Express-BetterAuth-Boilerplate
A Node.js/Express backend starter with Better-Auth authentication fully wired up

- Best for
- Node.js developers who want a backend starter with Better-Auth already configured, including email verification and RBAC.
- Skip if
- You need a frontend included, or you'd rather use a more established auth library like NextAuth or Clerk.
Express-BetterAuth-Boilerplate is a free, open-source backend starter for Node.js apps that need auth solved from day one. It combines Express with TypeScript, PostgreSQL via the Kysely query builder, and Better-Auth for signup, email verification, login, password reset, and session management, plus role-based route protection, Winston logging, and Docker support.
Pros
- Complete Better-Auth flow: signup, email verification, password reset, sessions
- Role-based access control on protected routes out of the box
- Docker setup includes Mailpit for local email testing
- Structured logging via Winston with request tracking
Cons
- Small, single-maintainer project with limited community traction (single-digit GitHub stars)
- Backend-only, no frontend or admin UI included
- API routes are intentionally left empty, so business logic is entirely up to you
Features
Auth and access
- Auth included
- RBAC / roles
What's in the box
- API routes
Data and infra
- Rate limiting
- Migrations
Quality and DX
- Docker Compose (dev)
Licensing and commercial
- Open source
- Free tier
- MIT licensed
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