Firebase Auth vs. HTMX- Overcoming Authentication Obstacles

This is the fourth in a series of 6 articles about our foray into HTMX

Introduction

Authentication is a cornerstone of any modern web application, and ensuring a secure, smooth user experience is critical. In this segment, we focus on how HTMX complicated what should have been a straightforward process: user authentication.

The Challenge of Manual Authentication

We chose to handle authentication using cookies alongside Firebase Auth. In a Next.js environment, integrating Firebase for managing authentication is well-documented and efficient. However, using HTMX required us to manually implement many of these authentication flows, leading to unexpected complexity and delays.

Comparing with Next.js

In our previous projects with Next.js, a simple installation of Firebase allowed us to manage user states seamlessly. This streamlined process was a stark contrast to our HTMX experience, where even basic authentication features demanded considerable extra effort. The manual setup not only slowed us down but also diverted our focus from core product development.

Conclusion

Our experiment with HTMX highlighted a crucial point: while minimalism in frontend development is appealing, the benefits of established frameworks in handling common yet critical functionalities—like authentication—cannot be underestimated. This realization played a significant role in our decision-making process later on.

Next steps

Join us next time as we break down why we made the call to switch back to Next.js. Next stop: Speed, simplicity, and the case for going back to what works.

PS - You can see all the articles in this series on HTMX by visiting our blog page.