Authentication System

This guide explains how to use the user authentication system of LibreChat, which offers secure and easy email and social logins. You will learn how to set up sign up, log in, password reset, and more.

General

For a quick overview, refer to the user guide provided here: Authentication

Here's an overview of the general configuration.

Key	Type	Description	Example
ALLOW_EMAIL_LOGIN	boolean	Show email login and allow local or LDAP credential login through the authentication API.	ALLOW_EMAIL_LOGIN=true
ALLOW_EMAIL_LOGIN_OVERRIDE	boolean	Allow direct credential requests to the login API while ALLOW_EMAIL_LOGIN is false. Default: false.	ALLOW_EMAIL_LOGIN_OVERRIDE=false
ALLOW_REGISTRATION	boolean	Enable or disable email registration of new users.	ALLOW_REGISTRATION=true
ALLOW_SOCIAL_LOGIN	boolean	Allow users to connect to LibreChat with various social networks.	ALLOW_SOCIAL_LOGIN=false
ALLOW_SOCIAL_REGISTRATION	boolean	Enable or disable registration of new users using various social networks.	ALLOW_SOCIAL_REGISTRATION=false

Note: OpenID and SAML do not support the ability to disable only registration.

Setting ALLOW_EMAIL_LOGIN=false hides the email login form and rejects local or LDAP credential requests to /api/auth/login; OAuth, OpenID Connect, and SAML sign-in are unaffected. ALLOW_EMAIL_LOGIN_OVERRIDE=true is intended only for a controlled API integration that still needs credential login while the form is hidden. Every override use logs the request IP, so protect and monitor that route carefully.

Quick Tips:

Even with registration disabled, you can add users directly to the database using the create-user script detailed below.
To delete a user, you can use the delete-user script also detailed below.

Session Expiry and Refresh Token

Default values: session expiry: 15 minutes, refresh token expiry: 7 days
- For more information: GitHub PR #927 - Refresh Token

Key	Type	Description	Example
SESSION_EXPIRY	integer (milliseconds)	Session expiry time.	SESSION_EXPIRY=1000 * 60 * 15
REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY	integer (milliseconds)	Refresh token expiry time.	REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY=(1000 * 60 * 60 * 24) * 7

sequenceDiagram
    Client->>Server: Login request with credentials
    Server->>Passport: Use authentication strategy (e.g., 'local', 'google', etc.)
    Passport-->>Server: User object or false/error
    Note over Server: If valid user...
    Server->>Server: Generate access and refresh tokens
    Server->>Database: Store hashed refresh token
    Server-->>Client: Access token and refresh token
    Client->>Client: Store access token in HTTP Header and refresh token in HttpOnly cookie
    Client->>Server: Request with access token from HTTP Header
    Server-->>Client: Requested data
    Note over Client,Server: Access token expires
    Client->>Server: Request with expired access token
    Server-->>Client: Unauthorized
    Client->>Server: Request with refresh token from HttpOnly cookie
    Server->>Database: Retrieve hashed refresh token
    Server->>Server: Compare hash of provided refresh token with stored hash
    Note over Server: If hashes match...
    Server-->>Client: New access token and refresh token
    Client->>Server: Retry request with new access token
    Server-->>Client: Requested data

JWT Secret and Refresh Secret

Use unique values of at least 32 bytes. Generate permanent values with the Credentials Generator, store them securely, and provide the same values to every LibreChat replica.

Key	Type	Description	Example
JWT_SECRET	string (hex)	JWT secret key.	JWT_SECRET=
JWT_REFRESH_SECRET	string (hex)	JWT refresh secret key.	JWT_REFRESH_SECRET=

When either value is blank, LibreChat can generate and reuse a value from its temporary credentials file. The default Docker Compose stacks persist that file, but this is intended only as a bootstrap convenience. If the file is lost or cannot be written, sessions can become invalid after restart. See Credentials Configuration for precedence, persistence, and production guidance.

Automated Moderation System (optional)

The Automated Moderation System is enabled by default. It uses a scoring mechanism to track user violations. As users commit actions like excessive logins, registrations, or messaging, they accumulate violation scores. Upon reaching a set threshold, the user and their IP are temporarily banned. This system ensures platform security by monitoring and penalizing rapid or suspicious activities.

To set up the mod system, review the setup guide.

Please Note: If you want this to work in development mode, you will need to create a file called .env.development in the root directory and set DOMAIN_CLIENT to http://localhost:3090 or whatever port is provided by vite when runnning npm run frontend-dev

User Management Scripts

Create User Script

The create-user script allows you to add users directly to the database, even when registration is disabled. Here's how to use it:

For the default docker-compose.yml (if you use docker compose up to start the app):
```
docker compose exec api npm run create-user
```

For the deploy-compose.yml (if you followed the Ubuntu Docker Guide):

docker exec -it LibreChat-API /bin/sh -c "cd .. && npm run create-user"

For local development (from project root):
```
npm run create-user
```

Follow the prompts to enter the new user's email and password.

Delete User Script

To delete a user, you can use the delete-user script:

For the default docker-compose.yml (if you use docker compose up to start the app):
```
docker compose exec api npm run delete-user [email protected]
```