| 1 | --- |
| 2 | title: Upgrading from 1.6 to 1.7.5 or newer |
| 3 | description: Upgrade Better Auth directly from 1.6, preserve existing users, and update your schema and application APIs. |
| 4 | sidebar: |
| 5 | order: 3 |
| 6 | --- |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Upgrade directly to 1.7.5 or a later compatible 1.x release. The core account |
| 9 | schema is unchanged from 1.6; no issuer column or identity backfill is needed. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | :::caution[Already upgraded to 1.7.0–1.7.2?] |
| 12 | Follow the [upstream issuer cleanup instructions](https://better-auth.com/docs/guides/1-7-upgrade-guide#account-identity-keeps-the-provider-key) first. |
| 13 | ::: |
| 14 | |
| 15 | ## Back up existing data |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Back up the database and rehearse on a copy with existing users, accounts, and sessions. **Keep the same auth secret.** |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Resolve duplicate provider/account ID pairs using your configured table names. Never merge users by email alone. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | These integrations need manual preparation. Follow the corresponding |
| 22 | [upstream instructions](https://better-auth.com/docs/guides/1-7-upgrade-guide): |
| 23 | |
| 24 | | Integration | Before deploying | |
| 25 | | --- | --- | |
| 26 | | Microsoft / Entra | Pause sign-in and linking; map old subject IDs to verified object IDs or a trusted directory export. | |
| 27 | | Custom OAuth / SSO | Map existing subjects to verified immutable provider IDs. | |
| 28 | | Legacy OIDC / MCP | Convert client registrations and legacy token tables. Schema migrations do not copy these records. | |
| 29 | | SCIM | Stop old provisioning and follow the reprovisioning procedure. D1 cannot support the new transaction requirements. | |
| 30 | | Device Authorization | Resolve duplicate device/user codes; use bounded strings on MySQL and SQL Server. | |
| 31 | |
| 32 | :::caution[Deployment does not pause existing traffic] |
| 33 | Alchemy delays the new host deployment, but old instances keep running; use a maintenance window for incompatible changes. An application rollback does not reverse database changes. |
| 34 | ::: |
| 35 | |
| 36 | ## Upgrade packages together |
| 37 | |
| 38 | Update the Alchemy Better Auth package to a release supporting 1.7.5, then |
| 39 | align Better Auth and its synchronized plugins/adapters: |
| 40 | |
| 41 | ```sh |
| 42 | npx auth@1.7.5 upgrade |
| 43 | ``` |
| 44 | |
| 45 | Use Node.js 22.12 or newer and the CLI version matching your target release. Review workspace catalogs and overrides. |
| 46 | |
| 47 | The command updates dependencies, not application code or identity data. |
| 48 | |
| 49 | ## Apply the schema |
| 50 | |
| 51 | For [SQL layers with automatic migrations](/better-auth/guides/migrations#choose-the-migration-transport), |
| 52 | the wrapper stays unchanged: |
| 53 | |
| 54 | ```typescript |
| 55 | import { BetterAuth } from "@alchemy.run/better-auth"; |
| 56 | |
| 57 | export const makeAuth = BetterAuth({ |
| 58 | emailAndPassword: { enabled: true }, |
| 59 | }); |
| 60 | ``` |
| 61 | |
| 62 | After any manual preparation, deploy: |
| 63 | |
| 64 | ```sh |
| 65 | alchemy deploy |
| 66 | ``` |
| 67 | |
| 68 | The schema is applied before the new host. Ordinary email/password accounts |
| 69 | need no identity conversion when upgrading directly from 1.6. |
| 70 | |
| 71 | ## Generate a Drizzle schema |
| 72 | |
| 73 | Drizzle users own schema migrations. Generate and review the auth schema: |
| 74 | |
| 75 | ```sh |
| 76 | npx auth@1.7.5 generate --config ./auth.cli.ts |
| 77 | ``` |
| 78 | |
| 79 | The CLI configuration exports an upstream Better Auth instance with the same |
| 80 | plugins and schema options, using the Relations v2 adapter: |
| 81 | |
| 82 | ```typescript |
| 83 | import { drizzleAdapter } from "@better-auth/drizzle-adapter/relations-v2"; |
| 84 | ``` |
| 85 | |
| 86 | Omit the adapter CLI flag, which selects the legacy generator: |
| 87 | |
| 88 | ```diff |
| 89 | - npx auth@1.7.5 generate --config ./auth.cli.ts --adapter drizzle |
| 90 | + npx auth@1.7.5 generate --config ./auth.cli.ts |
| 91 | ``` |
| 92 | |
| 93 | Apply the schema through Drizzle's migration tooling and include the generated auth relations when constructing the database. See the complete [Drizzle configuration](/better-auth/databases/drizzle). |
| 94 | |
| 95 | With automatic migrations disabled, apply your schema before deploying too. |
| 96 | |
| 97 | ## Update application APIs |
| 98 | |
| 99 | Generic OAuth now uses the social APIs: |
| 100 | |
| 101 | ```typescript |
| 102 | import { createAuthClient } from "better-auth/client"; |
| 103 | import { genericOAuthClient } from "better-auth/client/plugins"; |
| 104 | |
| 105 | const authClient = createAuthClient({ plugins: [genericOAuthClient()] }); |
| 106 | authClient.signIn.social({ provider: "my-provider" }); |
| 107 | authClient.linkSocial({ provider: "my-provider" }); |
| 108 | ``` |
| 109 | |
| 110 | Update registered callback URLs: |
| 111 | |
| 112 | ```diff |
| 113 | - /api/auth/oauth2/callback/:id |
| 114 | + /api/auth/callback/:id |
| 115 | ``` |
| 116 | |
| 117 | Token/profile operations select a **local account row**, rather than a provider: |
| 118 | |
| 119 | ```typescript |
| 120 | { accountId: "local-account-row-id" } |
| 121 | // Or select the account from its cookie: |
| 122 | { useAccountCookie: true } |
| 123 | ``` |
| 124 | |
| 125 | Move joins into the database options: |
| 126 | |
| 127 | ```diff |
| 128 | - experimental: { joins: true } |
| 129 | + advanced: { database: { joins: true } } |
| 130 | ``` |
| 131 | |
| 132 | Custom secondary storage needs atomic operations: |
| 133 | |
| 134 | ```typescript |
| 135 | increment(key, ttl) |
| 136 | getAndDelete(key) |
| 137 | ``` |
| 138 | |
| 139 | The TTL is required, in seconds; subsequent increments must preserve the original expiration. Custom rate-limit storage now uses an atomic consume operation instead of separate reads and writes. |
| 140 | |
| 141 | Check the upstream guide for SSO, MCP, mobile, and proxy changes. |
| 142 | |
| 143 | ## Verify existing users |
| 144 | |
| 145 | Test an existing session, existing-user sign-in, new-user sign-up, and sign-out. Exercise every configured provider and account link/list/refresh/unlink flow. |
| 146 | |
| 147 | Confirm user IDs are preserved and no duplicate users appear. |
| 148 | |
| 149 | Deploy again to confirm the migration is a no-op: |
| 150 | |
| 151 | ```sh |
| 152 | alchemy deploy |
| 153 | ``` |