supabase/apps/docs/content/guides/getting-started/tutorials/with-refine.mdx

---
title: 'Build a User Management App with Refine'
description: 'Learn how to use Supabase in your Refine App.'
---

<$Partial path="quickstart_intro.mdx" />

![Supabase User Management example](/docs/img/user-management-demo.png)

<Admonition type="note">

If you get stuck while working through this guide, refer to the [full example on GitHub](https://github.com/supabase/supabase/tree/master/examples/user-management/refine-user-management).

</Admonition>

## About Refine

[Refine](https://github.com/refinedev/refine) is a React-based framework used to rapidly build data-heavy applications like admin panels, dashboards, storefronts and any type of CRUD apps. It separates app concerns into individual layers, each backed by a React context and respective provider object. For example, the auth layer represents a context served by a specific set of [`authProvider`](https://refine.dev/docs/tutorial/understanding-authprovider/index/) methods that carry out authentication and authorization actions such as logging in, logging out, getting roles data, etc. Similarly, the data layer offers another level of abstraction equipped with [`dataProvider`](https://refine.dev/docs/tutorial/understanding-dataprovider/index/) methods to handle CRUD operations at appropriate backend API endpoints.

Refine provides hassle-free integration with a Supabase backend with its supplementary [`@refinedev/supabase`](https://github.com/refinedev/refine/tree/main/packages/supabase) package. It generates `authProvider` and `dataProvider` methods at project initialization, so you don't need to spend much effort defining them yourself, choose Supabase as the backend service while creating the app with `create refine-app`.

<$Partial path="project_setup.mdx" variables={{ "framework": "refine", "tab": "frameworks" }} />

## Building the app

Start building the Refine app from scratch.

### Initialize a Refine app

Use [create refine-app](https://refine.dev/docs/tutorial/getting-started/headless/create-project/#launch-the-refine-cli-setup) command to initialize
an app. Run the following in the terminal:

```bash
npm create refine-app@latest -- --preset refine-supabase
```

The command above uses the `refine-supabase` preset which chooses the Supabase supplementary package for the app. There's no UI framework, so the app has a headless UI with plain React and CSS styling.

The `refine-supabase` preset installs the `@refinedev/supabase` package which out-of-the-box includes the Supabase dependency: [supabase-js](https://github.com/supabase/supabase-js).

Install the `@refinedev/react-hook-form` and `react-hook-form` packages that to use [React Hook Form](https://react-hook-form.com) inside Refine apps. Run:

```bash
npm install @refinedev/react-hook-form react-hook-form
```

### Refine `supabaseClient`

The `create refine-app` generated a Supabase client in the `src/utility/supabaseClient.ts` file. It has two constants: `SUPABASE_URL` and `SUPABASE_KEY`. Replace them as `supabaseUrl` and `supabasePublishableKey` respectively and assign them your Supabase server's values.

Update it with environment variables managed by Vite:

<$CodeSample
path="/user-management/refine-user-management/src/utility/supabaseClient.ts"
lines={[[1, -1]]}
meta="name=src/utility/supabaseClient.ts"
/>

Save the environment variables in a `.env.local` file. All you need are the API URL and the key that you copied [earlier](#get-api-details).

```bash .env.local
VITE_SUPABASE_URL=YOUR_SUPABASE_URL
VITE_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=YOUR_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
```

The `supabaseClient` fetches calls to Supabase endpoints from the app. The client is instrumental in implementing authentication using Refine's auth provider methods and CRUD actions with appropriate data provider methods.

One optional step is to update the CSS file `src/App.css` to make the app look nice.
You can find the full contents of this file [here](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/supabase/supabase/master/examples/user-management/refine-user-management/src/App.css).

In order to add login and user profile pages in this App, tweak the `<Refine />` component inside `App.tsx`.

### The `<Refine />` component

The `App.tsx` file initially looks like this:

<$CodeTabs>

```tsx name=src/App.tsx
import { Refine, WelcomePage } from '@refinedev/core'
import { RefineKbar, RefineKbarProvider } from '@refinedev/kbar'
import routerProvider, {
  DocumentTitleHandler,
  UnsavedChangesNotifier,
} from '@refinedev/react-router'
import { dataProvider, liveProvider } from '@refinedev/supabase'
import { BrowserRouter, Route, Routes } from 'react-router'
import './App.css'
import authProvider from './authProvider'
import { supabaseClient } from './utility'

function App() {
  return (
    <BrowserRouter>
      <RefineKbarProvider>
        <Refine
          dataProvider={dataProvider(supabaseClient)}
          liveProvider={liveProvider(supabaseClient)}
          authProvider={authProvider}
          routerProvider={routerProvider}
          options={{
            syncWithLocation: true,
            warnWhenUnsavedChanges: true,
          }}
        >
          <Routes>
            <Route index element={<WelcomePage />} />
          </Routes>
          <RefineKbar />
          <UnsavedChangesNotifier />
          <DocumentTitleHandler />
        </Refine>
      </RefineKbarProvider>
    </BrowserRouter>
  )
}

export default App
```

</$CodeTabs>

Focus on the [`<Refine />`](https://refine.dev/docs/api-reference/core/components/refine-config/) component, which comes with props passed to it. Notice the `dataProvider` prop. It uses a `dataProvider()` function with `supabaseClient` passed as argument to generate the data provider object. The `authProvider` object also uses `supabaseClient` in implementing its methods. You can look it up in `src/authProvider.ts` file.

