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This guide will help you set up and run Better Auth Studio in your existing Better Auth project.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:
  • A Better Auth project with an auth.ts configuration file
  • Node.js v18 or higher installed
  • A configured database (Prisma, Drizzle, or SQLite)
If you don’t have a Better Auth project yet, visit the Better Auth documentation to set one up first.

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Start Studio

1

Navigate to your project

Open your terminal and navigate to your Better Auth project directory:
cd your-better-auth-project
2

Run the CLI

You can run Better Auth Studio without installing it using pnpx:
pnpx better-auth-studio start
The first run may take a moment as it downloads the necessary files.
Alternatively, if you’ve installed it as a dev dependency:
pnpm better-auth-studio start
3

Access the dashboard

Studio will automatically open in your browser at http://localhost:3002 (default port).If it doesn’t open automatically, you can manually navigate to the URL shown in your terminal.

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What you’ll see

Once Studio launches, you’ll have access to:
  • Dashboard: Overview statistics showing user counts, teams, and organizations
  • Users: Complete user management interface with search and filtering
  • Organizations: Manage organizations and their teams
  • Settings: View your Better Auth configuration and enabled plugins

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Common use cases

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Create your first user

1

Navigate to Users

Click on “Users” in the sidebar navigation.
2

Click Create User

Click the “Create User” button in the top-right corner.
3

Fill in user details

Enter the user’s email and password, then click “Create”.

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Seed test data

Quickly generate test users for development:
  1. Go to the Users page
  2. Click the “Seed Users” button
  3. Specify how many test users to create
  4. Studio will generate users with random data

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View user details

Click on any user in the users table to view:
  • User profile information
  • Linked social accounts
  • Session history
  • Organization memberships
  • Last seen timestamp (if events are enabled)

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Configuration auto-detection

Studio automatically searches for your auth.ts configuration file in common locations:
  • ./auth.ts
  • ./src/auth.ts
  • ./lib/auth.ts
  • ./src/lib/auth.ts
  • ./server/auth.ts
If your auth file is in a different location, specify it with the --config flag: 
pnpx better-auth-studio start --config ./custom/path/auth.ts

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CLI options

Customize how Studio runs with these options: 
pnpx better-auth-studio start --port 3001

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Watch mode

Enable watch mode to automatically reload Studio when your auth.ts file changes: 
pnpx better-auth-studio start --watch
This is perfect for development when you’re iterating on your auth configuration. Changes are detected automatically and the browser UI updates via WebSocket - no manual refresh needed.

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Troubleshooting

Use the --config flag to specify the exact path to your auth configuration file:
pnpx better-auth-studio start --config ./path/to/auth.ts
Specify a different port using the --port flag:
pnpx better-auth-studio start --port 3001
Ensure your database is running and your auth.ts configuration has the correct connection details. Studio uses the same database adapter configured in your Better Auth instance.
This is normal for new projects. Use the “Create User” or “Seed Users” buttons to add test data.

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Next steps

Now that you have Studio running:

Installation guide

Learn about different installation methods

Self-hosting

Deploy Studio in production with your app

Configuration

Customize Studio for your needs

User management

Deep dive into user management features

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