Build a User Management App with Nuxt 3

Explore drop-in UI components for your Supabase app.

UI components built on shadcn/ui that connect to Supabase via a single command.

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 Database - a Postgres database for storing your user data and Row Level Security so data is protected and users can only access their own information.
Supabase Auth - allow users to sign up and log in.
Supabase Storage - allow users to upload a profile photo.

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

Create a new project in the Supabase Dashboard.
Enter your project details.
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.

Dashboard

SQL

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

Note

When working locally you can run the following command to create a new migration file:

supabase migration new user_management_starter

-- Create a table for public profiles
create table profiles (
  id uuid references auth.users not null primary key,
  updated_at timestamp with time zone,
  username text unique,
  full_name text,
  avatar_url text,
  website text,

  constraint username_length check (char_length(username) >= 3)
);

-- Grant the privileges roles need
GRANT SELECT ON public.profiles TO anon;
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE ON public.profiles TO authenticated;

-- Set up Row Level Security (RLS)
-- See https://supabase.com/docs/guides/database/postgres/row-level-security for more details.
alter table profiles
  enable row level security;

create policy "Public profiles are viewable by everyone." on profiles
  for select using (true);

create policy "Users can insert their own profile." on profiles
  for insert with check ((select auth.uid()) = id);

create policy "Users can update own profile." on profiles
  for update using ((select auth.uid()) = id);

-- This trigger automatically creates a profile entry when a new user signs up via Supabase Auth.
-- See https://supabase.com/docs/guides/auth/managing-user-data#using-triggers for more details.
create function public.handle_new_user()
returns trigger
set search_path = ''
as $$
begin
  insert into public.profiles (id, full_name, avatar_url)
  values (new.id, new.raw_user_meta_data->>'full_name', new.raw_user_meta_data->>'avatar_url');
  return new;
end;
$$ language plpgsql security definer;
create trigger on_auth_user_created
  after insert on auth.users
  for each row execute procedure public.handle_new_user();

-- Set up Storage!
insert into storage.buckets (id, name)
  values ('avatars', 'avatars');

-- Set up access controls for storage. Allows downloading object with public key
-- See https://supabase.com/docs/guides/storage/security/access-control#policy-examples for more details.
create policy "Avatar images are publicly accessible." on storage.objects
  for select using (bucket_id = 'avatars' and storage.allow_any_operation(array['object.get_authenticated_info', 'object.get_authenticated']));

create policy "Anyone can upload an avatar." on storage.objects
  for insert with check (bucket_id = 'avatars');

create policy "Anyone can update their own avatar." on storage.objects
  for update using ((select auth.uid()) = owner) with check (bucket_id = 'avatars');

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

Build the Vue 3 app from scratch.

Initialize a Nuxt 3 app

We can use nuxi init to create an app called nuxt-user-management:

npx nuxi init nuxt-user-management

cd nuxt-user-management

Then install the only additional dependency: Nuxt Supabase. We only need to import Nuxt Supabase as a dev dependency.

npm install @nuxtjs/supabase --save-dev

And finally we want to save the environment variables in a .env. All we need are the API URL and the key that you copied earlier.

.env

SUPABASE_URL="YOUR_SUPABASE_URL"
SUPABASE_KEY="YOUR_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY"

These variables will be exposed on the browser, and that's completely fine since we have Row Level Security enabled on our Database. Amazing thing about Nuxt Supabase is that setting environment variables is all we need to do in order to start using Supabase. No need to initialize Supabase. The library will take care of it automatically.

App styling (optional)

An optional step is to update the CSS file assets/main.css to make the app look better. You can find the full contents of this file in the example repository.

nuxt.config.ts

import { defineNuxtConfig } from 'nuxt'

// https://v3.nuxtjs.org/api/configuration/nuxt.config
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: ['@nuxtjs/supabase'],
  css: ['@/assets/main.css'],
})

Set up Auth component

Set up a Vue component to manage sign-ins and sign-ups. We'll use Magic Links, so users can sign in with their email without using passwords.

/components/Auth.vue

<script setup>
const supabase = useSupabaseClient()

const loading = ref(false)
const email = ref('')

const handleLogin = async () => {
  try {
    loading.value = true
    const { error } = await supabase.auth.signInWithOtp({ email: email.value })
    if (error) throw error
    alert('Check your email for the login link!')
  } catch (error) {
    alert(error.error_description || error.message)
  } finally {
    loading.value = false
  }
}
</script>

<template>
  <form class="row flex-center flex" @submit.prevent="handleLogin">
    <div class="col-6 form-widget">
      <h1 class="header">Supabase + Nuxt 3</h1>
      <p class="description">Sign in via magic link with your email below</p>
      <div>
        <input class="inputField" type="email" placeholder="Your email" v-model="email" />
      </div>
      <div>
        <input
          type="submit"
          class="button block"
          :value="loading ? 'Loading' : 'Send magic link'"
          :disabled="loading"
        />
      </div>
    </div>
  </form>
</template>

User state

To access the user information, use the composable useSupabaseUser provided by the Supabase Nuxt module.