## Customize `authProvider`

If you examine the `authProvider` object you can notice that it has a `login` method that implements an OAuth and Email / Password strategy for authentication. This tutorial instead removes them and use Magic Links to allow users sign in with their email without using passwords.

Use `supabaseClient` auth's `signInWithOtp` method inside `authProvider.login` method:

```ts name=src/authProvider.ts
login: async ({ email }) => {
  try {
    const { error } = await supabaseClient.auth.signInWithOtp({ email });

    if (!error) {
      alert("Check your email for the login link!");
      return {
        success: true,
      };
    };

    throw error;
  } catch (e: any) {
    alert(e.message);
    return {
      success: false,
      e,
    };
  }
},
```

Remove `register`, `updatePassword`, `forgotPassword` and `getPermissions` properties, which are optional type members and also not necessary for the app. The final `authProvider` object looks like this:

<$CodeSample
path="/user-management/refine-user-management/src/authProvider.ts"
lines={[[1, -1]]}
meta="name=src/authProvider.ts"
/>

### Set up a login component

As the app uses the headless Refine core package that comes with no supported UI framework set up a plain React component to manage logins and sign ups.

Create and edit `src/components/auth.tsx`:

<$CodeSample
path="/user-management/refine-user-management/src/components/auth.tsx"
lines={[[1, -1]]}
meta="name=src/components/auth.tsx"
/>

The [`useLogin()`](https://refine.dev/docs/api-reference/core/hooks/authentication/useLogin/) Refine auth hook to grab the `mutate: login` method to use inside `handleLogin()` function and `isLoading` state for the form submission. The `useLogin()` hook conveniently offers access to `authProvider.login` method for authenticating the user with OTP.

### Account page

After a user is signed in, allow them to edit their profile details and manage their account.

Create a new component for that in `src/components/account.tsx`.

<$CodeSample
path="/user-management/refine-user-management/src/components/account.tsx"
lines={[[1, 3], [8, 43], [69, -1]]}
meta="name=src/components/account.tsx"
/>

This uses three Refine hooks, namely the [`useGetIdentity()`](https://refine.dev/docs/api-reference/core/hooks/authentication/useGetIdentity/), [`useLogOut()`](https://refine.dev/docs/api-reference/core/hooks/authentication/useLogout/) and [`useForm()`](https://refine.dev/docs/packages/documentation/react-hook-form/useForm/) hooks.

`useGetIdentity()` is a auth hook that gets the identity of the authenticated user. It grabs the current user by invoking the `authProvider.getIdentity` method under the hood.

`useLogOut()` is also an auth hook. It calls the `authProvider.logout` method to end the session.

`useForm()`, in contrast, is a data hook that exposes a series of useful objects that serve the edit form. For example, grabbing the `onFinish` function to submit the form with the `handleSubmit` event handler. It also uses `formLoading` property to present state changes of the submitted form.

The `useForm()` hook is a higher-level hook built on top of Refine's `useForm()` core hook. It fully supports form state management, field validation and submission using React Hook Form. Behind the scenes, it invokes the `dataProvider.getOne` method to get the user profile data from the Supabase `/profiles` endpoint and also invokes `dataProvider.update` method when `onFinish()` is called.

### Launch!

Now that you have all the components in place, define the routes for the pages in which they should be rendered.

Add the routes for `/login` with the `<Auth />` component and the routes for `index` path with the `<Account />` component. So, the final `App.tsx`:

<$CodeSample
path="/user-management/refine-user-management/src/App.tsx"
lines={[[1, -1]]}
meta="name=src/App.tsx"
/>

Test the App by running the server again:

```bash
npm run dev
```

And then open the browser to [localhost:5173](http://localhost:5173) and you should see the completed app.

![Supabase Refine](/docs/img/supabase-refine-demo.png)

## Bonus: Profile photos

Every Supabase project is configured with [Storage](/docs/guides/storage) for managing large files like photos and videos.

### Create an upload widget

Create an avatar for the user so that they can upload a profile photo. Add a new component:

Create and edit `src/components/avatar.tsx`:

<$CodeSample
path="/user-management/refine-user-management/src/components/avatar.tsx"
lines={[[1, -1]]}
meta="name=src/components/avatar.tsx"
/>

### Add the new widget

And then add the widget to the Account page at `src/components/account.tsx`:

<$CodeSample
path="/user-management/refine-user-management/src/components/account.tsx"
lines={[[1, -1]]}
meta="name=src/components/account.tsx"
/>

At this stage, you have a fully functional application!