NestJS Better Auth Integration

Comprehensive integration of Better Auth for NestJS applications using @thallesp/nestjs-better-auth.

REQUIRED: Better Auth >= 1.3.8. Older versions are unsupported.

Quick Reference

Setup

1. Disable Body Parser (Required)

// main.ts
import { NestFactory } from '@nestjs/core'
import { AppModule } from './app.module'

async function bootstrap() {
  const app = await NestFactory.create(AppModule, {
    bodyParser: false, // Library re-adds default parsers automatically
  })
  await app.listen(process.env.PORT ?? 3333)
}
bootstrap()

2. Import AuthModule

// app.module.ts
import { Module } from '@nestjs/common'
import { AuthModule } from '@thallesp/nestjs-better-auth'
import { auth } from './auth'

@Module({
  imports: [AuthModule.forRoot({ auth })],
})
export class AppModule {}

Module Options

AuthModule.forRoot({
  auth,
  disableTrustedOriginsCors: false, // Disable auto CORS for trustedOrigins
  disableBodyParser: false, // Handle body parsing manually
  disableGlobalAuthGuard: false, // Disable global guard (apply per route)
  disableControllers: false, // Handle routes manually
  middleware: (req, res, next) => {
    // Optional wrapper (e.g., MikroORM)
    RequestContext.create(orm.em, next)
  },
})

Route Protection

Default: All routes protected globally. Use decorators to override:

Apply to class or method:

@AllowAnonymous() // All routes in controller are public
@Controller('public')
export class PublicController {}

@Roles(['admin']) // All routes require admin role
@Controller('admin')
export class AdminController {}

WebSocket Protection

Must manually apply @UseGuards(AuthGuard) at Gateway or Message level:

@WebSocketGateway({ path: '/ws', namespace: 'test' })
@UseGuards(AuthGuard)
export class TestGateway {}

Decorators

Session Access

import { Session, UserSession } from "@thallesp/nestjs-better-auth";

@Get("me")
async getProfile(@Session() session: UserSession) {
  return session;
}

Role-Based Access Control

Use separate decorators for system-level and organization-level authorization:

IMPORTANT: These decorators are intentionally separate to prevent privilege escalation. @Roles() checks only user.role (system roles) and does not check organization member roles.

@Roles() - System-Level Roles

Use for system-wide admin protection from Better Auth's admin plugin:

import { Controller, Get } from '@nestjs/common'
import { Roles } from '@thallesp/nestjs-better-auth'

@Controller('admin')
export class AdminController {
  @Roles(['admin'])
  @Get('dashboard')
  async adminDashboard() {
    // Requires user.role = 'admin'
    // Organization admins cannot access this route unless they are system admins
    return { message: 'System admin dashboard' }
  }
}

// Or as a class decorator
@Roles(['admin'])
@Controller('admin')
export class AdminRoutesController {}

@OrgRoles() - Organization-Level Roles

Use for org-scoped protection. Requires active organization context (activeOrganizationId):

import { Controller, Get } from '@nestjs/common'
import { OrgRoles, Session, UserSession } from '@thallesp/nestjs-better-auth'

@Controller('org')
export class OrgController {
  @OrgRoles(['owner', 'admin'])
  @Get('settings')
  async getOrgSettings(@Session() session: UserSession) {
    // Requires active org + member role owner/admin
    return { orgId: session.session.activeOrganizationId }
  }

  @OrgRoles(['owner'])
  @Get('billing')
  async getOrgBilling() {
    return { message: 'Billing settings' }
  }
}

Both decorators accept any role strings you define. Organization defaults are typically owner, admin, and member unless customized in Better Auth organization plugin config.

Request Object Access

@Get("me")
async getProfile(@Request() req: ExpressRequest) {
  return {
    session: req.session,  // Full session object
    user: req.user,        // User from session
  };
}

AuthService

Inject to access Better Auth API with type safety:

import { AuthService } from '@thallesp/nestjs-better-auth'
import { fromNodeHeaders } from 'better-auth/node'
import { auth } from '../auth'

@Controller('users')
export class UsersController {
  constructor(private authService: AuthService<typeof auth>) {}

  @Get('accounts')
  async getAccounts(@Request() req: ExpressRequest) {
    return this.authService.api.listUserAccounts({
      headers: fromNodeHeaders(req.headers),
    })
  }

  @Post('api-keys')
  async createApiKey(@Request() req: ExpressRequest, @Body() body) {
    // Plugin methods (e.g., createApiKey) require AuthService<typeof auth>
    return this.authService.api.createApiKey({
      ...body,
      headers: fromNodeHeaders(req.headers),
    })
  }
}

Hooks

REQUIRED: Set hooks: {} (empty object) in your Better Auth config to enable hook decorators.

// auth.ts
export const auth = betterAuth({
  basePath: '/api/auth',
  hooks: {}, // Minimum required for @Hook decorators
})

Creating hooks:

import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common'
import {
  Hook,
  BeforeHook,
  AfterHook,
  AuthHookContext,
} from '@thallesp/nestjs-better-auth'

@Hook()
@Injectable()
export class SignUpHook {
  constructor(private readonly signUpService: SignUpService) {}

  @BeforeHook('/sign-up/email')
  async handle(ctx: AuthHookContext) {
    await this.signUpService.execute(ctx)
  }
}

Register in module:

@Module({
  imports: [AuthModule.forRoot({ auth })],
  providers: [SignUpHook, SignUpService],
})
export class AppModule {}

Common Gotchas

1. Body parser - MUST disable in main.ts or requests fail
2. Global guard - All routes protected by default; use @AllowAnonymous() for public routes
3. Hooks config - hooks: {} required in Better Auth config for hook decorators
4. WebSocket - Global guard doesn't apply; manually add @UseGuards(AuthGuard)
5. Plugin types - Use AuthService<typeof auth> for type-safe plugin method access
6. Fastify - Beta support only; may have issues
7. RBAC separation - Use @Roles() for system roles and @OrgRoles() for org roles; do not mix assumptions between them

Imports Summary

// Main imports
import {
  AuthModule,
  AuthService,
  AuthGuard,
} from '@thallesp/nestjs-better-auth'

// Decorators
import {
  Session,
  UserSession,
  AllowAnonymous,
  OptionalAuth,
  Roles,
  OrgRoles,
} from '@thallesp/nestjs-better-auth'

// Hooks
import {
  Hook,
  BeforeHook,
  AfterHook,
  AuthHookContext,
} from '@thallesp/nestjs-better-auth'

Resources

• npm Package
• Better Auth Docs
• Better Auth MCP Skill