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Build a User Management App with Angular

This tutorial demonstrates how to build a basic user management app. The app authenticates and identifies the user, stores their profile information in the database, and allows the user to log in, update their profile details, and upload a profile photo. The app uses:

Supabase User Management example

Note

If you get stuck while working through this guide, you can find the full example on GitHub.

Project setup

Before you start building you need to set up the Database and API. You can do this by starting a new Project in Supabase and then creating a "schema" inside the database.

Create a project

  1. Create a new project in the Supabase Dashboard.
  2. Enter your project details.
  3. Wait for the new database to launch.

Set up the database schema

Now set up the database schema. You can use the "User Management Starter" quickstart in the SQL Editor, or you can copy/paste the SQL from below and run it.

DashboardSQL

  1. Go to the SQL Editor page in the Dashboard.
  2. Click User Management Starter under the Reference > Examples tab.
  3. Click Run.

Note

You can pull the database schema down to your local project by running the db pull command. Read the local development docs for detailed instructions.

supabase link --project-ref <project-id>
# You can get <project-id> from your project's dashboard URL: https://supabase.com/dashboard/project/<project-id>
supabase db pull

Get API details

To interact with data in database tables, you use the client libraries that wrap the auto-generated Data API endpoints, authenticating using the Project URL and key from the project Connect dialog.

Project URL: https://<project-ref>.supabase.co (find yours in the dashboard)

Publishable key: sb_publishable_... (find yours in the dashboard)

Note

See API keys for a full explanation of all key types, their uses, and where to find them.

Building the app

Start with building the Angular app from scratch.

Initialize an Angular app

Use the Angular CLI to initialize an app called supabase-angular setting some defaults that you can change to suit your needs:

npx ng new supabase-angular --routing false --style css --standalone false --ssr false
cd supabase-angular

Install supabase-js:

npm install @supabase/supabase-js

Create a src/environments directory and save API URL and key that you copied earlier as environment variables in a new src/environments/environment.ts file.

The application exposes these variables in the browser, and that's fine as Supabase enables Row Level Security by default on all tables.

export const environment = {
  production: false,
  supabaseUrl: 'YOUR_SUPABASE_URL',
  supabasePublishableKey: 'YOUR_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY',
}

With the API credentials in place, create a SupabaseService with ng g s supabase and add the following code to initialize the Supabase client and implement functions to communicate with the Supabase API.

import { Injectable } from '@angular/core'
import { AuthChangeEvent, createClient, Session, SupabaseClient, User } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
import { environment } from '../environments/environment'

export interface Profile {
  id?: string
  username: string
  website: string
  avatar_url: string
}

@Injectable({
  providedIn: 'root',
})
export class SupabaseService {
  private supabase: SupabaseClient

  constructor() {
    this.supabase = createClient(environment.supabaseUrl, environment.supabasePublishableKey)
  }

  async getUser(): Promise<User | null> {
    const { data, error } = await this.supabase.auth.getUser()
    if (error) {
      return null
    }
    return data.user
  }

  profile(user: User) {
    return this.supabase
      .from('profiles')
      .select(`username, website, avatar_url`)
      .eq('id', user.id)
      .single()
  }

  authChanges(callback: (event: AuthChangeEvent, session: Session | null) => void) {
    return this.supabase.auth.onAuthStateChange(callback)
  }

  signIn(email: string) {
    return this.supabase.auth.signInWithOtp({ email })
  }

  signOut() {
    return this.supabase.auth.signOut()
  }

  updateProfile(profile: Profile) {
    const update = {
      ...profile,
      updated_at: new Date(),
    }

    return this.supabase.from('profiles').upsert(update)
  }

  downLoadImage(path: string) {
    return this.supabase.storage.from('avatars').download(path)
  }

  uploadAvatar(filePath: string, file: File) {
    return this.supabase.storage.from('avatars').upload(filePath, file)
  }
}

Optionally, update src/styles.css to style the app. You can find the full contents of this file in the example repository.

Set up a sign-in component

You need an Angular component to manage sign-ins and sign-ups. The component uses Magic Links, so users can sign in with their email without using passwords.

Did you know?

You can customize other emails sent out to new users, including the email's looks, content, and query parameters from the Authentication > Email section of the Dashboard.

