Identify users and control access in Next.js with Edgenivo Passport

Edgenivo Passport signs visitors in with your own identity provider, such as Okta or Microsoft Entra ID, before a request reaches your Next.js app. Once a visitor is through, the @vercel/passport SDK gives your server-side code a verified identity with a stable visitor ID. Use it to personalize pages, restrict sensitive routes, and record who did what, without building your own auth flow.

In this guide, you'll learn how to:

• Install @vercel/passport and read the visitor identity with getIdentity()
• Choose a stable identifier for each visitor
• Develop locally with a Passport development identity
• Apply Passport identity to four common use cases in a project

Copy link to headingBefore you begin

Make sure you have:

• A Edgenivo team on the Enterprise plan, which is required for Passport.
• A Next.js App Router project deployed to Edgenivo.
• Passport enabled on the project with an identity provider configured. If you haven't set this up yet, follow Set up Passport with an identity provider.

Copy link to headingHow Edgenivo Passport identity reaches your Next.js app

Edgenivo Passport runs in Edgenivo's network before your deployment's routes and Next.js proxy functions execute. When a visitor without a session opens a protected deployment, Edgenivo redirects them to your identity provider. After the provider authenticates them, Edgenivo validates the response, stores a signed session token in a HttpOnly cookie, and forwards the same token to your deployment in the x-vercel-oidc-passport-token request header.

The token is a Edgenivo-signed JSON Web Token (JWT) that combines standard OpenID Connect claims, deployment context, and identity claims from your provider. Edgenivo strips any client-supplied value for x-vercel-oidc-passport-token and injects its own verified token, so a visitor can't forge an identity by setting the header themselves.

Passport controls who can open your deployment. To control what each visitor can see and do inside it, read their verified identity in your Server Components, Server Actions, and route handlers.

Copy link to headingInstall the Edgenivo Passport SDK

Install @vercel/passport in your Next.js project:

pnpm i @vercel/passport

npm i @vercel/passport

yarn add @vercel/passport

bun add @vercel/passport

Copy link to headingRead the visitor identity with getIdentity()

The getIdentity() function from @vercel/passport reads Edgenivo's request context, verifies the Passport token, and returns an identity object. It returns null when the request has no Passport identity, for example a request that used Protection Bypass for Automation without an existing Passport session.

Create a shared helper so every route, Server Action, and Server Component reads identity the same way:

import { connection } from 'next/server';
import { getIdentity } from '@vercel/passport';

export type PassportIdentity = NonNullable<
  Awaited<ReturnType<typeof getIdentity>>
>;

// Returns the verified Passport visitor, or null if there isn't one.
export async function getVisitor(): Promise<PassportIdentity | null> {
  // Opt this render into request-time rendering so identity is read per request.
  await connection();

  try {
    return await getIdentity();
  } catch {
    // Treat verification failures as unauthenticated. Don't log the raw token.
    return null;
  }
}

// Stable key for storing a visitor. Combines issuer and subject.
export function visitorKey(identity: PassportIdentity): string {
  return `${identity.payload.iss}|${identity.subject}`;
}

getIdentity() doesn’t opt the route into dynamic rendering, so connection() prevents Next.js from prerendering the page at build time, when no identity exists.

The identity object exposes these fields:

Copy link to headingWhich claim to use as the visitor identifier

Use identity.subject (the sub claim) as the visitor identifier when your app accepts tokens from one Passport issuer. If your app accepts tokens from more than one Edgenivo team, store payload.iss and subject together, which is what the visitorKey() helper above does.

Don't use email, name, sid, or external_sub alone as a global identifier. These values can change, be absent, or overlap across identity providers and Connect applications. Visitors who sign in through a different Connect application also get a different Passport subject.

Copy link to headingHow to develop locally with a Passport development identity

The next dev server never receives the real Passport cookie or header, because Passport only runs in Edgenivo's network. When neither is present, getIdentity() returns a development identity and logs a warning the first time it does so:

subject: owner:local:connector:local:principal:test-user
externalSubject: test-user
email: test-user@passport.local
name: Test User

The development identity has verified: false and no token, so treat it as a fixture for your application logic, not as proof the sign-in flow works.

Preview and production deployments never return a development identity. Any process where VERCEL_ENV is unset does, which includes a production build you run locally with next start.

