Supabase Login With Username: A Simple Guide

Hey everyone! Ever wanted to give your users the option to log in to your app using a username instead of just their email? Well, you're in luck! Supabase makes it super easy to implement Supabase login with username. This guide will walk you through setting up username authentication in your Supabase project, so you can offer your users a more flexible and user-friendly login experience. We'll cover everything from the initial setup to handling the login process itself. Let's get started!

Why Implement Supabase Username Authentication?

So, why bother with Supabase username authentication? Why not just stick with the tried-and-true email login? Well, there are a few good reasons, guys. First off, some users might prefer to use a username for privacy reasons. They might not want to share their email address, or they might already have a username associated with your platform. Also, it can be a nice alternative for users who forget their email. Plus, it can make your app feel a bit more modern and user-friendly. Adding a username and password authentication option can enhance user experience, and this is what we are after, isn't it? It's about providing options and making your app accessible to a wider audience. In today's digital landscape, offering various login methods can significantly improve user engagement and satisfaction. By giving users the choice of username login, you're essentially catering to their preferences, fostering a more personalized and comfortable experience. This can lead to increased user retention and a stronger sense of community within your platform. Moreover, implementing username authentication doesn't just benefit the users; it can also bring about advantages from a development perspective. It allows for a more flexible and adaptable system, easily accommodating potential changes and future expansions. The flexibility allows for seamless integration with other features, enhancing the overall functionality of the application. The bottom line is that offering a username login option is a win-win, enhancing user convenience and providing a solid foundation for app growth.

Setting Up Your Supabase Project for Username Authentication

Alright, let's dive into the nitty-gritty of setting up your Supabase project to handle Supabase login with username. The first step is, of course, to have a Supabase project set up. If you don't already have one, go ahead and create a new project on the Supabase website. Once your project is ready, you'll need to enable the necessary authentication features. Head over to the Authentication section in your Supabase dashboard. From there, go to the “Settings” tab, and locate the “Email/Phone” section. Here's where we do some crucial groundwork to manage username and password authentication in Supabase. Usually, the default setup in Supabase uses email and password for authentication. We need to tweak this to include a username.

Before we start modifying, make sure you understand the security implications. You need to enable the email verification. Even though we are using a username, the email will be useful to restore passwords. You need to enable the email verification to be able to reset the password with the user email. To ensure security, never store the username or password in plain text and always use a secure way to store user credentials. You need to be extra careful with user information. Follow these simple steps to ensure the security of the user's information: Encrypt all the stored data, and always use a secured way to store the passwords. Now, to the steps: First, create a new table in your Supabase database called users. This table should contain at least the following columns: id (UUID, primary key, default auth.uid), username (text, unique), email (text), and password (text, not encrypted). The id column will link the users table to the authentication data. The next step is to create a new trigger function. The trigger function will populate the users table with the authentication data after each user signup. Create a function to be able to store the user's username, email and a password hash in a database. This function will be triggered after a new user signs up in the auth.users table. The trigger function should look something like this:

CREATE FUNCTION public.handle_new_user()
RETURNS trigger
LANGUAGE plpgsql
SECURITY DEFINER SET search_path = public
AS $
  begin
    insert into public.users (id, username, email) values (new.id, new.raw_user_meta_data->>'username', new.email);
    return new;
  end;
$;

CREATE TRIGGER on_auth_user_created
  AFTER INSERT ON auth.users
  FOR EACH ROW
  EXECUTE PROCEDURE public.handle_new_user();

This function will populate the users table with the authentication data after each user signup. Remember to adjust the function and trigger as needed for your specific use case. With this foundation, you can make an efficient and secure authentication system. Now that we have our database and triggers ready, let's move on to the actual implementation. It's time to build the client-side code that allows users to register and log in with a username, making the whole process user-friendly and enjoyable. You will now be able to start managing the username and password authentication in Supabase.

Implementing the Username Login Flow

Okay, now for the fun part: implementing the actual Supabase login with username functionality in your application. First, you'll need to create the necessary UI elements. This will typically involve a login form with fields for both username and password. Now, you will create a simple HTML form with two input fields (username and password) and a submit button. This will be the basic form your users will interact with to log in. You can also include options for signing up and resetting passwords if you haven't yet done so. The form needs to submit the username and password to your application for verification. The form should be designed to be simple and user-friendly. Make sure the labels and placeholders are clear and easy to understand. Next, write the code to handle the login process. This is where you'll use the Supabase client to authenticate the user using the provided username and password. Here's a basic example using JavaScript:

import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js';

const supabaseUrl = 'YOUR_SUPABASE_URL';
const supabaseAnonKey = 'YOUR_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY';

const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseAnonKey);

async function signInWithUsername(username, password) {
  try {
    const { data, error } = await supabase.auth.signInWithPassword({
      email: username, // Important: Use username as email
      password: password,
    });

    if (error) {
      console.error('Error signing in:', error);
      alert('Login failed. Please check your username and password.');
    } else {
      console.log('Successfully signed in:', data);
      alert('Login successful!');
      // Redirect or perform other actions on successful login
    }
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Unexpected error:', error);
    alert('An unexpected error occurred. Please try again.');
  }
}

// Example usage (assuming you have an event listener for your login button)
const loginForm = document.getElementById('loginForm'); // Assuming you have a form with id=