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Verification Flow

1

User signs up

A record is created in the user collection with emailVerified: false. Profile data is saved to the temporary userprofile collection.
2

Verification email sent

Better Auth generates a token stored in the verification collection and sends an email with a verification link.
3

User clicks the link

The link hits GET /api/auth/verify-email?token=...&callbackURL=/. Better Auth validates the token and sets emailVerified: true.
4

Welcome email triggered

The onEmailVerification callback fires, sends an Inngest event to trigger the welcome email, and cleans up the temporary profile data.
5

User can sign in

With emailVerified: true, the user can now authenticate normally.
In development (NODE_ENV=development), email verification is disabled. Users are auto signed-in after signup and verification URLs are logged to the console instead of emailed.

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Configuration

Email verification is configured in lib/better-auth/auth.ts: 
emailAndPassword: {
  enabled: true,
  requireEmailVerification: process.env.NODE_ENV === "production",
  autoSignIn: process.env.NODE_ENV === "development",
  sendVerificationEmail: async ({ user, url, token }) => {
    if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "development") {
      console.log("Verification URL:", url);
    } else {
      await sendVerificationEmail({ email: user.email, verificationUrl: url });
    }
  },
},
emailVerification: {
  sendOnSignUp: process.env.NODE_ENV === "production",
  autoSignInAfterVerification: true,
  onEmailVerification: async (user) => {
    // Triggers welcome email via Inngest
  },
}

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Important: GET Not POST

The verification endpoint uses GET with query parameters, not POST with a JSON body. 
// Correct
const verifyURL = new URL("/api/auth/verify-email", window.location.origin);
verifyURL.searchParams.set("token", token);
verifyURL.searchParams.set("callbackURL", callbackURL);

const response = await fetch(verifyURL.toString(), {
  method: "GET",
  redirect: "manual",
});

// Better Auth redirects on success (307/302)
if (response.status === 307 || response.status === 302 || response.ok) {
  // Verification succeeded
}

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Email Template

The verification email uses a styled HTML template defined in lib/nodemailer/templates.ts with:
  • Gold/yellow CTA button matching the brand
  • 24-hour expiry notice
  • Mobile-responsive layout
  • Dark mode support
All URLs in templates use the {{baseUrl}} placeholder, which is replaced at runtime with NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL.

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Database

CollectionRole
useremailVerified field updated to true after verification
verificationStores ephemeral tokens — deleted after use
userprofileTemporary sign-up data — deleted after verification triggers welcome email
It’s normal for the verification collection to appear empty after a user verifies. Tokens are ephemeral and deleted once consumed.

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Testing

  1. Run npm run dev and sign up
  2. Copy the verification URL from the terminal logs:
📧 EMAIL VERIFICATION (Development Mode)
To: test@example.com
Verification URL: http://localhost:3000/verify-email?token=...&callbackURL=/
  1. Paste the URL in your browser
  2. You should see “Email Verified!” and be redirected to sign-in