Installation

Getting started with Better Auth takes just a few minutes. This guide walks you through installing the package, setting up your database, and creating your first auth instance.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• Node.js 18 or later
• A database — PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, or MongoDB
• A package manager — npm, yarn, pnpm, or bun

Install the Package

pnpm add better-auth

Set Up Environment Variables

Create a .env file in your project root:

# Database connection
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb"

# Auth secret (generate with: openssl rand -base64 32)
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET="your-secret-key-here"

# Base URL of your application
BETTER_AUTH_URL="http://localhost:3000"

Note: Never commit your .env file to version control. Add it to your .gitignore.

Create Auth Instance

Create an auth.ts file in your project:

import { betterAuth } from "better-auth";

export const auth = betterAuth({
  database: {
    provider: "postgresql",
    url: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  },
  emailAndPassword: {
    enabled: true,
  },
});

Verify Installation

Start your development server and visit http://localhost:3000/api/auth/ok.

You should see a JSON response confirming the auth server is running:

{ "ok": true }

Next Steps

• Follow the Get Started guide
• Learn about Session Management