Supabase Alternative Email Auth Path

Use the alternative email path only when the default OTP flow does not match your project behavior. Some Supabase configurations require a different GoTrue

Use the alternative email path only when the default OTP flow does not match your project behavior. Some Supabase configurations require a different GoTrue endpoint or request format for email authentication. This page documents the alternative path and when it applies.

Last reviewed: 2026-03-06

When to use this

Use the Supabase integration guides when your application uses Supabase Auth for identity and you want passwordless (OTP) authentication flows managed at the gateway edge. The gateway handles sending OTP codes and verifying them, so your backend only sees authenticated requests.

Key concepts

• The Supabase authorizer validates JWTs issued by Supabase Auth using the project's JWT secret. Configure jwt_secret, issuer, and audience in the authorizer block.

• The supabase_passwordless_auth integration sends OTP codes via email or phone through Supabase's GoTrue API. The gateway constructs the request from the client payload and Supabase environment variables.

• The supabase_passwordless_verify integration verifies OTP codes and returns Supabase session tokens. The client sends the OTP code and the gateway validates it against Supabase.

• Supabase requires specific environment variables: SUPABASE_URL, SUPABASE_ANON_KEY, and SUPABASE_JWT_SECRET. All three must be set before any Supabase integration works.

• If Supabase is configured to send magic links instead of numeric OTP codes, the verify flow will not work. This is controlled in the Supabase dashboard under Auth settings.

Repo-grounded example

{
  "authorizer": {
    "type": "supabase",
    "jwt_secret": "$env.SUPABASE_JWT_SECRET",
    "issuer": "https://project.supabase.co/auth/v1",
    "audience": "authenticated"
  },
  "paths": [
    {
      "method": "POST",
      "path": "/api/v1/supabase/auth",
      "integration": { "type": "supabase_passwordless_auth" }
    },
    {
      "method": "POST",
      "path": "/api/v1/supabase/verify",
      "integration": { "type": "supabase_passwordless_verify" }
    }
  ]
}

This snippet uses the standard Supabase integration paths. The alternative email auth path changes the GoTrue endpoint the gateway calls. Consult this page if the default supabase_passwordless_auth integration returns errors specific to your Supabase project configuration.

Troubleshooting

• If OTP sending fails with a 400 error, verify that SUPABASE_URL and SUPABASE_ANON_KEY are set correctly and that the Supabase project has email or phone auth enabled.

• If OTP verification returns "invalid token", confirm that Supabase is configured to send numeric OTP codes, not magic links -- check the Auth settings in your Supabase dashboard.

• If JWT validation fails on protected routes, confirm that SUPABASE_JWT_SECRET matches the JWT secret shown in your Supabase project settings (Settings > API > JWT Secret).

• If you receive a "missing email or phone" error, ensure the client request body includes either an email or phone field in the JSON payload sent to the auth endpoint.

Related docs

• supabase otp

• authorizer

• gateway troubleshooting matrix