Create an AuthComponent with the ng g c auth Angular CLI command and add the following code.

src/app/auth/auth.component.tsname=src/app/auth/auth.component.html

import { Component } from '@angular/core'
import { FormBuilder, FormGroup } from '@angular/forms'
import { SupabaseService } from '../supabase.service'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-auth',
  templateUrl: './auth.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./auth.component.css'],
  standalone: false,
})
export class AuthComponent {
  loading = false
  signInForm: FormGroup

  constructor(
    private readonly supabase: SupabaseService,
    private readonly formBuilder: FormBuilder
  ) {
    this.signInForm = this.formBuilder.group({
      email: '',
    })
  }

  async onSubmit(): Promise<void> {
    try {
      this.loading = true
      const email = this.signInForm.value.email as string
      const { error } = await this.supabase.signIn(email)
      if (error) throw error
      alert('Check your email for the login link!')
    } catch (error) {
      if (error instanceof Error) {
        alert(error.message)
      }
    } finally {
      this.signInForm.reset()
      this.loading = false
    }
  }
}

Account page

Users also need a way to edit their profile details and manage their accounts after signing in. Create an AccountComponent with the ng g c account Angular CLI command and add the following code.

src/app/account/account.component.tsname=src/app/account/account.component.html

import { Component, Input, OnInit } from '@angular/core'
import { FormBuilder, FormGroup } from '@angular/forms'
import { User } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
import { Profile, SupabaseService } from '../supabase.service'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-account',
  templateUrl: './account.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./account.component.css'],
  standalone: false,
})
export class AccountComponent implements OnInit {
  loading = false
  profile!: Profile
  updateProfileForm!: FormGroup


// ...


  @Input()
  user!: User

  constructor(
    private readonly supabase: SupabaseService,
    private formBuilder: FormBuilder
  ) {
    this.updateProfileForm = this.formBuilder.group({
      username: '',
      website: '',
      avatar_url: '',
    })
  }

  async ngOnInit(): Promise<void> {
    await this.getProfile()

    const { username, website, avatar_url } = this.profile
    this.updateProfileForm.patchValue({
      username,
      website,
      avatar_url,
    })
  }

  async getProfile() {
    try {
      this.loading = true
      const { data: profile, error, status } = await this.supabase.profile(this.user)

      if (error && status !== 406) {
        throw error
      }

      if (profile) {
        this.profile = profile
      }
    } catch (error) {
      if (error instanceof Error) {
        alert(error.message)
      }
    } finally {
      this.loading = false
    }
  }

  async updateProfile(): Promise<void> {
    try {
      this.loading = true

      const username = this.updateProfileForm.value.username as string
      const website = this.updateProfileForm.value.website as string
      const avatar_url = this.updateProfileForm.value.avatar_url as string

      const { error } = await this.supabase.updateProfile({
        id: this.user.id,
        username,
        website,
        avatar_url,
      })
      if (error) throw error
    } catch (error) {
      if (error instanceof Error) {
        alert(error.message)
      }
    } finally {
      this.loading = false
    }
  }

  async signOut() {
    await this.supabase.signOut()
  }
}

Profile photos

Add a way for users to upload a profile photo. Supabase configures every project with Storage for managing large files like photos and videos.

Create an upload widget

Create an AvatarComponent with the ng g c avatar Angular CLI command and add the following code.

src/app/avatar/avatar.component.tsname=src/app/avatar/avatar.component.html

import { Component, EventEmitter, Input, Output } from '@angular/core'
import { SafeResourceUrl, DomSanitizer } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { SupabaseService } from '../supabase.service'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-avatar',
  templateUrl: './avatar.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./avatar.component.css'],
  standalone: false,
})
export class AvatarComponent {
  _avatarUrl: SafeResourceUrl | undefined
  uploading = false

  @Input()
  set avatarUrl(url: string | null) {
    if (url) {
      this.downloadImage(url)
    }
  }

  @Output() upload = new EventEmitter<string>()

  constructor(
    private readonly supabase: SupabaseService,
    private readonly dom: DomSanitizer
  ) {}

  async downloadImage(path: string) {
    try {
      const { data } = await this.supabase.downLoadImage(path)
      if (data instanceof Blob) {
        this._avatarUrl = this.dom.bypassSecurityTrustResourceUrl(URL.createObjectURL(data))
      }
    } catch (error) {
      if (error instanceof Error) {
        console.error('Error downloading image: ', error.message)
      }
    }
  }

  async uploadAvatar(event: any) {
    try {
      this.uploading = true
      if (!event.target.files || event.target.files.length === 0) {
        throw new Error('You must select an image to upload.')
      }

      const file = event.target.files[0]
      const fileExt = file.name.split('.').pop()
      const filePath = `${Math.random()}.${fileExt}`

      await this.supabase.uploadAvatar(filePath, file)
      this.upload.emit(filePath)
    } catch (error) {
      if (error instanceof Error) {
        alert(error.message)
      }
    } finally {
      this.uploading = false
    }
  }
}

