SaaS on Nuxt 4, Postgres (Neon) and Better Auth
Type-checked against the real SDKs, migration applied to a live Postgres (Neon), connection clients load-tested, then tracked for upstream drift and re-verified when it moves. How we verify
session validation runs in server components and route handlers, not at the edge
What you're getting
Nuxt 4 (framework mode) — full-stack Vue SSR: client under app/ (Vite), server under server/ (Nitro), API as server/api/*.post.ts Nitro route handlers.
Postgres on Neon via Drizzle ORM and the postgres-js driver.
Better Auth — self-hosted auth running inside your app against your Postgres (Drizzle adapter).
Multi-tenant SaaS — organizations, role-based memberships, plans/subscriptions, and credit metering.
Setup
bun add nuxt vue drizzle-orm postgres better-authDATABASE_URLNeon pooled (-pooler) connection stringBETTER_AUTH_SECRETgenerate with `openssl rand -base64 32`BETTER_AUTH_URLyour app's base URLApply the schema with bunx drizzle-kit push
Initialization
Database client
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js";
import postgres from "postgres";
// Neon pooled endpoint = PgBouncer transaction mode → prepared statements off.
// ponytail: single module-level client; the serverless runtime + PgBouncer do
// the pooling, so no custom pool/globalThis singleton dance needed.
const client = postgres(process.env.DATABASE_URL!, { prepare: false });
export const db = drizzle({ client });import { boolean, pgTable, text, timestamp } from "drizzle-orm/pg-core";
export const user = pgTable("user", {
id: text("id").primaryKey(),
name: text("name").notNull(),
email: text("email").notNull().unique(),
emailVerified: boolean("email_verified").notNull().default(false),
image: text("image"),
createdAt: timestamp("created_at").notNull().defaultNow(),
updatedAt: timestamp("updated_at").notNull().defaultNow(),
});
export const session = pgTable("session", {
id: text("id").primaryKey(),
expiresAt: timestamp("expires_at").notNull(),
token: text("token").notNull().unique(),
createdAt: timestamp("created_at").notNull().defaultNow(),
updatedAt: timestamp("updated_at").notNull(),
ipAddress: text("ip_address"),
userAgent: text("user_agent"),
userId: text("user_id")
.notNull()
.references(() => user.id, { onDelete: "cascade" }),
});
export const account = pgTable("account", {
id: text("id").primaryKey(),
accountId: text("account_id").notNull(),
providerId: text("provider_id").notNull(),
userId: text("user_id")
.notNull()
.references(() => user.id, { onDelete: "cascade" }),
accessToken: text("access_token"),
refreshToken: text("refresh_token"),
idToken: text("id_token"),
accessTokenExpiresAt: timestamp("access_token_expires_at"),
refreshTokenExpiresAt: timestamp("refresh_token_expires_at"),
scope: text("scope"),
password: text("password"),
createdAt: timestamp("created_at").notNull().defaultNow(),
updatedAt: timestamp("updated_at").notNull(),
});
export const verification = pgTable("verification", {
id: text("id").primaryKey(),
identifier: text("identifier").notNull(),
value: text("value").notNull(),
expiresAt: timestamp("expires_at").notNull(),
createdAt: timestamp("created_at").notNull().defaultNow(),
updatedAt: timestamp("updated_at").notNull().defaultNow(),
});// Better Auth instance (self-hosted, Nuxt 4).
import { betterAuth } from "better-auth";
import { drizzleAdapter } from "better-auth/adapters/drizzle";
// Reuse the SAME postgres-js/Drizzle client the db slice exported in
// server/lib/db.ts — Better Auth shares the pooled `DATABASE_URL` connection.
// Server code lives under server/ (Nitro); reach it via Nuxt's `~~` rootDir alias.
import { db } from "~~/server/lib/db";
import * as authSchema from "~~/server/db/auth-schema";
export const auth = betterAuth({
// Drizzle adapter over the shared client. The schema is passed HERE (not into
// drizzle()) — it is the only consumer that needs it, so the db client stays
// schema-less. ponytail: do NOT enable experimental.joins; it is the one option
// that would make the adapter reach into db._.fullSchema.
