Supabase Architecture Variants

Overview

Different application architectures require fundamentally different Supabase

createClient

Prerequisites

• @supabase/supabase-js

  v2+ installed

• @supabase/ssr

  package for Next.js SSR (v0.5+)
• Supabase project with URL, anon key, and service role key
• TypeScript project with generated database types (

  supabase gen types typescript

  )
• For mobile: React Native with Expo or bare workflow

Step 1 — Next.js SSR (App Router with Server and Client Components)

Next.js App Router requires two separate clients: a server-side client using cookies for auth (with

@supabase/ssr

service_role

Server-Side Client (for Server Components, Route Handlers, Server Actions)

// lib/supabase/server.ts
import { createServerClient } from '@supabase/ssr'
import { cookies } from 'next/headers'
import type { Database } from '../database.types'

export async function createSupabaseServer() {
  const cookieStore = await cookies()

  return createServerClient<Database>(
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL!,
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY!,
    {
      cookies: {
        getAll() {
          return cookieStore.getAll()
        },
        setAll(cookiesToSet) {
          try {
            cookiesToSet.forEach(({ name, value, options }) =>
              cookieStore.set(name, value, options)
            )
          } catch {
            // Called from Server Component — cookies are read-only
          }
        },
      },
    }
  )
}

// Admin client for server-only operations (bypasses RLS)
// NEVER import this in client components or expose to the browser
import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'

export function createSupabaseAdmin() {
  return createClient<Database>(
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL!,
    process.env.SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY!,  // NOT NEXT_PUBLIC_ — server only
    {
      auth: { autoRefreshToken: false, persistSession: false },
    }
  )
}

Client-Side Client (for Client Components)

// lib/supabase/client.ts
'use client'

import { createBrowserClient } from '@supabase/ssr'
import type { Database } from '../database.types'

let client: ReturnType<typeof createBrowserClient<Database>> | null = null

export function createSupabaseBrowser() {
  if (client) return client

  client = createBrowserClient<Database>(
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL!,
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY!  // anon key only — respects RLS
  )

  return client
}

Middleware for Auth Session Refresh

// middleware.ts
import { createServerClient } from '@supabase/ssr'
import { NextResponse, type NextRequest } from 'next/server'

export async function middleware(request: NextRequest) {
  let response = NextResponse.next({ request })

  const supabase = createServerClient(
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL!,
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY!,
    {
      cookies: {
        getAll() {
          return request.cookies.getAll()
        },
        setAll(cookiesToSet) {
          cookiesToSet.forEach(({ name, value }) =>
            request.cookies.set(name, value)
          )
          response = NextResponse.next({ request })
          cookiesToSet.forEach(({ name, value, options }) =>
            response.cookies.set(name, value, options)
          )
        },
      },
    }
  )

  // Refresh session — this is the critical call
  await supabase.auth.getUser()

  return response
}

export const config = {
  matcher: ['/((?!_next/static|_next/image|favicon.ico|.*\\.(?:svg|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|webp)$).*)'],
}

Server Component Usage

// app/dashboard/page.tsx
import { createSupabaseServer } from '@/lib/supabase/server'
import { redirect } from 'next/navigation'

export default async function DashboardPage() {
  const supabase = await createSupabaseServer()

  const { data: { user } } = await supabase.auth.getUser()
  if (!user) redirect('/login')

  const { data: projects, error } = await supabase
    .from('projects')
    .select('id, name, status, created_at')
    .eq('user_id', user.id)
    .order('created_at', { ascending: false })

  if (error) throw new Error(`Failed to load projects: ${error.message}`)

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>My Projects</h1>
      {projects.map(p => <ProjectCard key={p.id} project={p} />)}
    </div>
  )
}

Server Action with Admin Client

// app/actions/admin.ts
'use server'

import { createSupabaseAdmin } from '@/lib/supabase/server'

export async function deleteUserAccount(userId: string) {
  const supabase = createSupabaseAdmin()

  // Admin operation — bypasses RLS
  const { error: deleteError } = await supabase
    .from('user_data')
    .delete()
    .eq('user_id', userId)

  if (deleteError) throw new Error(`Data deletion failed: ${deleteError.message}`)

  // Delete auth user
  const { error: authError } = await supabase.auth.admin.deleteUser(userId)
  if (authError) throw new Error(`Auth deletion failed: ${authError.message}`)
}

Step 2 — SPA (React/Vue) and Mobile (React Native)

SPA Architecture (React with Vite)

SPAs use a single browser client with the anon key. All authorization is enforced via RLS. The service_role key is never present in the SPA bundle.

