Authentication

Overview

BunShip implements a stateful JWT authentication system. Short-lived access tokens (15 minutes) authorize API requests, while long-lived refresh tokens (7 days) are backed by database sessions that can be individually revoked. Two-factor authentication, account lockout, and API key auth are included out of the box.

Auth Flow

The user submits their email, password, and name. BunShip validates the password against strength rules, hashes it with Argon2id, creates the user record, and sends a verification email.

// POST /api/v1/auth/register
const { data } = await api.api.v1.auth.register.post({
  email: "[email protected]",
  password: "S3cure!Pass",
  fullName: "Alice Johnson",
});
// data.userId is returned

Verify email

The user clicks the link in their verification email. The API marks emailVerified with the current timestamp.

The user submits their email and password. On success, the API returns an access token, a refresh token, and basic user info.

// POST /api/v1/auth/login
const { data } = await api.api.v1.auth.login.post({
  email: "[email protected]",
  password: "S3cure!Pass",
});

// data.accessToken  -- use in Authorization header
// data.refreshToken -- store securely, use to get new access tokens
// data.expiresIn    -- 900 (seconds)
// data.user         -- { id, email, fullName, emailVerified, twoFactorEnabled }

Make authenticated requests

Include the access token in the Authorization header of subsequent requests.

curl https://api.example.com/api/v1/users/me \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9..."

Refresh when the access token expires

When the access token expires (after 15 minutes), call the refresh endpoint to get a new pair. The old refresh token is rotated — each refresh token can only be used once.

// POST /api/v1/auth/refresh
const { data } = await api.api.v1.auth.refresh.post({
  refreshToken: storedRefreshToken,
});
// data.accessToken   -- new token
// data.refreshToken  -- new refresh token (old one is invalidated)

JWT Structure

BunShip uses two separate JWT secrets and the jose library for signing and verification.

Access Token
Refresh Token

Field	Value
Algorithm	HS256
Expiry	15 minutes
Secret	`JWT_SECRET` env var (min 32 chars)
Issuer	`bunship`

Payload:

{
  "userId": "clx1abc2d0001...",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "sessionId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6...",
  "iss": "bunship",
  "iat": 1705312000,
  "exp": 1705312900
}

Field	Value
Algorithm	HS256
Expiry	7 days
Secret	`JWT_REFRESH_SECRET` env var (min 32 chars)
Issuer	`bunship`

Payload:

{
  "userId": "clx1abc2d0001...",
  "sessionId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6...",
  "iss": "bunship",
  "iat": 1705312000,
  "exp": 1705916800
}

Use different values for JWT_SECRET and JWT_REFRESH_SECRET. Generate them with openssl rand -hex 32.

Session Management

Every login creates a database-backed session record. Sessions store the hashed refresh token, the client’s user agent, IP address, and an expiration timestamp.

// packages/database/src/schema/sessions.ts
export const sessions = sqliteTable("sessions", {
  id: text("id").primaryKey(),
  userId: text("user_id")
    .notNull()
    .references(() => users.id),
  refreshTokenHash: text("refresh_token_hash").notNull().unique(),
  userAgent: text("user_agent"),
  ipAddress: text("ip_address"),
  expiresAt: integer("expires_at", { mode: "timestamp" }).notNull(),
  lastUsedAt: integer("last_used_at", { mode: "timestamp" }).notNull(),
  createdAt: integer("created_at", { mode: "timestamp" }).notNull(),
});

This gives users visibility into where they are logged in and the ability to revoke specific sessions:

List sessions — GET /api/v1/users/sessions
Revoke one session — DELETE /api/v1/users/sessions/:id
Revoke all sessions — DELETE /api/v1/users/sessions (logs out everywhere)

The maximum number of concurrent sessions per user defaults to 5 and is configurable via featuresConfig.auth.maxSessionsPerUser.

Two-Factor Authentication

BunShip supports TOTP-based two-factor authentication (compatible with Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, and similar apps) plus single-use backup codes.

Setup Flow

Request 2FA setup

The user provides their current password. The API generates a TOTP secret, a QR code URI, and 10 backup codes.

// POST /api/v1/auth/two-factor/setup
const { data } = await api.api.v1.auth["two-factor"].setup.post({
  password: "S3cure!Pass",
});
// data.secret      -- base32 TOTP secret
// data.qrCode      -- otpauth:// URI for QR code rendering
// data.backupCodes  -- array of 10 single-use recovery codes

Backup codes are shown only once. Instruct users to store them in a safe location.

Verify with a TOTP code

The user enters a 6-digit code from their authenticator app. This confirms the secret was saved correctly and activates 2FA on the account.

