Getting Started

AuthHero is an open-source authentication system compatible with Auth0 APIs. Choose the quickest path to get running:

Option 1: Docker (Recommended)

The fastest way to try AuthHero. No Node.js required.

git clone https://github.com/markusahlstrand/authhero.git
cd authhero
docker compose up --build

AuthHero is now running at http://localhost:3000 with:

• Admin login: admin / admin
• SQLite database (persisted in a Docker volume)
• Management API ready to use

Configuration

Customize via environment variables in docker-compose.yml:

Variable	Default	Description
PORT	3000	Server port
ISSUER	http://localhost:3000/	Token issuer URL (must match your public URL)
ADMIN_USERNAME	admin	Admin username
ADMIN_PASSWORD	admin	Admin password
SEED	true	Auto-seed database on startup

WARNING

Change ADMIN_PASSWORD before deploying to production.

See Docker deployment for production configuration with TLS and reverse proxy.

Option 2: npm create

Scaffold a new project with the interactive CLI:

npx create-authhero my-auth-app

The CLI will guide you through:

1. Choosing a template (local for SQLite or cloudflare for D1)
2. Setting up an admin user
3. Running migrations and starting the dev server

Non-Interactive Mode

npx create-authhero my-app \
  --template local \
  --email admin@example.com \
  --password mypassword123 \
  --yes

CLI Options

Option	Description
-t, --template <type>	local (SQLite) or cloudflare (D1)
-e, --email <email>	Admin email address
-p, --password <password>	Admin password (min 8 characters)
--package-manager <pm>	npm, yarn, pnpm, or bun
--multi-tenant	Enable multi-tenant support (cloudflare only)
-y, --yes	Skip prompts, use defaults

What's Next

Once AuthHero is running:

1. Open the admin dashboard at your server URL
2. Create an application (client) for your app
3. Configure a connection (e.g., email/password)
4. Integrate using any Auth0-compatible SDK

Learn More

• Architecture — Understand how AuthHero works
• Entities — Tenants, users, applications, connections, and more
• Auth0 Compatibility — What works the same and what's different
• Deployment — Production deployment options