Convex Auth

Convex Auth Server Guidelines

Getting the Authenticated User ID

When writing Convex handlers, use the getAuthUserId function to get the logged in user's ID. You can then pass this to ctx.db.get in queries or mutations to get the user's data.

IMPORTANT: You can only use this within the convex/ directory.

// convex/users.ts
import { getAuthUserId } from "@convex-dev/auth/server";
import { query } from "./_generated/server";

export const currentLoggedInUser = query({
  args: {},
  returns: v.union(v.null(), v.object({
    _id: v.id("users"),
    name: v.optional(v.string()),
    email: v.optional(v.string()),
    image: v.optional(v.string()),
  })),
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const userId = await getAuthUserId(ctx);
    if (!userId) {
      return null;
    }
    const user = await ctx.db.get(userId);
    if (!user) {
      return null;
    }
    console.log("User", user.name, user.image, user.email);
    return user;
  }
});

Logged In User Query

If you want to get the current logged in user's data on the frontend, use this function defined in convex/auth.ts:

// convex/auth.ts
import { getAuthUserId } from "@convex-dev/auth/server";
import { query } from "./_generated/server";

export const loggedInUser = query({
  args: {},
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const userId = await getAuthUserId(ctx);
    if (!userId) {
      return null;
    }
    const user = await ctx.db.get(userId);
    if (!user) {
      return null;
    }
    return user;
  },
});

Then use the loggedInUser query in your React component:

// src/App.tsx
import { useQuery } from "convex/react";
import { api } from "../convex/_generated/api";

function App() {
  const user = useQuery(api.auth.loggedInUser);

  if (user === undefined) {
    return <div>Loading...</div>;
  }

  if (user === null) {
    return <div>Not logged in</div>;
  }

  return <div>Welcome, {user.name}!</div>;
}

Users Table Schema

The "users" table within authTables has this schema:

const users = defineTable({
  name: v.optional(v.string()),
  image: v.optional(v.string()),
  email: v.optional(v.string()),
  emailVerificationTime: v.optional(v.number()),
  phone: v.optional(v.string()),
  phoneVerificationTime: v.optional(v.number()),
  isAnonymous: v.optional(v.boolean()),
})
  .index("email", ["email"])
  .index("phone", ["phone"]);

Schema with Auth Tables

When defining your schema with authentication, always spread authTables:

// convex/schema.ts
import { defineSchema, defineTable } from "convex/server";
import { v } from "convex/values";
import { authTables } from "@convex-dev/auth/server";

const applicationTables = {
  // Your application tables here
  posts: defineTable({
    authorId: v.id("users"),
    title: v.string(),
    content: v.string(),
  }).index("by_author", ["authorId"]),
};

export default defineSchema({
  ...authTables,
  ...applicationTables,
});

Protected Mutations and Queries

Pattern for Protected Functions

Create a helper function to get the logged-in user and throw if not authenticated:

// convex/utils.ts
import { getAuthUserId } from "@convex-dev/auth/server";
import { QueryCtx, MutationCtx } from "./_generated/server";
import { Doc } from "./_generated/dataModel";

export async function getLoggedInUser(ctx: QueryCtx | MutationCtx): Promise<Doc<"users">> {
  const userId = await getAuthUserId(ctx);
  if (!userId) {
    throw new Error("Not authenticated");
  }
  const user = await ctx.db.get(userId);
  if (!user) {
    throw new Error("User not found");
  }
  return user;
}

export async function getLoggedInUserOrNull(ctx: QueryCtx | MutationCtx): Promise<Doc<"users"> | null> {
  const userId = await getAuthUserId(ctx);
  if (!userId) {
    return null;
  }
  return await ctx.db.get(userId);
}

Using the Helper

// convex/posts.ts
import { mutation, query } from "./_generated/server";
import { v } from "convex/values";
import { getLoggedInUser } from "./utils";

export const createPost = mutation({
  args: {
    title: v.string(),
    content: v.string(),
  },
  returns: v.id("posts"),
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    const user = await getLoggedInUser(ctx);

    return await ctx.db.insert("posts", {
      authorId: user._id,
      title: args.title,
      content: args.content,
    });
  },
});

export const myPosts = query({
  args: {},
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const user = await getLoggedInUser(ctx);

    return await ctx.db
      .query("posts")
      .withIndex("by_author", (q) => q.eq("authorId", user._id))
      .collect();
  },
});

Auth in Scheduled Jobs

CRITICAL: Auth state does NOT propagate to scheduled jobs. getAuthUserId() and ctx.getUserIdentity() will ALWAYS return null from within a scheduled job.