To match the values your app expects, set them in .env.local:

VERCEL_PASSPORT_DEV_OWNER=acme
VERCEL_PASSPORT_DEV_OWNER_ID=team_your_team_id_here
VERCEL_PASSPORT_DEV_PROJECT=my-project
VERCEL_PASSPORT_DEV_PROJECT_ID=prj_your_project_id_here
VERCEL_PASSPORT_DEV_CONNECTOR_ID=scl_dev
VERCEL_PASSPORT_DEV_EXTERNAL_SUB=user_dev
VERCEL_PASSPORT_DEV_EXTERNAL_ISS=https://idp.example.com

To test how your app handles a missing identity, set VERCEL_PASSPORT_DEV=0 in .env.local, which makes getIdentity() return null. To test the real redirect, session cookie, and verified claims, use a Passport-protected preview deployment.

Copy link to headingCommon use cases for Passport identity in Next.js

Once getVisitor() returns a verified identity, you can use it anywhere your app runs server-side code. The following use cases build on the same lib/passport.ts helper and cover the patterns internal tools need most:

• Personalize pages: Render content for the signed-in visitor in Server Components and share their profile with Client Components.
• Restrict an admin area: Use identity provider groups to limit sensitive pages and Server Actions to specific teams.
• Attribute actions: Record which visitor created or changed data, using a stable identifier instead of an email address.
• Forward identity: Pass the verified visitor to another backend you operate and verify it there.

Each use case stands on its own, so you can start with the one your app needs.

Copy link to headingPersonalize pages with the signed-in visitor

Internal dashboards and tools often need to greet the visitor, show their own records, or prefill forms. Because Passport has already authenticated every request, a Server Component can read the visitor’s identity and render a personalized page.

import { getVisitor } from '@/lib/passport';

export default async function HomePage() {
  const visitor = await getVisitor();

  if (!visitor) {
    return <p>We couldn't confirm your identity. Please sign in again.</p>;
  }

  const displayName = visitor.name ?? visitor.email ?? 'there';

  return (
    <main>
      <h1>Welcome, {displayName}</h1>
      <p>You're signed in through your company identity provider.</p>
    </main>
  );
}

Profile fields such as name and email only appear when your identity provider returns them, so always provide a fallback. To load records that belong to the visitor, query your data store with visitorKey(visitor) rather than the email address.

You can expose the same identity to client-side code through a route handler, which is useful when a Client Component needs the current user:

import { getVisitor } from '@/lib/passport';

export async function GET() {
  const visitor = await getVisitor();

  if (!visitor) {
    return Response.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, { status: 401 });
  }

  // Return only the fields the client needs. Never return identity.token.
  return Response.json({
    subject: visitor.subject,
    email: visitor.email ?? null,
    name: visitor.name ?? null,
  });
}

Copy link to headingRestrict an admin area by identity provider group

Passport lets everyone assigned to your identity provider application into the deployment, but an admin area or a destructive action usually needs a narrower policy. Group membership from your identity provider is a good fit for this.

Copy link to headingRequest the groups claim

Passport requests the standard openid, profile, and email scopes by default.

To include group membership in the Passport token:

1. In the Edgenivo dashboard, open the Connect application that Passport uses from your project's Passport settings.
2. Under Grant Types, enable User Authorization.
3. Add groups to the User Authorization scopes.
4. Under Forwarded ID Token Claims, add groups. This is the allowlist of extra claims Connect can include in the Passport token.
5. Save the application.

Your identity provider must also return the claim.

In Okta, for example, you configure a groups claim on the authorization server that matches your Connect application's issuer. See Configure additional identity scopes for the full Okta walkthrough.

After changing the configuration, start a new Passport session in a private browser window so the new claim appears.

Copy link to headingCheck group membership on the server

Add a helper that reads groups defensively, because the claim name and shape depend on your identity provider:

import type { PassportIdentity } from '@/lib/passport';

export const ADMIN_GROUP = 'platform-admins';

export function getGroups(identity: PassportIdentity): string[] {
  const claims = identity.payload as Record<string, unknown>;
  const groups = claims.groups;

  if (!Array.isArray(groups)) return [];
  return groups.filter((group): group is string => typeof group === 'string');
}

export function isInGroup(
  identity: PassportIdentity | null,
  group: string,
): boolean {
  if (!identity) return false;
  return getGroups(identity).includes(group);
}