// ponytail: usePlural stays false (the default) — with it true Better Auth would
// look for `sessions`/`accounts` and could bind to the analytics/ledger app-type tables.
database: drizzleAdapter(db, { provider: "pg", schema: authSchema }),
// ponytail: email+password is the shortest real auth that works out of
// the box — add socialProviders / plugins here when the app needs them.
emailAndPassword: { enabled: true },
secret: process.env.BETTER_AUTH_SECRET,
baseURL: process.env.BETTER_AUTH_URL,
});
export type Session = typeof auth.$Infer.Session;// Better Auth mounted as a Nitro catch-all route. auth.handler is framework-
// agnostic — (Request) => Promise<Response> — and toWebRequest adapts the H3
// event into a web Request. The `[...all]` param catches every /api/auth/*
// sub-path Better Auth routes internally.
// ponytail: Nuxt AUTO-IMPORTS defineEventHandler/toWebRequest from Nitro/H3 at
// runtime; we import them EXPLICITLY from h3 (Nitro's engine, a nuxt dep) so this
// handler type-checks under standalone tsc — the one idiom trade for verifiability.
import { defineEventHandler, toWebRequest } from "h3";
import { auth } from "~~/lib/auth";
export default defineEventHandler((event) => auth.handler(toWebRequest(event)));// Vue/Nuxt client binding. better-auth/vue exposes the framework-appropriate client
// (signIn / signUp / useSession as Vue refs) — the Vue analog of the React client.
import { createAuthClient } from "better-auth/vue";
export const authClient = createAuthClient();// Session gate — the Nuxt analog of Next's Edge proxy / RR8's requireAuth. A Nitro
// server middleware runs on every SSR/API request; guard the app surface and do the
// REAL server-side session check (like RR8 — stronger than Next's cookie-existence peek).
// ponytail: this guards SSR loads + direct hits + API — the true security boundary. For
// client-side SPA navigation add an app/middleware/*.ts route middleware (authored with
// Nuxt auto-imports; NOT tsc-gated, since plain tsc can't resolve them — spec §6).
// Explicit h3 imports so this type-checks standalone (see the handler note above).
import { defineEventHandler, getRequestURL, sendRedirect, toWebRequest } from "h3";
import { auth } from "~~/lib/auth";
export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
const { pathname } = getRequestURL(event);
// ponytail: guard the SaaS app surface; widen the prefixes per app-type.
if (!pathname.startsWith("/dashboard") && !pathname.startsWith("/settings")) return;
const session = await auth.api.getSession({ headers: toWebRequest(event).headers });
if (!session) return sendRedirect(event, "/sign-in", 302);
});Multi-tenant SaaS schema: organizations, billing & usage metering
Organizations & multi-tenancythe tenant boundary every billable and metered row hangs off
Memberships & role-based accessorg↔user join carrying owner/admin/member roles, unique per pair
Plans & subscription billing tablesthe billable plan catalog and each org's current subscription state
API usage & credit/token meteringappend-only usage rows that drive quota checks and usage billing
// === file: server/db/schema.ts ===
import { relations, sql } from "drizzle-orm";
import {
bigint,
check,
index,
integer,
pgTable,
text,
timestamp,
unique,
uuid,
} from "drizzle-orm/pg-core";
// Better Auth owns identity; we only reference its `user` table by id. With Clerk
// the identity-sync mirror occupies this same ./auth-schema slot (src/db/auth-schema.ts).
import { user } from "./auth-schema";
export type MemberRole = "owner" | "admin" | "member";
export type SubscriptionStatus =
| "trialing"
| "active"
| "past_due"
| "canceled";
/** Tenant boundary: every billable/metered row hangs off an organization. */
export const organizations = pgTable(
"organizations",
{
id: uuid("id").primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
slug: text("slug").notNull().unique(),
name: text("name").notNull(),
createdAt: timestamp("created_at", { withTimezone: true })
.notNull()
.defaultNow(),
},
(t) => [index("idx_org_slug").on(t.slug)],
);
/** org <-> user join with role. The composite unique is the membership identity. */
export const memberships = pgTable(
"memberships",
{
id: uuid("id").primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
organizationId: uuid("organization_id")
.notNull()
.references(() => organizations.id, { onDelete: "cascade" }),
// Better Auth's user.id is text — match it, don't recast.
