diff --git a/apps/docs/components/Navigation/NavigationMenu/NavigationMenu.constants.ts b/apps/docs/components/Navigation/NavigationMenu/NavigationMenu.constants.ts
index dbcfb17e112..ccbb06a95dd 100644
--- a/apps/docs/components/Navigation/NavigationMenu/NavigationMenu.constants.ts
+++ b/apps/docs/components/Navigation/NavigationMenu/NavigationMenu.constants.ts
@@ -740,6 +740,10 @@ export const auth: NavMenuConstant = {
name: 'Flows (How-tos)',
enabled: authFlowsEnabled,
items: [
+ {
+ name: 'Which package to use',
+ url: '/guides/auth/choosing-a-server-package',
+ },
{
name: 'Server-Side Rendering',
url: '/guides/auth/server-side',
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/guides/auth/choosing-a-server-package.mdx b/apps/docs/content/guides/auth/choosing-a-server-package.mdx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..199d6357eb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/docs/content/guides/auth/choosing-a-server-package.mdx
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+---
+title: 'Which package to use'
+subtitle: 'When to use supabase-js, @supabase/ssr, or @supabase/server on the server.'
+---
+
+When you use Supabase from JavaScript on the server, there are three packages to choose from. They are not alternatives to each other — `@supabase/ssr` and `@supabase/server` both build on top of `supabase-js` and solve different problems. This guide helps you pick the right one.
+
+
+
+These are JavaScript packages, not separate language SDKs. If you're looking for the client library for another language (Python, Swift, Kotlin, etc.), see the [client library references](/docs/reference).
+
+
+
+## Which package to use
+
+The quickest way to decide is by **how the user's identity reaches your code**:
+
+- The session lives in **cookies** (an SSR framework like Next.js or SvelteKit) → use **`@supabase/ssr`**.
+- Auth arrives **per request in headers** (`Authorization: Bearer `) → use **`@supabase/server`**.
+- You want the base client, or you're handling auth yourself → use **`@supabase/supabase-js`** directly.
+
+| Package | Use it when | Runs in | Auth model |
+| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
+| `@supabase/supabase-js` | You want the base client, or you manage auth yourself | Browser and server | You wire up auth |
+| `@supabase/ssr` | User sessions are stored in **cookies** | SSR frameworks (Next.js, SvelteKit, TanStack Start) | Cookie-based sessions, with refresh-token rotation |
+| `@supabase/server` | Auth arrives **per request in headers** | Edge Functions, Workers, Vercel, Bun, and framework APIs (Hono, H3, Elysia, NestJS) | Stateless Bearer JWT + `apikey` |
+
+## `@supabase/supabase-js`
+
+The isomorphic base client. `@supabase/ssr` and `@supabase/server` both wrap it — reach for `supabase-js` directly when you don't need either wrapper's auth handling.
+
+```ts
+import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
+
+const supabase = createClient(process.env.SUPABASE_URL!, process.env.SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY!)
+```
+
+## `@supabase/ssr`
+
+For SSR frameworks that store the user's session in cookies. It reads and writes session cookies and handles refresh-token rotation, so the same user and session are available on both the client and the server.
+
+```ts
+import { createServerClient } from '@supabase/ssr'
+
+const supabase = createServerClient(
+ process.env.SUPABASE_URL!,
+ process.env.SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY!,
+ {
+ cookies: {
+ getAll() {
+ // return the request's cookies
+ },
+ setAll(cookiesToSet) {
+ // write cookies back on the response
+ },
+ },
+ }
+)
+```
+
+See the [server-side rendering guide](/guides/auth/server-side) for framework-specific setup.
+
+## `@supabase/server`
+
+For stateless, header-based auth in backend runtimes — Edge Functions, Workers, and framework APIs. You declare who may call an endpoint and receive a ready-to-use context (a caller-scoped client that respects RLS, plus an admin client). It verifies JWTs and resolves the new API keys (`SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEYS` / `SUPABASE_SECRET_KEYS`) for you.
+
+```ts
+import { withSupabase } from '@supabase/server'
+
+export default {
+ fetch: withSupabase({ auth: 'user' }, async (req, ctx) => {
+ // ctx.supabase is scoped to the caller and respects RLS
+ const { data } = await ctx.supabase.from('todos').select()
+ return Response.json(data)
+ }),
+}
+```
+
+See the [`@supabase/server` reference](/docs/reference/server) for the full API.
+
+
+
+`@supabase/ssr` and `@supabase/server` coexist and are not replacements for each other, and `@supabase/ssr` is not deprecated. Pick based on where your code runs and how auth reaches it, using the table above.
+
+
+
+## Advanced: Combining `@supabase/server` and `@supabase/ssr`
+
+In a cookie-based framework you can compose the two — let `@supabase/ssr` own the cookie session lifecycle and hand the resolved token to `@supabase/server`'s primitives. This requires more setup, and deeper first-party integration is on the roadmap. See the [`@supabase/server` SSR frameworks guide](https://github.com/supabase/server/blob/main/docs/ssr-frameworks.md).
+
+## Next steps
+
+- [Server-side rendering](/guides/auth/server-side) — set up `@supabase/ssr` for your framework.
+- [`@supabase/server` reference](/docs/reference/server) — API for header-based server auth.