// POST /api/v1/auth/two-factor/verify
await api.api.v1.auth["two-factor"].verify.post({
  code: "482910",
});

Subsequent login attempts return a requiresTwoFactor: true error if the twoFactorCode field is omitted:

// First attempt without 2FA code
const { error } = await api.api.v1.auth.login.post({
  email: "[email protected]",
  password: "S3cure!Pass",
});
// error.message === "Two-factor code required"

// Second attempt with 2FA code
const { data } = await api.api.v1.auth.login.post({
  email: "[email protected]",
  password: "S3cure!Pass",
  twoFactorCode: "482910",
});

TOTP Parameters

Parameter	Value
Algorithm	SHA-1
Digits	6
Period	30 seconds
Window	1 step (accepts codes from 30s before and after)
Secret length	20 bytes, base32 encoded

Backup Codes

10 codes generated per setup
Each code is an 8-character hexadecimal string
Codes are hashed with SHA-256 before storage (the plaintext is never persisted)
Each code can only be used once — the usedAt timestamp is set on consumption
Re-running 2FA setup regenerates all backup codes and invalidates the previous set

Password Policies

BunShip validates password strength at registration and password reset. The rules are defined in featuresConfig.auth.password:

Rule	Default	Configurable
Minimum length	8 characters	Yes
Require uppercase letter	Yes	Yes
Require lowercase letter	Yes	Yes
Require number	Yes	Yes
Require special character	No	Yes

Passwords are hashed using Argon2id with the following parameters (via Bun’s native Bun.password API or the argon2 library):

Memory: 65536 KB
Iterations: 3
Parallelism: 4

BunShip never stores plaintext passwords. The passwordHash field in the users table contains only the Argon2id hash output.

Account Lockout

To protect against brute-force attacks, BunShip tracks failed login attempts and temporarily locks accounts.

Parameter	Default
Max failed attempts	5
Lockout duration	15 minutes
Counter reset	On successful login

The lockout logic in auth.service.ts:

// On failed login
const attempts = (user.failedLoginAttempts || 0) + 1;
const updates: Record<string, unknown> = { failedLoginAttempts: attempts };

if (attempts >= 5) {
  updates.lockedUntil = new Date(Date.now() + 15 * 60 * 1000);
}
await db.update(users).set(updates).where(eq(users.id, user.id));

// On successful login
await db
  .update(users)
  .set({ failedLoginAttempts: 0, lockedUntil: null })
  .where(eq(users.id, user.id));

The login endpoint uses constant-time password verification even when the user does not exist, preventing timing-based user enumeration.

API Key Authentication

API keys provide an alternative to JWT tokens for server-to-server integrations and automated scripts. Keys are scoped to an organization and carry explicit permission scopes.

How API Keys Work

A team member with api-keys:create permission generates a key through the API or dashboard
The full key is shown once (format: bsk_live_...); only the prefix and hash are stored
The caller includes the key in the Authorization header: Bearer bsk_live_...
The API resolves the key to an organization and checks that the key’s scopes grant the required permission

Available Scopes

// From packages/config/src/features.ts
scopes: [
  "read:projects",
  "write:projects",
  "read:members",
  "write:members",
  "read:webhooks",
  "write:webhooks",
];

Key Properties

Property	Description
`name`	Human-readable label (e.g., “CI/CD Pipeline”)
`keyPrefix`	First 8 characters of the key, stored for identification
`keyHash`	SHA-256 hash of the full key
`scopes`	Array of granted permission scopes
`rateLimit`	Per-key rate limit override (default: 1000 req/min)
`expiresAt`	Optional expiration timestamp
`isActive`	Can be deactivated without deletion

Limits

Parameter	Default
Max keys per organization	10
Default rate limit	1000 requests/minute

See API Keys for usage details and the API Reference for endpoint documentation.

Auth Middleware Reference

BunShip provides two auth middleware variants:

// Throws 401 if no valid token is present
import { authMiddleware } from "./middleware/auth";

app.use(authMiddleware).get("/protected", ({ user }) => {
// user is guaranteed to be defined
return { userId: user.id };
});

Supported Auth Methods

Email + Password

Traditional registration and login with password strength validation and Argon2id hashing.

Magic Link

Passwordless login via a one-time link sent to the user’s email address.

Google OAuth

Social login with Google. Requires GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID and GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET environment variables.

GitHub OAuth

Social login with GitHub. Requires GITHUB_CLIENT_ID and GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET environment variables.

Each method can be toggled independently through featuresConfig.auth:

auth: {
  enableEmailPassword: true,
  enableMagicLink: true,
  enableGoogleOAuth: true,
  enableGithubOAuth: true,
  enableTwoFactor: true,
  enableSessionManagement: true,
  requireEmailVerification: true,
}

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Features

Customization

Deployment

Overview

Auth Flow

JWT Structure

Session Management

Two-Factor Authentication

Setup Flow

TOTP Parameters

Backup Codes

Password Policies

Account Lockout

API Key Authentication

How API Keys Work

Available Scopes

Key Properties

Limits

Auth Middleware Reference

Supported Auth Methods

Email + Password

Magic Link

Google OAuth

GitHub OAuth

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Features

Customization

Deployment

​Overview

​Auth Flow

​JWT Structure

​Session Management

​Two-Factor Authentication

​Setup Flow

​TOTP Parameters

​Backup Codes

​Password Policies

​Account Lockout

​API Key Authentication

​How API Keys Work

​Available Scopes

​Key Properties

​Limits

​Auth Middleware Reference

​Supported Auth Methods

Email + Password

Magic Link

Google OAuth

GitHub OAuth

Overview

Auth Flow

JWT Structure

Session Management

Two-Factor Authentication

Setup Flow

TOTP Parameters

Backup Codes

Password Policies

Account Lockout

API Key Authentication

How API Keys Work

Available Scopes

Key Properties

Limits

Auth Middleware Reference

Supported Auth Methods