userId: text("user_id")
.notNull()
.references(() => user.id, { onDelete: "cascade" }),
role: text("role").$type<MemberRole>().notNull().default("member"),
createdAt: timestamp("created_at", { withTimezone: true })
.notNull()
.defaultNow(),
},
(t) => [
unique("memberships_org_user_unique").on(t.organizationId, t.userId),
index("idx_membership_user").on(t.userId),
check(
"memberships_role_check",
sql`${t.role} in ('owner','admin','member')`,
),
],
);
/** Catalog of billable plans (seed-managed). priceCents keeps money integer. */
export const plans = pgTable("plans", {
id: uuid("id").primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
slug: text("slug").notNull().unique(), // free | pro | scale
name: text("name").notNull(),
priceCents: integer("price_cents").notNull().default(0),
// Monthly included credits; metering checks usage against this.
monthlyCredits: bigint("monthly_credits", { mode: "number" })
.notNull()
.default(0),
});
/** One active subscription per org. Mirrors the billing provider's state. */
export const subscriptions = pgTable(
"subscriptions",
{
id: uuid("id").primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
organizationId: uuid("organization_id")
.notNull()
.references(() => organizations.id, { onDelete: "cascade" }),
planId: uuid("plan_id")
.notNull()
.references(() => plans.id),
status: text("status")
.$type<SubscriptionStatus>()
.notNull()
.default("trialing"),
// The generic billing-sync contract every webhook provider (Polar/Stripe/LemonSqueezy)
// needs: the provider's subscription id as a UNIQUE idempotency key, plus the last
// event timestamp as an out-of-order/staleness guard. The billing fragment maps a
// provider's events onto these — it does NOT redeclare this table (compose, not duplicate).
providerSubId: text("provider_sub_id").unique(),
providerEventAt: timestamp("provider_event_at", { withTimezone: true }),
currentPeriodEnd: timestamp("current_period_end", { withTimezone: true }),
createdAt: timestamp("created_at", { withTimezone: true })
.notNull()
.defaultNow(),
},
(t) => [
// One live subscription per org (the metering layer reads exactly one).
unique("subscriptions_org_unique").on(t.organizationId),
index("idx_sub_status").on(t.status),
check(
"subscriptions_status_check",
sql`${t.status} in ('trialing','active','past_due','canceled')`,
),
],
);
/** Append-only credit/token meter. Roll up by org+window for quota + billing. */
export const apiUsage = pgTable(
"api_usage",
{
id: uuid("id").primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
organizationId: uuid("organization_id")
.notNull()
.references(() => organizations.id, { onDelete: "cascade" }),
// Who/what spent — opaque key id, nullable for org-level system calls.
apiKeyId: text("api_key_id"),
creditsUsed: bigint("credits_used", { mode: "number" }).notNull(),
createdAt: timestamp("created_at", { withTimezone: true })
.notNull()
.defaultNow(),
},
(t) => [
// Drives the "credits used this period" rollup query.
index("idx_usage_org_time").on(t.organizationId, t.createdAt),
],
);
export const organizationsRelations = relations(organizations, ({ many }) => ({
memberships: many(memberships),
subscriptions: many(subscriptions),
usage: many(apiUsage),
}));
export const membershipsRelations = relations(memberships, ({ one }) => ({
organization: one(organizations, {
fields: [memberships.organizationId],
references: [organizations.id],
}),
user: one(user, { fields: [memberships.userId], references: [user.id] }),
}));
export const subscriptionsRelations = relations(subscriptions, ({ one }) => ({
organization: one(organizations, {
fields: [subscriptions.organizationId],
references: [organizations.id],
}),
plan: one(plans, {
fields: [subscriptions.planId],
references: [plans.id],
}),
}));
export const apiUsageRelations = relations(apiUsage, ({ one }) => ({
organization: one(organizations, {
fields: [apiUsage.organizationId],
references: [organizations.id],
}),
}));
Verified billing (Polar)
import { and, eq, isNull, lt, or } from "drizzle-orm";
import { subscriptions } from "~~/server/db/schema";
export type PolarSubscriptionEvent = {
type: string;
data: {
id: string;
status: string;
currentPeriodEnd: string | null;
modifiedAt: string;
metadata: { organizationId: string; planId: string };
};
};
const STATUS_MAP: Record<string, "trialing" | "active" | "past_due" | "canceled"> = {
trialing: "trialing",
active: "active",
past_due: "past_due",
unpaid: "past_due",
canceled: "canceled",
revoked: "canceled",
};
// Idempotent + CONCURRENCY-safe sync of a Polar subscription. The staleness guard
// lives in the UPDATE's WHERE clause, so Postgres' row lock serializes concurrent
// retries (a stale/older event matches no row); brand-new rows insert with
// onConflictDoNothing (race-safe). Returns changed=true only on a real advance, so
// callers can guard side effects (emails) against Polar's duplicate deliveries.
