organization-best-practices

name organization-best-practices description Configure multi-tenant organizations, manage members and invitations, define custom roles and permissions, set up teams, and implement RBAC using Better Auth's organization plugin. Use when users need org setup, team management, member roles, access control, or the Better Auth organization plugin. Setup Add organization() plugin to server config Add organizationClient() plugin to client config Run npx auth@latest migrate (built-in adapter) or generate + push for Drizzle/Prisma Verify: check that organization, member, invitation tables exist in your database import { betterAuth } from "better-auth" ; import { organization } from "better-auth/plugins" ; export const auth = betterAuth ({ plugins : [ organization ({ allowUserToCreateOrganization : true , organizationLimit : 5 , // Max orgs per user membershipLimit : 100 , // Max members per org }), ], }); Client-Side Setup import { createAuthClient } from "better-auth/client" ; import { organizationClient } from "better-auth/client/plugins" ; export const authClient = createAuthClient ({ plugins : [ organizationClient ()], }); Creating Organizations The creator is automatically assigned the owner role. const createOrg = async ( ) => { const { data, error } = await authClient. organization . create ({ name : "My Company" , slug : "my-company" , logo : "https://example.com/logo.png" , metadata : { plan : "pro" }, }); }; Controlling Organization Creation Restrict who can create organizations based on user attributes: organization ({ allowUserToCreateOrganization : async (user) => { return user. emailVerified === true ; }, organizationLimit : async (user) => { // Premium users get more organizations return user. plan === "premium" ? 20 : 3 ; }, }); Creating Organizations on Behalf of Users Administrators can create organizations for other users (server-side only): await auth. api . createOrganization ({ body : { name : "Client Organization" , slug : "client-org" , userId : "user-id-who-will-be-owner" , // `userId` is required }, }); Note : The userId parameter cannot be used alongside session headers. Active Organizations Stored in the session and scopes subsequent API calls. Set after user selects one. const setActive = async ( organizationId : string ) => { const { data, error } = await authClient. organization . setActive ({ organizationId, }); }; Many endpoints use the active organization when organizationId is not provided ( listMembers , listInvitations , inviteMember , etc.). Use getFullOrganization() to retrieve the active org with all members, invitations, and teams. Members Adding Members (Server-Side) await auth. api . addMember ({ body : { userId : "user-id" , role : "member" , organizationId : "org-id" , }, }); For client-side member additions, use the invitation system instead. Assigning Multiple Roles await auth. api . addMember ({ body : { userId : "user-id" , role : [ "admin" , "moderator" ], organizationId : "org-id" , }, }); Removing Members Use removeMember({ memberIdOrEmail }) . The last owner cannot be removed — assign ownership to another member first. Updating Member Roles Use updateMemberRole({ memberId, role }) . Membership Limits organization ({ membershipLimit : async (user, organization) => { if (organization. metadata ?. plan === "enterprise" ) { return 1000 ; } return 50 ; }, }); Invitations Setting Up Invitation Emails import { betterAuth } from "better-auth" ; import { organization } from "better-auth/plugins" ; import { sendEmail } from "./email" ; export const auth = betterAuth ({ plugins : [ organization ({ sendInvitationEmail : async (data) => { const { email, organization, inviter, invitation } = data; await sendEmail ({ to : email, subject : `Join ${organization.name} ` , html : ` <p> ${inviter.user.name} invited you to join ${organization.name} </p> <a href="https://yourapp.com/accept-invite?id= ${invitation.id} "> Accept Invitation </a> ` , }); }, }), ], }); Sending Invitations await authClient. organization . inviteMember ({ email : "newuser@example.com" , role : "member" , }); Shareable Invitation URLs const { data } = await authClient. organization . getInvitationURL ({ email : "newuser@example.com" , role : "member" , callbackURL : "https://yourapp.com/dashboard" , }); // Share data.url via any channel This endpoint does not call sendInvitationEmail — handle delivery yourself. Invitation Configuration organization ({ invitationExpiresIn : 60 * 60 * 24 * 7 , // 7 days (default: 48 hours) invitationLimit : 100 , // Max pending invitations per org cancelPendingInvitationsOnReInvite : true , // Cancel old invites when re-inviting }); Roles & Permissions Default roles: owner (full access), admin (manage members/invitations/settings), member (basic access). Checking Permissions const { data } = await authClient. organization . hasPermission ({ permission : "member:write" , }); if (data?. hasPermission ) { // User can manage members } Use checkRolePermission({ role, permissions }) for client-side UI rendering (static only). For dynamic access control, use the hasPermission endpoint. Teams Enabling Teams import { organization } from "better-auth/plugins" ; export const auth = betterAuth ({ plugins : [ organization ({ teams : { enabled : true } }), ], }); Creating Teams const { data } = await authClient. organization . createTeam ({ name : "Engineering" , }); Managing Team Members Use addTeamMember({ teamId, userId }) (member must be in org first) and removeTeamMember({ teamId, userId }) (stays in org). Set active team with setActiveTeam({ teamId }) . Team Limits organization ({ teams : { maximumTeams : 20 , // Max teams per org maximumMembersPerTeam : 50 , // Max members per team allowRemovingAllTeams : false , // Prevent removing last team } }); Dynamic Access Control Enabling Dynamic Access Control import { organization } from "better-auth/plugins" ; import { dynamicAccessControl } from "@better-auth/organization/addons" ; export const auth = betterAuth ({ plugins : [ organization ({ dynamicAccessControl : { enabled : true } }), ], }); Creating Custom Roles await authClient. organization . createRole ({ role : "moderator" , permission : { member : [ "read" ], invitation : [ "read" ], }, }); Use updateRole({ roleId, permission }) and deleteRole({ roleId }) . Pre-defined roles (owner, admin, member) cannot be deleted. Roles assigned to members cannot be deleted until reassigned. Lifecycle Hooks Execute custom logic at various points in the organization lifecycle: organization ({ hooks : { organization : { beforeCreate : async ({ data, user }) => { // Validate or modify data before creation return { data : { ...data, metadata : { ...data. metadata , createdBy : user. id }, }, }; }, afterCreate : async ({ organization, member }) => { // Post-creation logic (e.g., send welcome email, create default resources) await createDefaultResources (organization. id ); }, beforeDelete : async ({ organization }) => { // Cleanup before deletion await archiveOrganizationData (organization. id ); }, }, member : { afterCreate : async ({ member, organization }) => { await notifyAdmins (organization. id , `New member joined` ); }, }, invitation : { afterCreate : async ({ invitation, organization, inviter }) => { await logInvitation (invitation); }, }, }, }); Schema Customization Customize table names, field names, and add additional fields: organization ({ schema : { organization : { modelName : "workspace" , // Rename table fields : { name : "workspaceName" , // Rename fields }, additionalFields : { billingId : { type : "string" , required : false , }, }, }, member : { additionalFields : { department : { type : "string" , required : false , }, title : { type : "string" , required : false , }, }, }, }, }); Security Considerations Owner Protection The last owner cannot be removed from an organization The last owner cannot leave the organization The owner role cannot be removed from the last owner Always ensure ownership transfer before removing the current owner: // Transfer ownership first await authClient. organization . updateMemberRole ({ memberId : "new-owner-member-id" , role : "owner" , }); // Then the previous owner can be demoted or removed Organization Deletion Deleting an organization removes all associated data (members, invitations, teams). Prevent accidental deletion: organization ({ disableOrganizationDeletion : true , // Disable via config }); Or implement soft delete via hooks: organization ({ hooks : { organization : { beforeDelete : async ({ organization }) => { // Archive instead of delete await archiveOrganization (organization. id ); throw new Error ( "Organization archived, not deleted" ); }, }, }, }); Invitation Security Invitations expire after 48 hours by default Only the invited email address can accept an invitation Pending invitations can be cancelled by organization admins Complete Configuration Example import { betterAuth } from "better-auth" ; import { organization } from "better-auth/plugins" ; import { sendEmail } from "./email" ; export const auth = betterAuth ({ plugins : [ organization ({ // Organization limits allowUserToCreateOrganization : true , organizationLimit : 10 , membershipLimit : 100 , creatorRole : "owner" , // Slugs defaultOrganizationIdField : "slug" , // Invitations invitationExpiresIn : 60 * 60 * 24 * 7 , // 7 days invitationLimit : 50 , sendInvitationEmail : async (data) => { await sendEmail ({ to : data. email , subject : `Join ${data.organization.name} ` , html : `<a href="https://app.com/invite/ ${data.invitation.id} ">Accept</a>` , }); }, // Hooks hooks : { organization : { afterCreate : async ({ organization }) => { console . log ( `Organization ${organization.name} created` ); }, }, }, }), ], });