+- [`supabase-js` reference](/docs/reference/javascript) — the base JavaScript client.
diff --git a/apps/docs/data/content-listings/auth.data.ts b/apps/docs/data/content-listings/auth.data.ts
index e70d1cd5836..1374ac25b32 100644
--- a/apps/docs/data/content-listings/auth.data.ts
+++ b/apps/docs/data/content-listings/auth.data.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,11 @@ export const authGetStarted: ContentListingGroup = {
href: '/guides/auth/server-side',
description: 'Create a Supabase client for SSR frameworks like Next.js and SvelteKit.',
},
+ {
+ title: 'Which package to use',
+ href: '/guides/auth/choosing-a-server-package',
+ description: 'supabase-js vs @supabase/ssr vs @supabase/server — which to use on the server.',
+ },
{
title: 'Row Level Security',
href: '/guides/database/postgres/row-level-security',
diff --git a/apps/docs/docs/ref/javascript/introduction.mdx b/apps/docs/docs/ref/javascript/introduction.mdx
index 38419887755..b0ed783aa6a 100644
--- a/apps/docs/docs/ref/javascript/introduction.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/docs/ref/javascript/introduction.mdx
@@ -7,3 +7,5 @@ hideTitle: true
This reference documents every object and method available in Supabase's isomorphic JavaScript library, `supabase-js`. You can use `supabase-js` to interact with your Postgres database, listen to database changes, invoke Deno Edge Functions, build login and user management functionality, and manage large files.
To convert SQL queries to `supabase-js` calls, use the [SQL to REST API translator](/docs/guides/api/sql-to-rest).
+
+Using `supabase-js` on the server? See [which package to use](/docs/guides/auth/choosing-a-server-package) to decide between `supabase-js`, `@supabase/ssr`, and `@supabase/server`.
diff --git a/apps/docs/docs/ref/server/introduction.mdx b/apps/docs/docs/ref/server/introduction.mdx
index eaacb0c51dd..5c9e884b186 100644
--- a/apps/docs/docs/ref/server/introduction.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/docs/ref/server/introduction.mdx
@@ -6,3 +6,5 @@ title: Introduction
`@supabase/server` is a framework-agnostic library for authenticating requests in server-side JavaScript environments. It verifies JWTs, resolves Supabase API keys, and creates pre-configured Supabase clients — exposing everything through a single `SupabaseContext` that is identical regardless of which adapter or primitive produced it.
Adapters for Hono, H3, Elysia, and NestJS are included. You can also compose the lower-level primitives directly for custom frameworks or edge runtimes.
+
+Not sure this is the right package? See [which package to use](/docs/guides/auth/choosing-a-server-package) — for cookie-based sessions in SSR frameworks, use [`@supabase/ssr`](/docs/guides/auth/server-side) instead.
diff --git a/apps/docs/spec/reference/javascript/v2/partials/introduction.mdx b/apps/docs/spec/reference/javascript/v2/partials/introduction.mdx
index ff2524c82f9..2de91f081eb 100644
--- a/apps/docs/spec/reference/javascript/v2/partials/introduction.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/spec/reference/javascript/v2/partials/introduction.mdx
@@ -6,3 +6,5 @@ title: Introduction
This reference documents every object and method available in Supabase's isomorphic JavaScript library, `supabase-js`. You can use `supabase-js` to interact with your Postgres database, listen to database changes, invoke Deno Edge Functions, build login and user management functionality, and manage large files.
To convert SQL queries to `supabase-js` calls, use the [SQL to REST API translator](/docs/guides/api/sql-to-rest).
+
+Using `supabase-js` on the server? See [which package to use](/docs/guides/auth/choosing-a-server-package) to decide between `supabase-js`, `@supabase/ssr`, and `@supabase/server`.
diff --git a/apps/docs/spec/reference/server/v1/partials/introduction.mdx b/apps/docs/spec/reference/server/v1/partials/introduction.mdx
index eaacb0c51dd..146ee752b22 100644
--- a/apps/docs/spec/reference/server/v1/partials/introduction.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/spec/reference/server/v1/partials/introduction.mdx
@@ -6,3 +6,9 @@ title: Introduction
`@supabase/server` is a framework-agnostic library for authenticating requests in server-side JavaScript environments. It verifies JWTs, resolves Supabase API keys, and creates pre-configured Supabase clients — exposing everything through a single `SupabaseContext` that is identical regardless of which adapter or primitive produced it.
Adapters for Hono, H3, Elysia, and NestJS are included. You can also compose the lower-level primitives directly for custom frameworks or edge runtimes.
+
+
+
+See [which package to use](/docs/guides/auth/choosing-a-server-package) — for cookie-based sessions in SSR frameworks, use [`@supabase/ssr`](/docs/guides/auth/server-side) instead.
+
+
diff --git a/supa-mdx-lint/Rule003Spelling.toml b/supa-mdx-lint/Rule003Spelling.toml
index 6161711d68d..5ff03ca7c62 100644
--- a/supa-mdx-lint/Rule003Spelling.toml
+++ b/supa-mdx-lint/Rule003Spelling.toml
@@ -223,6 +223,7 @@ allow_list = [
"dotenvx",
"Drizzle",
"ElevenLabs",
+ "Elysia",
"[Ee]nablement",
"EnterpriseDB",
"Entra",
@@ -306,6 +307,7 @@ allow_list = [
"MySQL",
"[Nn]amespaces?",
"[Nn]ano",
+ "NestJS",
"Netlify",
"Next.js",
"[Nn]ginx",