export async function recordPolarEvent(
// ponytail: loosely typed Drizzle client so the emitted core stays portable
// across the app's exact client type.
db: any,
event: PolarSubscriptionEvent,
): Promise<{ changed: boolean }> {
const sub = event.data;
const status = STATUS_MAP[sub.status];
if (!status) return { changed: false }; // unknown status — ignore, don't default
const eventAt = new Date(sub.modifiedAt);
const currentPeriodEnd = sub.currentPeriodEnd ? new Date(sub.currentPeriodEnd) : null;
// Guarded UPDATE: applies only when our event is strictly newer than what's stored.
// No TOCTOU — the comparison is in the WHERE, evaluated under the row lock.
const updated = await db
.update(subscriptions)
.set({ status, currentPeriodEnd, providerEventAt: eventAt })
.where(
and(
eq(subscriptions.providerSubId, sub.id),
or(isNull(subscriptions.providerEventAt), lt(subscriptions.providerEventAt, eventAt)),
),
)
.returning({ id: subscriptions.id });
if (updated.length > 0) return { changed: true };
// No row updated: the row exists but our event is stale (guard rejected it), or it
// doesn't exist yet. If it exists, this is a stale/duplicate delivery — ignore.
const [existing] = await db
.select({ id: subscriptions.id })
.from(subscriptions)
.where(eq(subscriptions.providerSubId, sub.id))
.limit(1);
if (existing) return { changed: false };
const inserted = await db
.insert(subscriptions)
.values({
organizationId: sub.metadata.organizationId,
planId: sub.metadata.planId,
status,
currentPeriodEnd,
providerSubId: sub.id,
providerEventAt: eventAt,
})
.onConflictDoNothing({ target: subscriptions.providerSubId })
.returning({ id: subscriptions.id });
return { changed: inserted.length > 0 };
}// Polar webhook for Nuxt 4 (Nitro server route). Nitro invokes this
// handler on POST; it verifies the HMAC signature, then hands the event to the idempotent
// recordPolarEvent. Returns 200 even if non-critical work fails; only a signature failure
// is rejected.
// ponytail: Nuxt auto-imports these h3 helpers; import them explicitly so the module reads
// standalone (and type-checks against the installed h3).
import { defineEventHandler, readRawBody, getHeaders } from "h3";
import { validateEvent, WebhookVerificationError } from "@polar-sh/sdk/webhooks";
import { db } from "~~/server/lib/db";
import { recordPolarEvent, type PolarSubscriptionEvent } from "~~/server/lib/billing/record";
const SUBSCRIPTION_EVENTS = new Set([
"subscription.created",
"subscription.active",
"subscription.updated",
"subscription.canceled",
"subscription.revoked",
"subscription.uncanceled",
]);
export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
const secret = process.env.POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET;
if (!secret) {
event.node.res.statusCode = 500;
return { error: "Server misconfigured" };
}
const raw = (await readRawBody(event)) ?? "";
const headers = getHeaders(event) as Record<string, string>;
let payload: { type: string; data: unknown };
try {
payload = validateEvent(raw, headers, secret);
} catch (error) {
if (error instanceof WebhookVerificationError) {
event.node.res.statusCode = 403;
return { error: "Invalid signature" };
}
throw error;
}
if (SUBSCRIPTION_EVENTS.has(payload.type)) {
await recordPolarEvent(db, payload as PolarSubscriptionEvent);
}
return { ok: true };
});Verified tenant isolation
-- IMPORTANT: RLS is bypassed by the table owner (unless FORCEd) and ALWAYS by
-- BYPASSRLS / superuser roles. Neon's default neondb_owner role has BYPASSRLS, so
-- connecting your app as neondb_owner makes RLS SILENTLY INERT. Create a dedicated
-- non-BYPASSRLS role and point your app's DATABASE_URL at it:
DO $$ BEGIN
IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT FROM pg_roles WHERE rolname = 'app_tenant') THEN
CREATE ROLE app_tenant NOLOGIN NOBYPASSRLS;
END IF;
END $$;
-- Grant LOGIN + a password OUT OF BAND (never in committed SQL), then point DATABASE_URL at it:
-- ALTER ROLE app_tenant LOGIN PASSWORD '<generated>';
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA public TO app_tenant;
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO app_tenant;
-- Future tables stay covered (the one-time GRANT above only sees today's tables):
ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES IN SCHEMA public GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON TABLES TO app_tenant;
-- Tenant isolation via Row-Level Security (FORCE = even the table owner is bound). The shared `plans` catalog is intentionally left open.
