The nile auth commands help you set up and manage authentication in your applications. These commands streamline the process of adding multi-tenant authentication to your projects and managing authentication-related configurations.

​
Overview

nile auth quickstart --nextjs    # Add Multi-tenant Authentication in 2 minutes
nile auth env                    # Generate environment variables
nile auth env --output .env.local # Save environment variables to a file

​
Quick Start Guide

The quickstart command helps you create a new application with Nile authentication pre-configured. Currently supports Next.js applications.

​
Creating a Next.js Application with Authentication

nile auth quickstart --nextjs
This command will:
  1. Create a new Next.js application
  2. Set up database credentials
  3. Install required Nile packages
  4. Configure API routes
  5. Add authentication components
  6. Start the development server

​
What Gets Created

The quickstart command sets up the following structure: 
nile-app/
├── .env.local              # Environment variables
├── app/
│   ├── page.tsx           # Main page with auth components
│   └── api/
│       └── [...nile]/     # Nile API routes
│           ├── nile.ts    # Nile configuration
│           └── route.ts   # API route handlers
└── package.json           # Project dependencies

​
Authentication Components

The command sets up a basic authentication page with: 
import {
  SignOutButton,
  SignUpForm,
  SignedIn,
  SignedOut,
  UserInfo,
} from "@niledatabase/react";
import "@niledatabase/react/styles.css";

export default function SignUpPage() {
  return (
    <div className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center min-h-screen">
      <SignedIn>
        <UserInfo />
        <SignOutButton />
      </SignedIn>
      <SignedOut>
        <SignUpForm />
      </SignedOut>
    </div>
  );
}

​
Environment Variables

The env command helps you generate and manage authentication-related environment variables.

​
Generating Environment Variables

# Display variables in terminal
nile auth env

# Save variables to a file
nile auth env --output .env.local

​
Generated Variables

The command creates the following environment variables: 
NILEDB_USER=your_database_user
NILEDB_PASSWORD=your_database_password
NILEDB_API_URL=https://us-west-2.api.thenile.dev/v2/databases/your_database_id
NILEDB_POSTGRES_URL=postgres://us-west-2.db.thenile.dev:5432/your_database

​
Best Practices

  1. Environment Variables
    • Always use --output flag to save variables to .env.local
    • Add .env.local to your .gitignore
    • Never commit sensitive credentials to version control
  2. Authentication Components
    • Customize the authentication UI to match your application’s design
    • Add additional fields to the sign-up form as needed
    • Implement proper error handling
  3. Security
    • Keep your database credentials secure
    • Regularly rotate credentials using nile auth env
    • Use environment variables for all sensitive information

​
Troubleshooting

​
Common Issues

  1. Quickstart Command Fails 
    # Ensure you're connected to Nile
nile connect login

# Verify workspace and database are set
nile config
  2. Environment Variables Not Working 
    # Regenerate environment variables
nile auth env --output .env.local

# Restart your development server
npm run dev
  3. Authentication Components Not Showing 
    # Ensure Nile packages are installed
npm install @niledatabase/server @niledatabase/react @niledatabase/client

# Check API routes are properly configured
ls app/api/[...nile]/
  • nile connect login - Connect to Nile using browser-based authentication
  • nile local start - Start local development environment
  • nile config - Configure workspace and database settings

​
Examples

​
Basic Authentication Setup

# Create new Next.js app with authentication
nile auth quickstart --nextjs

# Generate environment variables
nile auth env --output .env.local

# Start the development server
cd nile-app
npm run dev

​
Custom Authentication Flow

  1. Create a new Next.js app manually 
    npx create-next-app@latest my-app
cd my-app
  2. Install Nile packages 
    npm install @niledatabase/server @niledatabase/react @niledatabase/client
  3. Generate environment variables 
    nile auth env --output .env.local
  4. Set up API routes and components manually 
    mkdir -p app/api/[...nile]
# Add nile.ts and route.ts files
# Customize authentication components

​
API Reference

​
nile auth quickstart

Options:
  • --nextjs - Create a Next.js application (required)

​
nile auth env

Options:
  • --output <file> - Save variables to a file (optional)

​
Further Reading