iron-session

Overview

iron-session stores session data in encrypted, signed cookies. No database needed. AES-256 encryption + HMAC-SHA256 signing. Works with Next.js App Router and Express.

Instructions

Step 1: Configuration

import { getIronSession } from 'iron-session'
import { cookies } from 'next/headers'

interface SessionData { userId?: string; role?: string; isLoggedIn: boolean }

const options = {
  password: process.env.SESSION_SECRET!,
  cookieName: 'myapp_session',
  cookieOptions: { secure: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production', httpOnly: true, sameSite: 'lax' as const, maxAge: 604800 },
}

export async function getSession() {
  return getIronSession<SessionData>(await cookies(), options)
}

Step 2: Login/Logout

// POST /api/auth/login
const session = await getSession()
session.userId = user.id
session.role = user.role
session.isLoggedIn = true
await session.save()

// POST /api/auth/logout
const session = await getSession()
session.destroy()

Step 3: Protected Pages

export default async function DashboardPage() {
  const session = await getSession()
  if (!session.isLoggedIn) redirect('/login')
  return <Dashboard userId={session.userId!} />
}

Guidelines

• SESSION_SECRET: min 32 chars. Generate with

  openssl rand -hex 32

  .
• Cookie limit is 4KB — store IDs only, not large objects.
• Stateless = no revocation by default. Add version check for revocation.
• Always httpOnly + secure in production.