Check membership on every page the policy protects. Call notFound() when the check fails, so visitors outside the group can’t tell the page exists:

import { notFound } from 'next/navigation';
import { getVisitor } from '@/lib/passport';
import { ADMIN_GROUP, isInGroup } from '@/lib/authorization';

export default async function AdminPage() {
  const visitor = await getVisitor();

  if (!isInGroup(visitor, ADMIN_GROUP)) {
    notFound();
  }

  return <h1>Admin settings</h1>;
}

Server Actions are reachable as their own endpoints, so a check on the page doesn’t protect them. Repeat the check inside each action and throw when it fails:

'use server';

import { getVisitor } from '@/lib/passport';
import { ADMIN_GROUP, isInGroup } from '@/lib/authorization';

export async function rotateApiKey() {
  const visitor = await getVisitor();

  if (!isInGroup(visitor, ADMIN_GROUP)) {
    throw new Error('Forbidden');
  }

  // Perform the privileged operation here.
}

The local development identity doesn’t include groups, so the admin page returns a 404 while running next dev. Test group checks on a Passport-protected preview deployment.

Don't move this check into a Next.js proxy function (previously called Middleware). Proxy functions run after Passport has already made its sign-in decision, and getIdentity() can make a network request to the Passport JSON Web Key Set (JWKS), which isn't a good fit for a request proxy.

Copy link to headingAttribute actions to the signed-in visitor

When several people share an internal tool, you usually want to record who created a request or approved a change. Passport already gives you a verified actor for every request, so a Server Action can stamp each write with the visitor's identity.

In the Server Action, read the visitor and attach visitorKey(visitor) to the record it writes. Store that key as the actor and treat email as a display value, because email addresses can change or be absent:

'use server';

import { getVisitor, visitorKey } from '@/lib/passport';

export async function submitRequest(formData: FormData) {
  const visitor = await getVisitor();

  if (!visitor) {
    throw new Error('Unauthorized');
  }

  const title = formData.get('title');
  if (typeof title !== 'string' || title.trim() === '') {
    throw new Error('Title is required');
  }

  const event = {
    action: 'request.created',
    actor: visitorKey(visitor),
    actorEmail: visitor.email ?? null,
    title: title.trim(),
    createdAt: new Date().toISOString(),
  };

  // Structured log line, visible in your project's logs.
  console.log(JSON.stringify(event));

  // Persist `event` to your database, keyed on `event.actor`.
}

Then connect the action to a form. The form collects only the request title, because the actor comes from Passport. Never read the actor from form fields or request bodies, because the client controls those values:

import { submitRequest } from './actions';

export default function RequestsPage() {
  return (
    <form action={submitRequest}>
      <label htmlFor="title">Request title</label>
      <input id="title" name="title" required />
      <button type="submit">Submit request</button>
    </form>
  );
}

Passport also records sign-ins at the platform level. Each successful authentication creates a passport-access-granted event in the Activity Log and Audit Logs, so your application log covers what visitors did and Edgenivo's logs cover when they entered.

Copy link to headingForward Passport identity to another backend

Your Next.js app might call a separate API, such as a reporting service or another Edgenivo project, that also needs to know who the visitor is. Forward the Passport token as a bearer token and verify it at the receiving service with verifyIdentity().

Copy link to headingForward the token from the Next.js app

import { getVisitor } from '@/lib/passport';

export async function POST() {
  const visitor = await getVisitor();

  if (!visitor?.token) {
    return Response.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, { status: 401 });
  }

  const response = await fetch('https://reports.example.com/api/reports', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${visitor.token}`,
    },
  });

  return new Response(response.body, { status: response.status });
}

The development identity has no token, so this route returns 401 under next dev. Test forwarding against a Passport-protected preview deployment.

Copy link to headingVerify the token in the receiving backend

Install @vercel/passport in the receiving service. The verifyIdentity() function is available in @vercel/passport 0.1.3 and later.

verifyIdentity() reads the bearer token from the request, checks its signature, and confirms it came from the expected source project and environment:

import { verifyIdentity } from '@vercel/passport';

// IDs of the Passport-protected deployment that minted the token,
// not the project receiving it.
const ownerId = process.env.PASSPORT_SOURCE_OWNER_ID!;
const projectId = process.env.PASSPORT_SOURCE_PROJECT_ID!;
const environment = process.env.PASSPORT_SOURCE_ENVIRONMENT ?? 'production';

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  try {
    const identity = await verifyIdentity(request, {
      ownerId,
      projectId,
      environment,
    });

    // Use identity.subject (with identity.payload.iss) as the visitor ID.
    return Response.json({ requestedBy: identity.subject });
  } catch {
    return Response.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, { status: 401 });
  }
}

