Authgear: An Open-Source Alternative to Auth0 and Firebase Auth
Managing user authentication can be one of the most tedious parts of building an application. You either roll your own solution and risk security pitfalls, or you use a managed service that locks you into their ecosystem and pricing. What if there was a third option?
Authgear is an open-source authentication server that gives you the power of services like Auth0 and Firebase Auth, but with the control and flexibility that comes from self-hosting. It handles the complex parts of auth so you can focus on building your core product.
What It Does
At its core, Authgear is an identity platform that handles user registration, login, and session management. It supports standard authentication methods like email/password, social logins (Google, Facebook, GitHub, etc.), and biometric authentication.
The server provides a centralized way to manage user identities across your applications, complete with admin portals and developer APIs. It's built with modern web standards in mind, supporting OAuth 2.0, OIDC, and SAML out of the box.
Why It's Cool
The real value of Authgear comes from being both powerful and self-hosted. Unlike proprietary services where you're at the mercy of vendor pricing changes and feature roadmaps, you can deploy Authgear on your own infrastructure and have full control over your user data.
It's particularly useful for teams that need enterprise-grade authentication features without the enterprise price tag. Think multi-factor authentication, passwordless login, and user management dashboards—all available without the per-user fees that can quickly add up with commercial services.
For developers who are privacy-conscious or working in regulated industries, having authentication run on your own servers means you maintain complete ownership of user data. Plus, since it's open source, you can audit the code, contribute improvements, or customize it to fit your specific needs.
How to Try It
The quickest way to see Authgear in action is to check out their live demo portal. You can create an account and explore the user experience firsthand.
If you're ready to deploy your own instance, the GitHub repository has comprehensive documentation. You can run it using Docker with their provided docker-compose.yml file, or deploy to Kubernetes using their Helm charts. The setup process is well-documented and should feel familiar if you've worked with containerized applications before.
git clone https://github.com/authgear/authgear-server
cd authgear-server
# Follow the setup instructions in the README
Final Thoughts
Authgear hits a sweet spot for developers who want the convenience of a full-featured authentication system without vendor lock-in. It's not necessarily simpler than rolling your own basic auth, but it's much more secure and feature-complete. And while it requires more setup than a managed service, you gain flexibility and control in return.
If you're starting a new project and want enterprise-level authentication without the enterprise costs, or if you're looking to migrate away from expensive auth services, Authgear is definitely worth exploring. It's one of those tools that could save you countless hours while giving you peace of mind about security.
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