Build a User Management App with Nuxt 3

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 - users log in through magic links sent to their email (without having to set up passwords).
Supabase Storage - users can upload a profile photo.

Supabase User Management example

note

If you get stuck while working through this guide, refer to the full example on GitHub.

Project setup#

Before we start building we're going to set up our Database and API. This is as simple as 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 we are going to set up the database schema. We can use the "User Management Starter" quickstart in the SQL Editor, or you can just copy/paste the SQL from below and run it yourself.

Go to the SQL Editor page in the Dashboard.
Click User Management Starter.
Click Run.

note

You can easily pull the database schema down to your local project by running the db pull command. Read the local development docs for detailed instructions.


_10supabase link --project-ref <project-id>
_10# You can get <project-id> from your project's dashboard URL: https://supabase.com/dashboard/project/<project-id>
_10supabase db pull

Get the API Keys#

Now that you've created some database tables, you are ready to insert data using the auto-generated API. We just need to get the Project URL and anon key from the API settings.

Go to the API Settings page in the Dashboard.
Find your Project URL, anon, and service_role keys on this page.

Building the App#

Let's start building the Vue 3 app from scratch.

Initialize a Nuxt 3 app#

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


_10npx nuxi init nuxt-user-management
_10
_10cd nuxt-user-management

Then let's install the only additional dependency: NuxtSupabase. We only need to import NuxtSupabase as a dev dependency.


_10npm 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 anon key that you copied earlier.

.env


_10SUPABASE_URL="YOUR_SUPABASE_URL"
_10SUPABASE_KEY="YOUR_SUPABASE_ANON_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 NuxtSupabase 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 nice. You can find the full contents of this file here.

nuxt.config.ts


_10import { defineNuxtConfig } from 'nuxt'
_10
_10// https://v3.nuxtjs.org/api/configuration/nuxt.config
_10export default defineNuxtConfig({
_10  modules: ['@nuxtjs/supabase'],
_10  css: ['@/assets/main.css'],
_10})

Set up Auth component#

Let's set up a Vue component to manage logins and sign ups. We'll use Magic Links, so users can sign in with their email without using passwords.

/components/Auth.vue


_39<script setup>
_39const supabase = useSupabaseClient()
_39
_39const loading = ref(false)
_39const email = ref('')
_39
_39const handleLogin = async () => {
_39  try {
_39    loading.value = true
_39    const { error } = await supabase.auth.signInWithOtp({ email: email.value })
_39    if (error) throw error
_39    alert('Check your email for the login link!')
_39  } catch (error) {
_39    alert(error.error_description || error.message)
_39  } finally {
_39    loading.value = false
_39  }
_39}
_39</script>
_39
_39<template>
_39  <form class="row flex-center flex" @submit.prevent="handleLogin">
_39    <div class="col-6 form-widget">
_39      <h1 class="header">Supabase + Nuxt 3</h1>
_39      <p class="description">Sign in via magic link with your email below</p>
_39      <div>
_39        <input class="inputField" type="email" placeholder="Your email" v-model="email" />
_39      </div>
_39      <div>
_39        <input
_39          type="submit"
_39          class="button block"
_39          :value="loading ? 'Loading' : 'Send magic link'"
_39          :disabled="loading"
_39        />
_39      </div>
_39    </div>
_39  </form>
_39</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. Let's create a new component for that called Account.vue.

components/Account.vue


_92<script setup>
_92const supabase = useSupabaseClient()
_92
_92const loading = ref(true)
_92const username = ref('')
_92const website = ref('')
_92const avatar_path = ref('')
_92
_92loading.value = true
_92const user = useSupabaseUser()
_92
_92const { data } = await supabase
_92  .from('profiles')
_92  .select(`username, website, avatar_url`)
_92  .eq('id', user.value.id)
_92  .single()
_92
_92if (data) {
_92  username.value = data.username
_92  website.value = data.website
_92  avatar_path.value = data.avatar_url
_92}
_92
_92loading.value = false
_92
_92async function updateProfile() {
_92  try {
_92    loading.value = true
_92    const user = useSupabaseUser()
_92
_92    const updates = {
_92      id: user.value.id,
_92      username: username.value,
_92      website: website.value,
_92      avatar_url: avatar_path.value,
_92      updated_at: new Date(),
_92    }
_92
_92    const { error } = await supabase.from('profiles').upsert(updates, {
_92      returning: 'minimal', // Don't return the value after inserting
_92    })
_92    if (error) throw error
_92  } catch (error) {
_92    alert(error.message)
_92  } finally {
_92    loading.value = false
_92  }
_92}
_92
_92async function signOut() {
_92  try {
_92    loading.value = true
_92    const { error } = await supabase.auth.signOut()
_92    if (error) throw error
_92    user.value = null
_92  } catch (error) {
_92    alert(error.message)
_92  } finally {
_92    loading.value = false
_92  }
_92}
_92</script>
_92
_92<template>
_92  <form class="form-widget" @submit.prevent="updateProfile">
_92    <div>
_92      <label for="email">Email</label>
_92      <input id="email" type="text" :value="user.email" disabled />
_92    </div>
_92    <div>
_92      <label for="username">Username</label>
_92      <input id="username" type="text" v-model="username" />
_92    </div>
_92    <div>
_92      <label for="website">Website</label>
_92      <input id="website" type="url" v-model="website" />
_92    </div>
_92
_92    <div>
_92      <input
_92        type="submit"
_92        class="button primary block"
_92        :value="loading ? 'Loading ...' : 'Update'"
_92        :disabled="loading"
_92      />
_92    </div>
_92
_92    <div>
_92      <button class="button block" @click="signOut" :disabled="loading">Sign Out</button>
_92    </div>
_92  </form>
_92</template>