// src/lib/supabase.ts
import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
import type { Database } from './database.types'

// Singleton client — one instance for the entire SPA
export const supabase = createClient<Database>(
  import.meta.env.VITE_SUPABASE_URL,
  import.meta.env.VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY,
  {
    auth: {
      autoRefreshToken: true,
      persistSession: true,
      detectSessionInUrl: true,  // handles OAuth redirects
      storage: window.localStorage,
    },
  }
)

// Auth state listener — call once at app initialization
supabase.auth.onAuthStateChange((event, session) => {
  if (event === 'SIGNED_OUT') {
    // Clear local caches
    queryClient.clear()  // React Query
  }
  if (event === 'TOKEN_REFRESHED') {
    console.log('Token refreshed')
  }
})

React Hook for Auth-Protected Queries

// src/hooks/useSupabaseQuery.ts
import { useQuery, useMutation, useQueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query'
import { supabase } from '../lib/supabase'

export function useTodos() {
  return useQuery({
    queryKey: ['todos'],
    queryFn: async () => {
      const { data, error } = await supabase
        .from('todos')
        .select('id, title, is_complete, created_at')
        .order('created_at', { ascending: false })

      if (error) throw new Error(`Failed to load todos: ${error.message}`)
      return data
    },
  })
}

export function useCreateTodo() {
  const queryClient = useQueryClient()

  return useMutation({
    mutationFn: async (title: string) => {
      const { data, error } = await supabase
        .from('todos')
        .insert({ title })
        .select('id, title, is_complete, created_at')
        .single()

      if (error) throw new Error(`Failed to create todo: ${error.message}`)
      return data
    },
    onSuccess: () => {
      queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['todos'] })
    },
  })
}

Mobile Architecture (React Native with Expo)

React Native needs

AsyncStorage

// lib/supabase.ts (React Native)
import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
import AsyncStorage from '@react-native-async-storage/async-storage'
import type { Database } from './database.types'

export const supabase = createClient<Database>(
  process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL!,
  process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY!,
  {
    auth: {
      storage: AsyncStorage,
      autoRefreshToken: true,
      persistSession: true,
      detectSessionInUrl: false,  // disabled for React Native
    },
  }
)

Mobile OAuth with Deep Links

// lib/auth.ts (React Native)
import { supabase } from './supabase'
import * as Linking from 'expo-linking'
import * as WebBrowser from 'expo-web-browser'

const redirectUrl = Linking.createURL('auth/callback')

export async function signInWithGoogle() {
  const { data, error } = await supabase.auth.signInWithOAuth({
    provider: 'google',
    options: {
      redirectTo: redirectUrl,
      skipBrowserRedirect: true,  // handle manually for RN
    },
  })

  if (error) throw new Error(`OAuth failed: ${error.message}`)
  if (!data.url) throw new Error('No OAuth URL returned')

  // Open in-app browser
  const result = await WebBrowser.openAuthSessionAsync(data.url, redirectUrl)

  if (result.type === 'success') {
    const url = new URL(result.url)
    const params = new URLSearchParams(url.hash.substring(1))
    const accessToken = params.get('access_token')
    const refreshToken = params.get('refresh_token')

    if (accessToken && refreshToken) {
      const { error: sessionError } = await supabase.auth.setSession({
        access_token: accessToken,
        refresh_token: refreshToken,
      })
      if (sessionError) throw sessionError
    }
  }
}

App.json Deep Link Configuration (Expo)

{
  "expo": {
    "scheme": "myapp",
    "plugins": [
      [
        "expo-linking",
        {
          "scheme": "myapp"
        }
      ]
    ]
  }
}

Step 3 — Serverless (Edge Functions) and Multi-Tenant

See serverless and multi-tenant patterns for Edge Function per-request clients, admin operation escalation, RLS-based multi-tenant isolation with schema, and tenant-scoped SDK queries.

Output

• Next.js SSR setup with server client (cookies-based auth), browser client, and middleware
• Server Actions using admin client with service_role for privileged operations
• SPA pattern with singleton client, React Query integration, and auth state listener
• React Native setup with AsyncStorage, deep link OAuth, and in-app browser
• Edge Function patterns for per-request auth and admin escalation
• Multi-tenant RLS isolation with tenant_members lookup and scoped queries
• Decision matrix for choosing the right architecture per stack

Error Handling

AuthSessionMissingError

createServerClient

@supabase/ssr

scheme

NEXT_PUBLIC_

NEXT_PUBLIC_

tenant_members

auth.getUser()

AsyncStorage

Examples

Test Auth Flow End-to-End (Next.js)

// app/auth/callback/route.ts
import { createSupabaseServer } from '@/lib/supabase/server'
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server'

export async function GET(request: Request) {
  const { searchParams } = new URL(request.url)
  const code = searchParams.get('code')

  if (code) {
    const supabase = await createSupabaseServer()
    const { error } = await supabase.auth.exchangeCodeForSession(code)
    if (error) {
      return NextResponse.redirect(new URL('/login?error=auth_failed', request.url))
    }
  }

  return NextResponse.redirect(new URL('/dashboard', request.url))
}

Verify Tenant Isolation

-- Test that RLS properly isolates tenants
SET request.jwt.claims = '{"sub": "user-uuid-1"}';

-- Should only return projects for user-uuid-1's tenant
SELECT * FROM public.projects;

Resources

• Supabase SSR (Next.js)
• Supabase React Native
• Supabase Edge Functions
• Multi-Tenant with RLS
• Supabase Auth Deep Linking
• @supabase/ssr Package

Next Steps

For common mistakes and anti-patterns to avoid, see

supabase-known-pitfalls