What to Look for in a Postgres Auth Library

Why Choose a Postgres-Based Auth Library

When building applications with PostgreSQL, using a Postgres auth library lets you keep authentication data in the same database as your application data. This approach gives you full control over user data without syncing to a separate authentication vendor. Own Auth is an open-source MIT-licensed package that runs inside your application's backend and connects directly to your Postgres database.

Core Authentication Features

A production-ready Postgres auth library should support multiple authentication methods. Here are the key capabilities to evaluate:

• Password authentication with secure hashing
• Magic-link signin with expiring tokens
• Email verification and password reset flows
• Phone login with SMS codes
• Session management with expiry and revocation
• Application API keys with scopes

Password Security in Postgres Auth

Password hashing is a critical security component. The best Postgres auth libraries use Argon2id, which provides memory-hard hashing resistant to GPU-based attacks. Some libraries also support legacy scrypt hashes for migration paths.

// Password hashing with Argon2id
import { hashPassword, verifyPassword } from 'own-auth';

const hashedPassword = await hashPassword('user-supplied-password');
const isValid = await verifyPassword('user-supplied-password', hashedPassword);

Token Storage as Hashes

Authentication tokens, magic links, and SMS codes should be stored as hashes in your Postgres database. This ensures that even if your database is compromised, one-time tokens remain secure. Tokens should be single-use and have appropriate expiry times.

Session Management

Database-backed sessions provide several advantages over token-based approaches. Look for these session features:

1. Absolute session expiry
2. Optional idle timeout
3. Session listing and individual revocation
4. Full user session revocation
5. Session data tied to user identity

Framework Integration

A good Postgres auth library works independently of your web framework. Own Auth provides server APIs with guides for popular frameworks including Next.js, Express, Hono, and Fastify. This flexibility lets you choose the best tools for your application without being locked into framework-specific auth solutions.

// Express integration with Own Auth
import express from 'express';
import { createAuthRouter } from 'own-auth/express';

const app = express();
app.use('/auth', createAuthRouter(pool));

// Next.js API route
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server';
import { handleAuthRequest } from 'own-auth/nextjs';

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  return handleAuthRequest(request, pool);
}

Organisations and Multi-Tenancy

For applications serving multiple organisations, look for Postgres auth libraries with built-in organisation support. Key features include owner, admin, and member roles, explicit permissions, and email-based invitation flows. Application API keys should support user-scoped or organisation-scoped access.

Rate Limiting and Audit Logs

Security-focused auth libraries include rate limiting for sensitive operations like password attempts and token requests. Postgres-backed rate-limit counters let you track and throttle authentication attempts. Audit logging provides visibility into authentication events with filters for user, organisation, and API key activity.

Own Auth keeps application authentication data in the application's Postgres database and supports password, magic-link, phone, email-verification, password-reset, session, organisation, invitation, application API-key, and audit-log workflows.

Email Delivery Considerations

While the auth library handles token generation, you need a strategy for delivering authentication emails. Some Postgres auth libraries integrate with managed delivery services. Own Auth Delivery accepts authentication email requests through authenticated APIs and handles queuing, retries, and delivery logging while keeping sensitive tokens out of logs.

Choosing Your Postgres Auth Library

When evaluating authentication libraries for your Postgres database, consider whether you want to own your authentication data completely, need framework flexibility, require organisation features, and prefer to avoid syncing data to third-party services. A Postgres-native auth library keeps your authentication infrastructure alongside your application data.