Guides

Database-less Mode

Run Better Auth without a database for edge and serverless deployments.

Use this guide when you want stateless sessions and you accept the operational tradeoffs that come with not having persistent auth records.

Better Auth supports running without a database using encrypted cookie sessions (JWE).

See the official Better Auth documentation for database-less setup.

Database-less mode uses JWE (JSON Web Encryption) sessions. Instead of storing sessions in a database, the session data is encrypted and stored entirely in the cookie.

How it works:

Session data is encrypted with your NUXT_BETTER_AUTH_SECRET (BETTER_AUTH_SECRET is also supported as a fallback)
The encrypted token is stored in a cookie
On each request, the server decrypts the cookie to get session data
No database queries needed for session validation

Limitations

No Server-Side Session Revocation

You cannot invalidate a session before it expires. The user must wait for the cookie to expire.

Workaround: Use short session lifetimes (e.g., 1 hour) and implement token refresh.

No Email/Password Without External Storage

Email/password requires storing user credentials somewhere.

Workaround:

Use OAuth providers only (GitHub, Google store the credentials)
Or use an external user database while keeping sessions database-less

No Multi-Device Session Management

Cannot list or revoke sessions across devices.

Workaround: Implement device tracking in your application layer if needed.

OAuth Considerations

OAuth can work in database-less mode, but account state is stored in encrypted cookies (JWE) instead of a database. This limits server-side management and auditing.

When to avoid DB-less OAuth

You need to list/revoke sessions across devices
You need durable account records (admin tools, audits)
You rely on server-side account linking or management

Nuxt Configuration

Simply don't configure a database adapter:

nuxt.config.ts

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: ['@onmax/nuxt-better-auth'],
})

Auth Configuration

Enable JWE sessions and cookie-based OAuth state:

server/auth.config.ts

import { defineServerAuth } from '@onmax/nuxt-better-auth/config'

export default defineServerAuth({
  socialProviders: {
    github: { clientId: '...', clientSecret: '...' },
  },
  session: {
    cookieCache: {
      enabled: true,
      maxAge: 7 * 24 * 60 * 60, // 7 days
      strategy: 'jwe',
    },
  },
  account: {
    storeStateStrategy: 'cookie',
    storeAccountCookie: true,
  },
})

This stores sessions and OAuth state in encrypted cookies instead of a database.

When to Use Database-less Mode

Good fit:

OAuth-only authentication (GitHub, Google, etc.)
Serverless deployments with cold start concerns
Simple applications without session management needs

Not recommended:

Applications requiring session revocation
Multi-device session management
Email/password authentication