Implement cookie-based Auth in the Next.js 13 App Router 🍪

Next.js is a popular framework for building React applications, and with the recent release of version 13, it has brought some exciting new features. One of these features is the ability to implement cookie-based authentication in the Next.js app router.

In order to implement cookie-based authentication, you first need to make sure that your backend API is able to set and read cookies. This can be done using a library like Express.js or any other server-side framework that supports cookies.

Once your backend is able to handle cookies, you can then use the Next.js app router to implement authentication. This can be done by adding a piece of middleware to the router that checks for a valid authentication cookie before allowing access to the protected routes.

Here’s an example of how you can implement cookie-based authentication in the Next.js 13 app router:

“`jsx
const withAuth = (handler) => async (req, res) => {
const { cookies } = req;

if (!cookies.authToken) {
res.writeHead(302, { Location: “/login” });
res.end();
return;
}

// Add additional logic to validate the auth token if needed

return handler(req, res);
};

const protectedRouteHandler = (req, res) => {
// Logic for handling the protected route
res.end(“You have access to the protected route”);
};

export default function ProtectedRoutePage() {
return (

);
}

export const getServerSideProps = withAuth(protectedRouteHandler);
“`

In this example, we define a higher-order function called `withAuth` that takes a route handler as its argument and returns a new function. This new function checks for the presence of an `authToken` cookie in the request object and redirects the user to the login page if it is not found. If the cookie is present, the original route handler is called.

We then use the `withAuth` function as the `getServerSideProps` for our protected route page. This ensures that the authentication check is performed server-side before the page is rendered, adding an extra layer of security.

By implementing cookie-based authentication in the Next.js 13 app router, you can ensure that only authorized users are able to access certain parts of your application. This can help to prevent unauthorized access and protect sensitive information.

So why not try implementing cookie-based authentication in your Next.js 13 app router today? 🍪