Update the Account component

With the Avatar component created, update AccountComponent to include it:

src/app/account/account.component.tsname=src/app/account/account.component.html

import { Component, Input, OnInit } from '@angular/core'
import { FormBuilder, FormGroup } from '@angular/forms'
import { User } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
import { Profile, SupabaseService } from '../supabase.service'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-account',
  templateUrl: './account.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./account.component.css'],
  standalone: false,
})
export class AccountComponent implements OnInit {
  loading = false
  profile!: Profile
  updateProfileForm!: FormGroup

  get avatarUrl() {
    return this.updateProfileForm.value.avatar_url as string
  }

  async updateAvatar(event: string): Promise<void> {
    this.updateProfileForm.patchValue({
      avatar_url: event,
    })
    await this.updateProfile()
  }

  @Input()
  user!: User

  constructor(
    private readonly supabase: SupabaseService,
    private formBuilder: FormBuilder
  ) {
    this.updateProfileForm = this.formBuilder.group({
      username: '',
      website: '',
      avatar_url: '',
    })
  }

  async ngOnInit(): Promise<void> {
    await this.getProfile()

    const { username, website, avatar_url } = this.profile
    this.updateProfileForm.patchValue({
      username,
      website,
      avatar_url,
    })
  }

  async getProfile() {
    try {
      this.loading = true
      const { data: profile, error, status } = await this.supabase.profile(this.user)

      if (error && status !== 406) {
        throw error
      }

      if (profile) {
        this.profile = profile
      }
    } catch (error) {
      if (error instanceof Error) {
        alert(error.message)
      }
    } finally {
      this.loading = false
    }
  }

  async updateProfile(): Promise<void> {
    try {
      this.loading = true

      const username = this.updateProfileForm.value.username as string
      const website = this.updateProfileForm.value.website as string
      const avatar_url = this.updateProfileForm.value.avatar_url as string

      const { error } = await this.supabase.updateProfile({
        id: this.user.id,
        username,
        website,
        avatar_url,
      })
      if (error) throw error
    } catch (error) {
      if (error instanceof Error) {
        alert(error.message)
      }
    } finally {
      this.loading = false
    }
  }

  async signOut() {
    await this.supabase.signOut()
  }
}

You also need to change app.module.ts to include the ReactiveFormsModule from the @angular/forms package.

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { ReactiveFormsModule } from '@angular/forms'

import { AppComponent } from './app.component'
import { AuthComponent } from './auth/auth.component'
import { AccountComponent } from './account/account.component'
import { AvatarComponent } from './avatar/avatar.component'

@NgModule({
  declarations: [AppComponent, AuthComponent, AccountComponent, AvatarComponent],
  imports: [BrowserModule, ReactiveFormsModule],
  providers: [],
  bootstrap: [AppComponent],
})
export class AppModule {}

Launch!

With all the components in place, change the contents of AppComponent to include the new components and Auth logic:

The Supabase Auth SDK contains three different functions for authenticating user access to applications:

Summary of the methods

  • Use getClaims to protect pages and user data. It reads the access token from storage and verifies it. Locally via the WebCrypto API and a cached JWKS endpoint when the project uses asymmetric signing keys (the default for new projects), or by calling getUser solely to validate when symmetric keys are in use. The returned claims always come from decoding the JWT, not from a user lookup. When the access token is close to expiring, getClaims refreshes the session before it verifies, which is how a server-rendered session stays alive.
  • getUser makes a network call to the project's Auth instance to get the user record, which includes the most up-to-date information about the user at the cost of a network call.
  • getSession when you need the raw session (the access token, refresh token, and expiry). For example to forward the access token to another service. The session is loaded directly from local storage and isn't re-validated against the Auth server, so the embedded user object shouldn't be trusted on its own when storage is shared with the client (cookies, request headers). To verify identity, validate the access token with getClaims, or call getUser for a fresh, server-confirmed user record.

In summary: use getClaims to verify identity (typically for protecting pages and data), getUser when you need an up-to-date user record from the Auth server, and getSession when you need the access or refresh token directly, but don't rely on the user object it returns for authorization decisions.

src/app/app.component.tsname=src/app/app.component.html

import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core'
import { User } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
import { SupabaseService } from './supabase.service'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-root',
  templateUrl: './app.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./app.component.css'],
  standalone: false,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {
  constructor(private readonly supabase: SupabaseService) {}

  title = 'angular-user-management'
  user: User | null = null

  async ngOnInit() {
    this.user = await this.supabase.getUser()
    this.supabase.authChanges(async () => {
      this.user = await this.supabase.getUser()
    })
  }
}

Now run the application in a terminal:

npm run start

Open the browser to localhost:4200 and you should see the completed app.

Screenshot of the Supabase Angular application running in a browser

At this stage you have a fully functional application!

Edit on GitHub