Does Django Work With Auth.js?
Django and Auth.js can work together, but you're mixing a Python backend with a JavaScript auth library designed for JavaScript frameworks—it requires building a custom integration layer.
Quick Facts
How Django Works With Auth.js
Django and Auth.js aren't naturally compatible because Auth.js is purpose-built for JavaScript ecosystems (Next.js, SvelteKit, etc.) while Django is Python-based. However, you can integrate them by using Auth.js in a separate frontend application (Next.js, SvelteKit) that communicates with a Django REST API. Auth.js handles session management and authentication in the JavaScript layer, while Django consumes the authenticated user context via JWT tokens or session headers. The authentication flow goes: Auth.js manages login/logout → issues JWT tokens → frontend sends tokens to Django API → Django validates tokens and serves data. This works well for decoupled architectures but adds operational complexity. Alternatively, you could implement Auth.js callbacks to sync user data back to Django after authentication, storing user records in both systems. This approach is common in microservices patterns where frontend and backend are independently deployed.
Best Use Cases
Auth.js with Django JWT Backend
npm install next-auth axios// pages/api/auth/[...nextauth].ts
import NextAuth from 'next-auth';
import CredentialsProvider from 'next-auth/providers/credentials';
import axios from 'axios';
const DJANGO_API = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_DJANGO_API;
export const authOptions = {
providers: [
CredentialsProvider({
async authorize(credentials) {
try {
const res = await axios.post(`${DJANGO_API}/api/token/`, {
username: credentials.username,
password: credentials.password,
});
if (res.data.access) {
return { id: res.data.user_id, token: res.data.access };
}
return null;
} catch (e) {
return null;
}
},
}),
],
callbacks: {
async jwt({ token, user }) {
if (user) token.accessToken = user.token;
return token;
},
async session({ session, token }) {
session.accessToken = token.accessToken;
return session;
},
},
};
export default NextAuth(authOptions);Known Issues & Gotchas
Session/token mismatch: Auth.js creates sessions in JavaScript, Django expects CSRF tokens or Bearer tokens
Fix: Use JWT tokens from Auth.js callbacks, validate them in Django with djangorestframework-simplejwt or similar. Set up CORS properly and ensure Auth.js sends tokens in Authorization headers.
User synchronization: Auth.js and Django may have different user record sources, causing data inconsistency
Fix: Implement a callback in Auth.js that syncs user data to Django after successful authentication, or use a shared database with proper conflict resolution.
Refresh token rotation: Auth.js handles token refresh client-side, but Django needs to validate the new tokens
Fix: Configure Auth.js callbacks to call Django endpoints for token refresh, keeping Django as the source of truth for token validity.
No built-in provider integration for Django providers (like Django Allauth backends)
Fix: Either use Auth.js's standard OAuth providers or build custom Auth.js provider adapters that communicate with Django's OAuth endpoints.
Alternatives
- •Django built-in authentication + django-cors-headers + custom JWT implementation (fully Python-native, simpler for Django-only teams)
- •Django + Dj-Rest-Auth + djangorestframework-simplejwt (Django ecosystem solution, loses Auth.js provider ecosystem)
- •Keycloak/Auth0 + Django (dedicated auth service, both Django and JavaScript clients authenticate against it, no custom integration needed)
Resources
Related Compatibility Guides
Explore more compatibility guides