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User Authentication Setup

Authentication is fully integrated. You only need to configure environment variables.

First complete: Getting Started
For MongoDB setup: MongoDB Setup

1. App Configuration​

  • NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL
    • Dev: http://localhost:3000
    • Prod: Your deployed domain (e.g., https://your-domain.com)

2. Authentication Secrets​

  • AUTH_SECRET

    • Generate using: openssl rand -base64 32
    • Used by NextAuth to sign and encrypt sessions

  • TOKEN_SECRET

    • Also a long, random secret
    • Used for internal token operations

3. Google OAuth​

  • GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID & GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET

    Steps:

    1. Visit Google Cloud Console
    2. Create a project
    3. Navigate to: APIs & Services → Credentials
    4. Click Create Credentials → OAuth Client ID
    5. Choose Web Application
    6. Set redirect URIs:
      • Dev: http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback/google
      • Prod: https://your-domain.com/api/auth/callback/google
    7. Copy the:
      • Client ID → GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID
      • Client Secret → GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET

4. Email Service​

Choose one method — Resend or Nodemailer

Option 1: Resend​

  • RESEND_API_KEY

  • RESEND_EMAIL_URL

    Steps:

    1. Go to Resend
    2. Create account & generate API key
    3. Go to Domains, add & verify your domain
    4. Use a verified domain email like noreply@yourdomain.com → RESEND_EMAIL_URL

Option 2: Nodemailer (SMTP)​

  • EMAIL_USER

  • EMAIL_PASSWORD

    Steps:

    1. Use Gmail or another provider
    2. Set EMAIL_USER as your email
    3. If using Gmail, generate App Password from Google App Passwords → Use it as EMAIL_PASSWORD

Final .env Reference​

Here’s a complete reference .env file you can copy and fill in:

# =================
# App Configuration
# =================
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL="http://localhost:3000"
# For production: "https://your-domain.com"

# =================
# Authentication
# =================
AUTH_SECRET="your_auth_secret" # Generate securely
TOKEN_SECRET="your_token_secret"

# Google OAuth
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID="your_google_client_id"
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET="your_google_client_secret"

# =================
# Database
# =================
MONGODB_URI="your_mongodb_uri"

# =================
# Email Service
# =================
# Option 1: Resend
RESEND_API_KEY="your_resend_api_key"
RESEND_EMAIL_URL="noreply@yourdomain.com"

# Option 2: Nodemailer (SMTP)
EMAIL_USER="your_email@example.com"
EMAIL_PASSWORD="your_email_password"