Launch!#

Now that we have all the components in place, let's update app.vue:

app.vue


_10<script setup>
_10const user = useSupabaseUser()
_10</script>
_10
_10<template>
_10  <div class="container" style="padding: 50px 0 100px 0">
_10    <Account v-if="user" />
_10    <Auth v-else />
_10  </div>
_10</template>

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


_10npm run dev

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

Supabase Nuxt 3

Bonus: Profile photos#

Every Supabase project is configured with Storage for managing large files like photos and videos.

Let's create an avatar for the user so that they can upload a profile photo. We can start by creating a new component:

components/Avatar.vue


_84<script setup>
_84const props = defineProps(['path'])
_84const { path } = toRefs(props)
_84
_84const emit = defineEmits(['update:path', 'upload'])
_84
_84const supabase = useSupabaseClient()
_84
_84const uploading = ref(false)
_84const src = ref('')
_84const files = ref()
_84
_84const downloadImage = async () => {
_84  try {
_84    const { data, error } = await supabase.storage.from('avatars').download(path.value)
_84    if (error) throw error
_84    src.value = URL.createObjectURL(data)
_84  } catch (error) {
_84    console.error('Error downloading image: ', error.message)
_84  }
_84}
_84
_84const uploadAvatar = async (evt) => {
_84  files.value = evt.target.files
_84  try {
_84    uploading.value = true
_84
_84    if (!files.value || files.value.length === 0) {
_84      throw new Error('You must select an image to upload.')
_84    }
_84
_84    const file = files.value[0]
_84    const fileExt = file.name.split('.').pop()
_84    const fileName = `${Math.random()}.${fileExt}`
_84    const filePath = `${fileName}`
_84
_84    const { error: uploadError } = await supabase.storage.from('avatars').upload(filePath, file)
_84
_84    if (uploadError) throw uploadError
_84
_84    emit('update:path', filePath)
_84    emit('upload')
_84  } catch (error) {
_84    alert(error.message)
_84  } finally {
_84    uploading.value = false
_84  }
_84}
_84
_84downloadImage()
_84
_84watch(path, () => {
_84  if (path.value) {
_84    downloadImage()
_84  }
_84})
_84</script>
_84
_84<template>
_84  <div>
_84    <img
_84      v-if="src"
_84      :src="src"
_84      alt="Avatar"
_84      class="avatar image"
_84      style="width: 10em; height: 10em;"
_84    />
_84    <div v-else class="avatar no-image" :style="{ height: size, width: size }" />
_84
_84    <div style="width: 10em; position: relative;">
_84      <label class="button primary block" for="single">
_84        {{ uploading ? 'Uploading ...' : 'Upload' }}
_84      </label>
_84      <input
_84        style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden;"
_84        type="file"
_84        id="single"
_84        accept="image/*"
_84        @change="uploadAvatar"
_84        :disabled="uploading"
_84      />
_84    </div>
_84  </div>
_84</template>

And then we can add the widget to the Account page:

