Next.js Authentication: The Complete 2026 Guide

This article provides a comprehensive guide to Next.js authentication, focusing on the correct approach to handle authentication decisions on the server-side. It explains how to use middleware and server components to protect routes and handle authentication flows. To get started, install the @monocloud/auth-nextjs SDK and configure your environment variables. Then, create a proxy.ts file to handle authentication middleware and configure it to protect specific routes. This approach provides a secure and efficient way to handle authentication in Next.js applications.