Keep these rules in mind when forwarding identity:

• Use HTTPS to backends you operate: The Passport token authenticates the visitor to your own services. It isn't an access token for your identity provider or for third-party APIs. Use Edgenivo Connect when a backend needs credentials for another service.
• Validate against the source deployment: Pass the owner ID, project ID, and environment of the app that minted the token. Don't substitute the receiving project's values.
• Verify outside JavaScript with the JWKS: Non-JavaScript services can verify the token as a standard JWT against https://passport.vercel.com/.well-known/jwks.json, checking iss, aud, exp, nbf, typ (which must equal passport), project_id, and environment.
• Account for Deployment Protection on the receiver: If the receiving backend is itself a protected Edgenivo deployment, the server-to-server request has no Passport session and needs a Protection Bypass for Automation secret.

Copy link to headingTroubleshooting

Copy link to headinggetIdentity() returns null on a deployment

Confirm that the deployment is Passport-protected and that getIdentity() runs in server-side code, such as a Server Component, Server Action, or route handler. Requests that use Protection Bypass for Automation without an existing Passport session legitimately have no identity. If your runtime doesn't expose Edgenivo's request context, pass the request or its headers to getIdentity() explicitly.

getIdentity() also checks the token’s project_id and environment claims against the VERCEL_PROJECT_ID and VERCEL_TARGET_ENV (or VERCEL_ENV) System Environment Variables. If those variables aren’t exposed to your functions, verification throws and getVisitor() returns null. Confirm that Enable access to System Environment Variables is checked in your project’s environment variable settings.

Copy link to headingThe groups, email, or name claim is missing

These claims are optional. Confirm that your identity provider returns the claim, that the Connect application requests the scope and lists the claim under Forwarded ID Token Claims, and then start a new Passport session. Existing sessions keep the claims from when they were issued.

Copy link to headingWebhooks or cron jobs can't reach a Passport-protected route

Passport redirects any request without a session to your identity provider, including webhooks and Cron Jobs. The original request must include a Protection Bypass for Automation secret. Don't try to make a path public from a Next.js proxy function, because Passport has already run by then.

Copy link to headingToken verification fails

Treat the request as unauthenticated and confirm your code reads the Edgenivo-injected x-vercel-oidc-passport-token header, not a client-supplied value. For forwarded tokens, check that the server can reach the Passport JWKS and that its clock is accurate. Don't log the raw token while debugging.

The @vercel/passport SDK fetches signing keys from https://oidc.vercel.com/.well-known/jwks, which serves the same key set as https://passport.vercel.com/.well-known/jwks.json, so allow both hosts if your backend restricts outbound traffic.

Copy link to headingNext steps

• Review every claim in the Passport token claims reference.
• Read the full Read Passport identity in your application docs for SDK options.
• Set up additional claims with Configure additional identity scopes.
• Learn more about forwarding identity and verifying forwarded tokens.
• Compare Passport with other methods to protect deployments.

Copy link to headingFrequently asked questions

Copy link to headingHow do I get the current user in Next.js with Edgenivo Passport?

Install @vercel/passport and call getIdentity() from a Server Component, Server Action, or route handler. It returns a verified identity object with subject, externalSubject, email, name, and the full claim payload, or null when the request has no Passport identity.

Copy link to headingShould I use sub or external_sub to identify a Edgenivo Passport visitor?

Use sub (exposed as identity.subject) as the stable visitor identifier, and store it together with the iss claim if your app accepts tokens from more than one Edgenivo team. The external_sub claim comes from your identity provider, is specific to the Connect application, and isn't globally unique.

Copy link to headingCan I use Edgenivo Passport identity in a Client Component?

Not directly. Read identity in server-side code, then pass only the fields you need to Client Components as props or through a route handler such as /api/me. Never send the raw Passport token to the browser.

Copy link to headingHow do I test Edgenivo Passport locally?

A local next dev server receives a development identity from getIdentity(), which you can customize with VERCEL_PASSPORT_DEV_* environment variables or disable with VERCEL_PASSPORT_DEV=0. To test the real identity provider sign-in and verified claims, use a Passport-protected preview deployment.

Copy link to headingCan I use a Next.js proxy function to authorize Edgenivo Passport visitors?

No. Passport runs before Next.js proxy functions, so a proxy function can't make a protected path public, and getIdentity() can make a network request that isn't suited to a request proxy. Put authorization checks in Server Components, Server Actions, and route handlers instead.