BetterAuth Acquires Open-Source Project Auth.js, Sparking Debate in the Dev Community

BetterAuth, a venture-backed authentication platform, has officially acquired Auth.js (previously known as NextAuth), one of the most widely used open-source authentication libraries in the JavaScript ecosystem. The announcement confirms that Auth.js will now be maintained under the BetterAuth umbrella, with the team stating that the project will remain open source but encouraging new projects to migrate to BetterAuth. This move follows BetterAuth’s recent $5 million seed funding round, signaling its intention to scale its commercial offerings in the authentication space.

The news has sparked debate within the developer community over the sustainability of community-driven authentication solutions. Prominent voices, including Colin from Clerk, argued that “free and community-backed authentication is no longer viable,” emphasizing that most modern infrastructure relies on venture funding. While BetterAuth’s founder clarified that Auth.js is not deprecated, many developers interpret the migration guidance as a de facto end of Auth.js’s active development. The acquisition highlights an ongoing tension between open-source ideals and the financial realities of maintaining complex, production-grade developer tools.