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signOut ends the user’s session by clearing their session cookie and redirecting them to the WorkOS logout URL. This function is typically used in server actions or route handlers.

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Usage

import { signOut } from '@workos-inc/authkit-nextjs';

await signOut();

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Signature

async function signOut(options?: { returnTo?: string }): Promise<never>

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Parameters

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options
object
Configuration options for signing out.

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Returns

This function never returns as it always redirects. It has a return type of Promise<never>.

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Examples

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Basic sign-out button

import { signOut } from '@workos-inc/authkit-nextjs';

export default function SignOutButton() {
  return (
    <form
      action={async () => {
        'use server';
        await signOut();
      }}
    >
      <button type="submit">Sign out</button>
    </form>
  );
}

​
Sign out with custom redirect

import { signOut } from '@workos-inc/authkit-nextjs';

export default function Header() {
  return (
    <form
      action={async () => {
        'use server';
        await signOut({ returnTo: 'https://yourapp.com/goodbye' });
      }}
    >
      <button type="submit">Sign out</button>
    </form>
  );
}

​
Sign out from a server action

'use server';

import { signOut } from '@workos-inc/authkit-nextjs';

export async function handleSignOut() {
  // Perform cleanup before signing out
  await logActivity('user_signed_out');
  
  await signOut();
}

​
Sign out and return to home page

import { signOut } from '@workos-inc/authkit-nextjs';

export default function SettingsPage() {
  async function handleSignOut() {
    'use server';
    await signOut({ returnTo: '/' });
  }
  
  return (
    <form action={handleSignOut}>
      <button type="submit">Sign out and return home</button>
    </form>
  );
}

​
Sign out with analytics tracking

'use server';

import { signOut, withAuth } from '@workos-inc/authkit-nextjs';

export async function handleSignOutWithTracking() {
  const { user } = await withAuth();
  
  if (user) {
    await analytics.track('user_signed_out', {
      userId: user.id,
      email: user.email,
      timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
    });
  }
  
  await signOut();
}

​
Sign out from multiple pages

// actions/auth.ts
'use server';

import { signOut } from '@workos-inc/authkit-nextjs';

export async function handleSignOut() {
  await signOut();
}

// components/Header.tsx
import { handleSignOut } from '@/actions/auth';

export default function Header() {
  return (
    <form action={handleSignOut}>
      <button type="submit">Sign out</button>
    </form>
  );
}

​
Notes

  • signOut always triggers a redirect and never returns normally
  • The session cookie is deleted before redirecting
  • If the returnTo parameter is not provided, the user is redirected to the default Logout URI configured in your WorkOS dashboard settings
  • This function can be called from anywhere authentication is not required (it works without middleware)
  • The function will still work even if it cannot determine the session ID, falling back to a simple redirect

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