Solution: Pass User ID Explicitly

// convex/tasks.ts
import { mutation, internalMutation } from "./_generated/server";
import { internal } from "./_generated/api";
import { v } from "convex/values";
import { getAuthUserId } from "@convex-dev/auth/server";

export const scheduleTask = mutation({
  args: { taskData: v.string() },
  returns: v.null(),
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    const userId = await getAuthUserId(ctx);
    if (!userId) {
      throw new Error("Not authenticated");
    }

    // Pass the userId to the scheduled function
    await ctx.scheduler.runAfter(0, internal.tasks.processTask, {
      userId,
      taskData: args.taskData,
    });

    return null;
  },
});

export const processTask = internalMutation({
  args: {
    userId: v.id("users"),
    taskData: v.string(),
  },
  returns: v.null(),
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    // Use the passed userId instead of getAuthUserId
    const user = await ctx.db.get(args.userId);
    if (!user) {
      throw new Error("User not found");
    }

    // Process the task with user context
    console.log(`Processing task for user: ${user.name}`);

    return null;
  },
});

HTTP Endpoints with Auth

Auth Handler Setup

The auth handler should be in convex/http.ts:

// convex/http.ts
import { httpRouter } from "convex/server";
import { auth } from "./auth";

const http = httpRouter();

auth.addHttpRoutes(http);

export default http;

Custom HTTP Endpoints (in convex/router.ts)

Define new HTTP endpoints in a separate file to avoid modifying the auth handler:

// convex/router.ts
import { httpRouter } from "convex/server";
import { httpAction } from "./_generated/server";

const router = httpRouter();

router.route({
  path: "/api/webhook",
  method: "POST",
  handler: httpAction(async (ctx, req) => {
    // Handle webhook
    const body = await req.json();
    return new Response(JSON.stringify({ received: true }), {
      status: 200,
      headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    });
  }),
});

export default router;

Anonymous Users

Always make sure your UIs work well with anonymous users:

// src/components/UserProfile.tsx
import { useQuery } from "convex/react";
import { api } from "../../convex/_generated/api";

export function UserProfile() {
  const user = useQuery(api.auth.loggedInUser);

  // Loading state
  if (user === undefined) {
    return <div className="animate-pulse">Loading...</div>;
  }

  // Anonymous / not logged in
  if (user === null) {
    return (
      <div>
        <p>Welcome, Guest!</p>
        <button>Sign In</button>
      </div>
    );
  }

  // Logged in user
  return (
    <div>
      {user.image && <img src={user.image} alt={user.name || "User"} />}
      <p>Welcome, {user.name || user.email || "User"}!</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Extending the Users Table

If you need to add more fields to the users table, you can extend it in your schema:

// convex/schema.ts
import { defineSchema, defineTable } from "convex/server";
import { v } from "convex/values";
import { authTables } from "@convex-dev/auth/server";

// Extend the users table with additional fields
const extendedAuthTables = {
  ...authTables,
  users: defineTable({
    // Original auth fields
    name: v.optional(v.string()),
    image: v.optional(v.string()),
    email: v.optional(v.string()),
    emailVerificationTime: v.optional(v.number()),
    phone: v.optional(v.string()),
    phoneVerificationTime: v.optional(v.number()),
    isAnonymous: v.optional(v.boolean()),
    // Your custom fields
    role: v.optional(v.union(v.literal("admin"), v.literal("user"))),
    bio: v.optional(v.string()),
    preferences: v.optional(v.object({
      theme: v.union(v.literal("light"), v.literal("dark")),
      notifications: v.boolean(),
    })),
  })
    .index("email", ["email"])
    .index("phone", ["phone"])
    .index("by_role", ["role"]),
};

export default defineSchema({
  ...extendedAuthTables,
  // Your other tables
});

Best Practices

1. Always Check Authentication First

export const sensitiveQuery = query({
  args: {},
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const userId = await getAuthUserId(ctx);
    if (!userId) {
      throw new Error("Authentication required");
    }
    // Continue with authenticated logic
  },
});

2. Use Internal Functions for Privileged Operations

// Public mutation that checks auth
export const deleteAccount = mutation({
  args: {},
  returns: v.null(),
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const userId = await getAuthUserId(ctx);
    if (!userId) {
      throw new Error("Not authenticated");
    }

    // Call internal function for the actual deletion
    await ctx.runMutation(internal.users.deleteUserData, { userId });
    return null;
  },
});

// Internal mutation that doesn't check auth (already verified)
export const deleteUserData = internalMutation({
  args: { userId: v.id("users") },
  returns: v.null(),
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    // Delete user's data
    const posts = await ctx.db
      .query("posts")
      .withIndex("by_author", (q) => q.eq("authorId", args.userId))
      .collect();

    for (const post of posts) {
      await ctx.db.delete(post._id);
    }

    return null;
  },
});

3. Handle Loading States Properly

function ProtectedComponent() {
  const user = useQuery(api.auth.loggedInUser);

  // IMPORTANT: Check for undefined (loading) before null (not authenticated)
  if (user === undefined) {
    return <LoadingSpinner />;
  }

  if (user === null) {
    return <Navigate to="/login" />;
  }

  return <Dashboard user={user} />;
}