protecting routes in next js with middleware + next-auth

Protecting Routes in Next.js with Middleware + Next-Auth

When building an application with Next.js and using Next-Auth for authentication, you may come across the need to protect certain routes from unauthorized access. In this blog post, we will explore how to implement route protection using middleware and Next-Auth in Next.js.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following installed:

• Node.js
• Next.js
• Next-Auth

Step 1: Setting up Next-Auth

The first step is to set up Next-Auth in your Next.js application. Follow the official Next-Auth documentation to install and configure Next-Auth in your project.

Step 2: Creating the Middleware

Next, we need to create a middleware function that will be used to protect our routes. Create a new file called authMiddleware.js in the middleware directory of your Next.js project.

In the authMiddleware.js file, add the following code:

import { getSession } from 'next-auth/client';

const authMiddleware = (handler) => async (req, res) => {
  const session = await getSession({ req });

  if (!session) {
    return res.redirect('/login');
  }

  return handler(req, res);
};

export default authMiddleware;

This middleware function checks if a user session exists. If not, it redirects the user to the login page. Otherwise, it allows the request to proceed.

Step 3: Protecting Routes

Now that we have our middleware function, we can use it to protect specific routes in our Next.js application. To protect a route, simply wrap the handler function with the authMiddleware function.

For example, let’s say we want to protect the /dashboard route. In your pages/dashboard.js file, add the following code:

import authMiddleware from '../middleware/authMiddleware';

const DashboardPage = () => {
  // Your dashboard page content
};

export const getServerSideProps = authMiddleware(async (context) => {
  // Fetch data or perform any necessary operations
  // before rendering the dashboard page
});

export default DashboardPage;

In this example, the getServerSideProps function is wrapped with the authMiddleware function. This ensures that the /dashboard route is protected and can only be accessed by authenticated users.

Step 4: Testing the Route Protection

To test the route protection, start your Next.js development server and navigate to the protected route (/dashboard in our example) in your browser. If you are not logged in, you should be redirected to the login page. After logging in, you should be able to access the protected route.

Alternative Solution: Using Next.js Built-in Authentication

In addition to using Next-Auth, Next.js also provides built-in authentication capabilities. Instead of using Next-Auth, you can leverage Next.js’ built-in authentication features to protect routes.

To protect a route using Next.js’ built-in authentication, you can use the getServerSideProps function and check for the presence of a user session. If the session does not exist, you can redirect the user to the login page.

Here’s an example of how to protect a route using Next.js’ built-in authentication:

const DashboardPage = () => {
  // Your dashboard page content
};

export const getServerSideProps = async (context) => {
  const session = await getSession(context);

  if (!session) {
    return {
      redirect: {
        destination: '/login',
        permanent: false,
      },
    };
  }

  // Fetch data or perform any necessary operations
  // before rendering the dashboard page

  return {
    props: {},
  };
};

export default DashboardPage;

In this alternative solution, we use the getSession function from Next.js to check for a user session. If the session does not exist, we redirect the user to the login page. Otherwise, we allow the request to proceed.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we explored how to protect routes in Next.js using middleware and Next-Auth. We also discussed an alternative solution using Next.js’ built-in authentication features. By implementing route protection, you can ensure that only authenticated users can access certain routes in your Next.js application.

Remember to always handle authentication and route protection carefully to ensure the security of your application.