Account component

After a user is signed in we can allow them to edit their profile details and manage their account. Create a new component called Account.vue.

components/Account.vue

<script setup>
const supabase = useSupabaseClient()

const loading = ref(true)
const username = ref('')
const website = ref('')
const avatar_path = ref('')

loading.value = true
const user = useSupabaseUser()

const { data } = await supabase
  .from('profiles')
  .select(`username, website, avatar_url`)
  .eq('id', user.value.id)
  .single()

if (data) {
  username.value = data.username
  website.value = data.website
  avatar_path.value = data.avatar_url
}

loading.value = false

async function updateProfile() {
  try {
    loading.value = true
    const user = useSupabaseUser()

    const updates = {
      id: user.value.id,
      username: username.value,
      website: website.value,
      avatar_url: avatar_path.value,
      updated_at: new Date(),
    }

    const { error } = await supabase.from('profiles').upsert(updates, {
      returning: 'minimal', // Don't return the value after inserting
    })
    if (error) throw error
  } catch (error) {
    alert(error.message)
  } finally {
    loading.value = false
  }
}

async function signOut() {
  try {
    loading.value = true
    const { error } = await supabase.auth.signOut()
    if (error) throw error
    user.value = null
  } catch (error) {
    alert(error.message)
  } finally {
    loading.value = false
  }
}
</script>

<template>
  <form class="form-widget" @submit.prevent="updateProfile">
    <div>
      <label for="email">Email</label>
      <input id="email" type="text" :value="user.email" disabled />
    </div>
    <div>
      <label for="username">Username</label>
      <input id="username" type="text" v-model="username" />
    </div>
    <div>
      <label for="website">Website</label>
      <input id="website" type="url" v-model="website" />
    </div>

    <div>
      <input
        type="submit"
        class="button primary block"
        :value="loading ? 'Loading ...' : 'Update'"
        :disabled="loading"
      />
    </div>

    <div>
      <button class="button block" @click="signOut" :disabled="loading">Sign Out</button>
    </div>
  </form>
</template>

Profile photos

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

Start by creating a new component:

components/Avatar.vue

<script setup>
const props = defineProps(['path'])
const { path } = toRefs(props)

const emit = defineEmits(['update:path', 'upload'])

const supabase = useSupabaseClient()

const uploading = ref(false)
const src = ref('')
const files = ref()

const downloadImage = async () => {
  try {
    const { data, error } = await supabase.storage.from('avatars').download(path.value)
    if (error) throw error
    src.value = URL.createObjectURL(data)
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error downloading image: ', error.message)
  }
}

const uploadAvatar = async (evt) => {
  files.value = evt.target.files
  try {
    uploading.value = true

    if (!files.value || files.value.length === 0) {
      throw new Error('You must select an image to upload.')
    }

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

    const { error: uploadError } = await supabase.storage.from('avatars').upload(filePath, file)

    if (uploadError) throw uploadError

    emit('update:path', filePath)
    emit('upload')
  } catch (error) {
    alert(error.message)
  } finally {
    uploading.value = false
  }
}

downloadImage()

watch(path, () => {
  if (path.value) {
    downloadImage()
  }
})
</script>

<template>
  <div>
    <img
      v-if="src"
      :src="src"
      alt="Avatar"
      class="avatar image"
      style="width: 10em; height: 10em;"
    />
    <div v-else class="avatar no-image" :style="{ height: size, width: size }" />

    <div style="width: 10em; position: relative;">
      <label class="button primary block" for="single">
        {{ uploading ? 'Uploading ...' : 'Upload' }}
      </label>
      <input
        style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden;"
        type="file"
        id="single"
        accept="image/*"
        @change="uploadAvatar"
        :disabled="uploading"
      />
    </div>
  </div>
</template>

Launch!

With all the components in place, update app.vue:

app.vue

<script setup>
const user = useSupabaseUser()
</script>

<template>
  <div class="container" style="padding: 50px 0 100px 0">
    <Account v-if="user" />
    <Auth v-else />
  </div>
</template>

Once that's done, run this in a terminal window:

npm run dev

And then open the browser to localhost:3000 and you should see the completed app.

Supabase Nuxt 3

At this stage you have a fully functional application!

Add a server route

So far the app authenticates the user on the client. For protected API endpoints or server-rendered data, you need a server route that verifies the session.

@supabase/server handles the full flow through a single middleware: it validates the JWT locally (using your project's asymmetric signing keys, no round-trip to the Auth server), attaches an RLS-scoped Supabase client and the user's claims to the request, and rejects unauthenticated requests with a 401 before your handler runs.

npm install @supabase/server

server/api/profile.get.ts

import { withSupabase } from '@supabase/server/adapters/h3'
import { defineHandler } from 'h3'

export default defineHandler({
  middleware: [withSupabase({ auth: 'user' })],
  handler: async (event) => {
    const { supabase, userClaims } = event.context.supabaseContext

    const { data, error } = await supabase
      .from('profiles')
      .select('username, website, avatar_url')
      .eq('id', userClaims.id)
      .single()

    if (error) {
      throw createError({ statusCode: 500, statusMessage: error.message })
    }

    return data
  },
})

For an unauthenticated route, pass auth: 'none'. For app-wide auth, register withSupabase({ auth: 'user' }) as a Nuxt server middleware at server/middleware/supabase.ts instead. See the h3/Nuxt adapter docs for typing, route overrides, and the full API.

Project setup

Create a project

Set up the database schema

Get API details

Building the app

Initialize a Nuxt 3 app

App styling (optional)

Set up Auth component

User state

Account component

Profile photos

Create an upload widget

Launch!

Add a server route