Learning of the day: Integrating password reset with Lovable and Supabase

From the collection: SHIPPED - "and sharing is caring"

Integrating password reset with Lovable and Supabase involves leveraging Supabase's built-in authentication features and ensuring your Lovable application is configured correctly to handle the flow. Here's a general tutorial based on common practices and information available:

Core Concepts:

1. Supabase Authentication: Supabase provides robust authentication, including email/password sign-up, sign-in, and password reset functionalities. It handles sending the password reset emails.

2. Lovable as Frontend: Lovable will be your frontend, responsible for providing the "Forgot Password" form, the page where users enter their new password after clicking the reset link, and handling the communication with Supabase.

3. Redirect URLs: This is crucial. Supabase needs to know where to redirect the user after they click the password reset link in their email. This URL will typically point to a specific page in your Lovable app where they can set a new password.

Step-by-Step Tutorial:

Part 1: Supabase Configuration

1. Create a Supabase Project: If you haven't already, sign up for Supabase and create a new project.

2. Enable Email Authentication:

   • In your Supabase dashboard, navigate to Authentication > Providers.

   • Ensure Email is enabled.

   • Decide if you want "Confirm email" enabled or disabled. For development and testing, you might disable it for a smoother experience, but re-enable it for production for security.

3. Configure Redirect URLs: This is vital for the password reset flow.

   • In your Supabase dashboard, go to Authentication > URL Configuration.

   • Under "Site URL", add your Lovable app's base URL (e.g.,

https://your-lovable-app.lovable.dev

1. • ).

   • Under "Redirect URLs", add the URL of the page in your Lovable app where users will reset their password. A common pattern is https://your-lovable-app.lovable.dev/reset-password. This URL is where Supabase will redirect the user after they click the reset link in the email.

   • Important: Make sure to click "Save" after adding the URLs.

2. Email Templates (Optional but Recommended):

   • Supabase provides default email templates for password resets. You can customize these under Authentication > Email Templates to match your branding.

Part 2: Lovable Frontend Implementation

Lovable, being an AI-powered builder, often handles much of the boilerplate code. The key is to provide clear prompts and configure the generated components.

1. "Forgot Password" Page/Component:

   • In Lovable, create a new page (e.g., /forgot-password) or add a component to your login page.

   • This page should have:

     • An input field for the user's email address.

     • A "Send Reset Link" button.

   • Prompting Lovable: You can use a prompt like: "Create a 'Forgot Password' page with an email input and a button that sends a password reset email using Supabase."

   • Backend Logic (Generated by Lovable or Manual): When the button is clicked, your Lovable app will need to call the Supabase function to send the password reset email. This usually involves:

     JavaScript

// Example (adjust based on Lovable's generated code structure)
import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'; // Or however Lovable imports it

const supabaseUrl = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL;
const supabaseAnonKey = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY;
const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseAnonKey);

async function sendPasswordResetEmail(email) {
  const { data, error } = await supabase.auth.resetPasswordForEmail(email, {
    redirectTo: 'https://your-lovable-app.lovable.dev/reset-password', // Your redirect URL
  });

  if (error) {
    console.error('Error sending password reset email:', error.message);
    // Display an error message to the user
  } else {
    console.log('Password reset email sent:', data);
    // Display a success message (e.g., "Check your email for the reset link")
  }
}

1. • Make sure the redirectTo URL matches the one you configured in Supabase.

2. "Reset Password" Page/Component:

   • Create a new page in Lovable (e.g., /reset-password). This is the page that the user will be redirected to after clicking the link in the email.

   • This page needs:

     • Input fields for the "New Password" and "Confirm New Password".

     • A "Set New Password" button.

   • Handling the URL Parameters: When Supabase redirects to this page, it will include an access_token and type=recovery in the URL's hash fragment (e.g., #/access_token=...&type=recovery). Your Lovable app needs to parse these parameters.

   • Prompting Lovable: You can prompt: "Create a 'Reset Password' page that takes the new password and updates it in Supabase after a user clicks a password reset link."

   • Backend Logic (Generated by Lovable or Manual):

     • On page load, extract the access_token from the URL hash.

     • Use the supabase.auth.setSession({ access_token: '...' }) function to establish the session.

     • When the "Set New Password" button is clicked, call supabase.auth.updateUser({ password: newPassword }).

     JavaScript

// Example (adjust based on Lovable's generated code structure and framework)
import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js';

const supabaseUrl = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL;
const supabaseAnonKey = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY;
const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseAnonKey);

async function updatePassword(newPassword) {
  try {
    // This assumes the user is already authenticated via the recovery token
    const { data, error } = await supabase.auth.updateUser({
      password: newPassword,
    });

    if (error) {
      console.error('Error updating password:', error.message);
      // Display an error message
    } else {
      console.log('Password updated successfully:', data);
      // Redirect to a success page or login page
    }
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('Error updating password:', err);
  }
}

// Inside your Reset Password page component (e.g., in useEffect for React)
// You'll need to parse the URL hash to get the access_token
// Example for parsing hash (you might need a more robust solution)
const hash = window.location.hash.substring(1);
const params = new URLSearchParams(hash);
const accessToken = params.get('access_token');
const type = params.get('type');

if (accessToken && type === 'recovery') {
  // Set the session with the recovery token
  // Supabase handles the session internally, often you just need to call updateUser
  // but sometimes explicit setSession might be needed depending on your setup.
  // For password reset, the user is temporarily logged in via the link.
  // You then update their password, and it's good practice to sign them out
  // and redirect them to the login page.
}

Important Considerations and Troubleshooting:

• Lovable's AI Capabilities: Lovable is designed to generate code from prompts. Be as specific as possible in your prompts regarding Supabase integration. If Lovable's initial generation isn't perfect, you can refine it by providing more details or even pasting relevant Supabase code snippets into the chat for Lovable to analyze and integrate.

• Environment Variables: Ensure your Supabase Project URL and Anon Key are correctly configured as environment variables in Lovable (or however Lovable manages external API keys).

• Email Sending: Supabase uses its own default email service for authentication emails. For production, you might want to configure a custom SMTP server for better reliability and deliverability.

• Testing:

  • Disable Email Confirmation (during development): This allows you to quickly test the password reset flow without needing to click confirmation links every time. Remember to re-enable it for production.

  • Check Supabase Logs: If you're encountering issues, check the Supabase logs (in the Dashboard) for any errors related to authentication or email sending.

  • Browser Developer Tools: Use your browser's console and network tabs to debug frontend issues, especially with redirects and API calls.

• Session Management: After a user successfully resets their password, it's generally a good practice to log them out and redirect them to the login page, requiring them to sign in with their new password. This ensures a clean session.

• Error Handling and User Feedback: Implement robust error handling and provide clear, user-friendly messages for both success and failure scenarios (e.g., "Password reset email sent!", "Invalid email address," "Passwords do not match").

By following these steps and utilizing Lovable's AI capabilities, you should be able to integrate a secure and functional password reset flow with Supabase. Remember that the exact implementation might vary slightly depending on Lovable's internal structure and the specific framework it uses (e.g., React, Vue).