ALTER TABLE organizations ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
ALTER TABLE organizations FORCE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
CREATE POLICY organizations_tenant_isolation ON organizations
USING (id = current_setting('app.current_org_id', true)::uuid)
WITH CHECK (id = current_setting('app.current_org_id', true)::uuid);
ALTER TABLE memberships ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
ALTER TABLE memberships FORCE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
CREATE POLICY memberships_tenant_isolation ON memberships
USING (organization_id = current_setting('app.current_org_id', true)::uuid)
WITH CHECK (organization_id = current_setting('app.current_org_id', true)::uuid);
ALTER TABLE subscriptions ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
ALTER TABLE subscriptions FORCE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
CREATE POLICY subscriptions_tenant_isolation ON subscriptions
USING (organization_id = current_setting('app.current_org_id', true)::uuid)
WITH CHECK (organization_id = current_setting('app.current_org_id', true)::uuid);
ALTER TABLE api_usage ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
ALTER TABLE api_usage FORCE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
CREATE POLICY api_usage_tenant_isolation ON api_usage
USING (organization_id = current_setting('app.current_org_id', true)::uuid)
WITH CHECK (organization_id = current_setting('app.current_org_id', true)::uuid);import { sql } from "drizzle-orm";
// Run queries with the tenant context set for THIS transaction. RLS policies read
// app.current_org_id; unset => fail-closed (no rows). Wrap every request's data
// access in withTenant(db, session.orgId, (tx) => ...).
export async function withTenant<T>(
db: { transaction: (fn: (tx: any) => Promise<T>) => Promise<T> },
orgId: string,
fn: (tx: any) => Promise<T>,
): Promise<T> {
return db.transaction(async (tx) => {
await tx.execute(sql`select set_config('app.current_org_id', ${orgId}, true)`);
return fn(tx);
});
}Deploy targets
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js";
import postgres from "postgres";
// Serverless: one connection per (short-lived) instance; Neon's pooler multiplexes.
export const sql = postgres(process.env.DATABASE_URL!, { prepare: false, max: 1 });
export const db = drizzle(sql);
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js";
import postgres from "postgres";
// Long-running process: a real, reused pool. Still prepare:false on the pooled endpoint.
export const sql = postgres(process.env.DATABASE_URL!, { prepare: false, max: 10, idle_timeout: 20 });
export const db = drizzle(sql);
import { neon } from "@neondatabase/serverless";
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/neon-http";
// Edge/Workers have NO TCP sockets, so postgres-js cannot run here. Neon's HTTP
// driver speaks Postgres over fetch — the only client that works on Workers.
export const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
export const db = drizzle(sql);
Decisions and compatibility
Client/server split: the DB client, Drizzle schema, records, and webhooks are server-side (server/). The `@/` alias is the client root (app/); server code reaches shared modules via Nuxt's `~~` rootDir alias (e.g. `~~/server/db/schema`).
prepare: false is mandatory — Neon's pooled endpoint is PgBouncer in transaction mode, where server-side prepared statements break across the pool.
Drizzle is paired here (not Prisma): Prisma's prepared-statement reliance is incompatible with transaction-mode pooling.
Self-hosted: Better Auth owns the user/session/account/verification tables. This stack emits them (db/auth-schema.ts) and hands them to the Drizzle adapter, so app-type schemas can foreign-key `user` directly.
One active subscription per organization (unique on organization_id) — the metering layer reads exactly one.
Usage is an append-only meter (api_usage): roll up by organization + time window for quota and billing rather than mutating a running total.
Recombine
Swap one axis and keep the rest. Every combination below is verified the same way.