic Account Linking.

Here’s and example implementation.

1. Generate Invite Tokens

   This function can be part of an admin panel or a CLI script. You can use auth.signJWT to generate an expiring token.

   We add a custom purpose claim to distinguish it from session tokens, and a standard jti (JWT ID) claim to give it a unique, trackable ID.

   invites.ts

   import { auth } from './auth'
   
   export async function createInviteToken() {
     const inviteToken = await auth.signJWT(
       {
         purpose: 'beta-invite',
         jti: crypto.randomUUID(),
       },
       {
         ttl: 60 * 60 * 24 * 7, // expires in 7 days
       },
     )
     return inviteToken
   }

2. Store Invite Tokens

   We need a way to prevent tokens from being redeemed multiple times. Let’s store them in a database.

   SQLite

   db/schema.ts

   // ... existing Users and Accounts tables
   
   export const UsedInviteTokens = sqliteTable('used_invite_tokens', {
     jti: text().primaryKey(),
     usedAt: integer({ mode: 'timestamp' }).$defaultFn(() => new Date()),
   });

   PostgreSQL

   db/schema.ts

   // ... existing Users and Accounts tables
   
   export const UsedInviteTokens = pgTable('used_invite_tokens', {
     jti: text().primaryKey(),
     usedAt: timestamp().defaultNow(),
   });

3. Verify Invite Tokens

   We can verify tokens using auth.verifyJWT.

   invites.ts

   // ...
   
   export async function verifyInviteToken(token: string, email: string) {
     const payload = await auth.verifyJWT<{ purpose?: string, jti?: string }>(token)
   
     if (payload?.purpose !== 'beta-invite' || !payload.jti)
       throw new Error('Invalid invite token')
   
     const isTokenUsed = await db.query.UsedInviteTokens.findFirst({
       where: (tokens, { eq }) => eq(tokens.jti, payload.jti),
     })
   
     if (isTokenUsed)
       throw new Error('Invite has already been used')
   
     const existingUser = await auth.getUserByEmail(email)
     if (existingUser)
       throw new Error('Email already exists')
   
     await db.transaction(async (tx) => {
       await tx.insert(UsedInviteTokens).values({ jti: payload.jti })
       await auth.createUser({ email })
     })
   }

   You’ll need an API endpoint (e.g., POST /api/redeem-invite) that accepts the token and the user’s email, and calls verifyInviteToken.

4. Build the Frontend

   Create a page for the user to redeem their invite, verify it, then ask them to create an account using an OAuth provider.

   The token can be pre-filled from a URL query parameter (e.g., /invite?token=...).

How It All Connects

This system works because of gau’s autoLink feature.

1. The user’s account is created in the database first when they redeem their invite.
2. When the user signs in using an OAuth provider, they go through the normal gau OAuth flow.
3. On the callback, gau receives the user’s profile from the provider, including their verified email.
4. Instead of creating a new user, gau sees that a user with that email already exists (from step 1).
5. It automatically links their account to the existing user record and logs them in.

This ensures that only users with a valid invite token can create an account in your app.