components/Account.vue


_93<script setup>
_93const supabase = useSupabaseClient()
_93
_93const loading = ref(true)
_93const username = ref('')
_93const website = ref('')
_93const avatar_path = ref('')
_93
_93loading.value = true
_93const user = useSupabaseUser()
_93
_93const { data } = await supabase
_93  .from('profiles')
_93  .select(`username, website, avatar_url`)
_93  .eq('id', user.value.id)
_93  .single()
_93
_93if (data) {
_93  username.value = data.username
_93  website.value = data.website
_93  avatar_path.value = data.avatar_url
_93}
_93
_93loading.value = false
_93
_93async function updateProfile() {
_93  try {
_93    loading.value = true
_93    const user = useSupabaseUser()
_93
_93    const updates = {
_93      id: user.value.id,
_93      username: username.value,
_93      website: website.value,
_93      avatar_url: avatar_path.value,
_93      updated_at: new Date(),
_93    }
_93
_93    const { error } = await supabase.from('profiles').upsert(updates, {
_93      returning: 'minimal', // Don't return the value after inserting
_93    })
_93
_93    if (error) throw error
_93  } catch (error) {
_93    alert(error.message)
_93  } finally {
_93    loading.value = false
_93  }
_93}
_93
_93async function signOut() {
_93  try {
_93    loading.value = true
_93    const { error } = await supabase.auth.signOut()
_93    if (error) throw error
_93  } catch (error) {
_93    alert(error.message)
_93  } finally {
_93    loading.value = false
_93  }
_93}
_93</script>
_93
_93<template>
_93  <form class="form-widget" @submit.prevent="updateProfile">
_93    <Avatar v-model:path="avatar_path" @upload="updateProfile" />
_93    <div>
_93      <label for="email">Email</label>
_93      <input id="email" type="text" :value="user.email" disabled />
_93    </div>
_93    <div>
_93      <label for="username">Name</label>
_93      <input id="username" type="text" v-model="username" />
_93    </div>
_93    <div>
_93      <label for="website">Website</label>
_93      <input id="website" type="url" v-model="website" />
_93    </div>
_93
_93    <div>
_93      <input
_93        type="submit"
_93        class="button primary block"
_93        :value="loading ? 'Loading ...' : 'Update'"
_93        :disabled="loading"
_93      />
_93    </div>
_93
_93    <div>
_93      <button class="button block" @click="signOut" :disabled="loading">Sign Out</button>
_93    </div>
_93  </form>
_93</template>

Storage management#

If you upload additional profile photos, they'll accumulate in the avatars bucket because of their random names with only the latest being referenced from public.profiles and the older versions getting orphaned.

To automatically remove obsolete storage objects, extend the database triggers. Note that it is not sufficient to delete the objects from the storage.objects table because that would orphan and leak the actual storage objects in the S3 backend. Instead, invoke the storage API within Postgres via the http extension.

Enable the http extension for the extensions schema in the Dashboard. Then, define the following SQL functions in the SQL Editor to delete storage objects via the API:


_34create or replace function delete_storage_object(bucket text, object text, out status int, out content text)
_34returns record
_34language 'plpgsql'
_34security definer
_34as $$
_34declare
_34  project_url text := '<YOURPROJECTURL>';
_34  service_role_key text := '<YOURSERVICEROLEKEY>'; --  full access needed
_34  url text := project_url||'/storage/v1/object/'||bucket||'/'||object;
_34begin
_34  select
_34      into status, content
_34           result.status::int, result.content::text
_34      FROM extensions.http((
_34    'DELETE',
_34    url,
_34    ARRAY[extensions.http_header('authorization','Bearer '||service_role_key)],
_34    NULL,
_34    NULL)::extensions.http_request) as result;
_34end;
_34$$;
_34
_34create or replace function delete_avatar(avatar_url text, out status int, out content text)
_34returns record
_34language 'plpgsql'
_34security definer
_34as $$
_34begin
_34  select
_34      into status, content
_34           result.status, result.content
_34      from public.delete_storage_object('avatars', avatar_url) as result;
_34end;
_34$$;

Next, add a trigger that removes any obsolete avatar whenever the profile is updated or deleted:


_32create or replace function delete_old_avatar()
_32returns trigger
_32language 'plpgsql'
_32security definer
_32as $$
_32declare
_32  status int;
_32  content text;
_32  avatar_name text;
_32begin
_32  if coalesce(old.avatar_url, '') <> ''
_32      and (tg_op = 'DELETE' or (old.avatar_url <> new.avatar_url)) then
_32    -- extract avatar name
_32    avatar_name := old.avatar_url;
_32    select
_32      into status, content
_32      result.status, result.content
_32      from public.delete_avatar(avatar_name) as result;
_32    if status <> 200 then
_32      raise warning 'Could not delete avatar: % %', status, content;
_32    end if;
_32  end if;
_32  if tg_op = 'DELETE' then
_32    return old;
_32  end if;
_32  return new;
_32end;
_32$$;
_32
_32create trigger before_profile_changes
_32  before update of avatar_url or delete on public.profiles
_32  for each row execute function public.delete_old_avatar();

Finally, delete the public.profile row before a user is deleted. If this step is omitted, you won't be able to delete users without first manually deleting their avatar image.


_14create or replace function delete_old_profile()
_14returns trigger
_14language 'plpgsql'
_14security definer
_14as $$
_14begin
_14  delete from public.profiles where id = old.id;
_14  return old;
_14end;
_14$$;
_14
_14create trigger before_delete_user
_14  before delete on auth.users
_14  for each row execute function public.delete_old_profile();

That is it! You should now be able to upload a profile photo to Supabase Storage and you have a fully functional application.

Edit this page on GitHub