organization-best-practices

name	organization-best-practices
description	Configure multi-tenant organizations, manage members and invitations, define custom roles and permissions, set up teams, and implement RBAC using Better Auth's organization plugin. Use when users need org setup, team management, member roles, access control, or the Better Auth organization plugin.

Setup

1. Add organization() plugin to server config
2. Add organizationClient() plugin to client config
3. Run npx @better-auth/cli@latest migrate (built-in adapter) or generate + push for Drizzle/Prisma
4. Verify: check that organization, member, invitation tables exist in your database

import { betterAuth } from 'better-auth';
import { organization } from 'better-auth/plugins';

export const auth = betterAuth({
  plugins: [
    organization({
      allowUserToCreateOrganization: true,
      organizationLimit: 5, // Max orgs per user
      membershipLimit: 100, // Max members per org
    }),
  ],
});

Client-Side Setup

import { createAuthClient } from 'better-auth/client';
import { organizationClient } from 'better-auth/client/plugins';

export const authClient = createAuthClient({
  plugins: [organizationClient()],
});

Creating Organizations

The creator is automatically assigned the owner role.

const createOrg = async () => {
  const { data, error } = await authClient.organization.create({
    name: 'My Company',
    slug: 'my-company',
    logo: 'https://example.com/logo.png',
    metadata: { plan: 'pro' },
  });
};

Controlling Organization Creation

Restrict who can create organizations based on user attributes:

organization({
  allowUserToCreateOrganization: async (user) => {
    return user.emailVerified === true;
  },
  organizationLimit: async (user) => {
    // Premium users get more organizations
    return user.plan === 'premium' ? 20 : 3;
  },
});

Creating Organizations on Behalf of Users

Administrators can create organizations for other users (server-side only):

await auth.api.createOrganization({
  body: {
    name: 'Client Organization',
    slug: 'client-org',
    userId: 'user-id-who-will-be-owner', // `userId` is required
  },
});

Note: The userId parameter cannot be used alongside session headers.

Active Organizations

Stored in the session and scopes subsequent API calls. Set after user selects one.

const setActive = async (organizationId: string) => {
  const { data, error } = await authClient.organization.setActive({
    organizationId,
  });
};

Many endpoints use the active organization when organizationId is not provided (listMembers, listInvitations, inviteMember, etc.).

Use getFullOrganization() to retrieve the active org with all members, invitations, and teams.

Members

Adding Members (Server-Side)

await auth.api.addMember({
  body: {
    userId: 'user-id',
    role: 'member',
    organizationId: 'org-id',
  },
});

For client-side member additions, use the invitation system instead.

Assigning Multiple Roles

await auth.api.addMember({
  body: {
    userId: 'user-id',
    role: ['admin', 'moderator'],
    organizationId: 'org-id',
  },
});

Removing Members

Use removeMember({ memberIdOrEmail }). The last owner cannot be removed — assign ownership to another member first.

Updating Member Roles

Use updateMemberRole({ memberId, role }).

Membership Limits

organization({
  membershipLimit: async (user, organization) => {
    if (organization.metadata?.plan === 'enterprise') {
      return 1000;
    }
    return 50;
  },
});

Invitations

Setting Up Invitation Emails

import { betterAuth } from 'better-auth';
import { organization } from 'better-auth/plugins';
import { sendEmail } from './email';

export const auth = betterAuth({
  plugins: [
    organization({
      sendInvitationEmail: async (data) => {
        const { email, organization, inviter, invitation } = data;

        await sendEmail({
          to: email,
          subject: `Join ${organization.name}`,
          html: `
            <p>${inviter.user.name} invited you to join ${organization.name}</p>
            <a href="https://yourapp.com/accept-invite?id=${invitation.id}">
              Accept Invitation
            </a>
          `,
        });
      },
    }),
  ],
});

Sending Invitations

await authClient.organization.inviteMember({
  email: '[e-mail]',
  role: 'member',
});

Shareable Invitation URLs

const { data } = await authClient.organization.getInvitationURL({
  email: '[e-mail]',
  role: 'member',
  callbackURL: 'https://yourapp.com/dashboard',
});

// Share data.url via any channel

This endpoint does not call sendInvitationEmail — handle delivery yourself.

Invitation Configuration

organization({
  invitationExpiresIn: 60 * 60 * 24 * 7, // 7 days (default: 48 hours)
  invitationLimit: 100, // Max pending invitations per org
  cancelPendingInvitationsOnReInvite: true, // Cancel old invites when re-inviting
});

Roles & Permissions

Default roles: owner (full access), admin (manage members/invitations/settings), member (basic access).

Checking Permissions

const { data } = await authClient.organization.hasPermission({
  permission: 'member:write',
});

if (data?.hasPermission) {
  // User can manage members
}

Use checkRolePermission({ role, permissions }) for client-side UI rendering (static only). For dynamic access control, use the hasPermission endpoint.

Teams

Enabling Teams

import { organization } from 'better-auth/plugins';

export const auth = betterAuth({
  plugins: [
    organization({
      teams: {
        enabled: true,
      },
    }),
  ],
});

Creating Teams

const { data } = await authClient.organization.createTeam({
  name: 'Engineering',
});

Managing Team Members

Use addTeamMember({ teamId, userId }) (member must be in org first) and removeTeamMember({ teamId, userId }) (stays in org).

Set active team with setActiveTeam({ teamId }).

Team Limits

organization({
  teams: {
    maximumTeams: 20, // Max teams per org
    maximumMembersPerTeam: 50, // Max members per team
    allowRemovingAllTeams: false, // Prevent removing last team
  },
});

Dynamic Access Control

Enabling Dynamic Access Control

import { organization } from 'better-auth/plugins';
import { dynamicAccessControl } from '@better-auth/organization/addons';

export const auth = betterAuth({
  plugins: [
    organization({
      dynamicAccessControl: {
        enabled: true,
      },
    }),
  ],
});

Creating Custom Roles

await authClient.organization.createRole({
  role: 'moderator',
  permission: {
    member: ['read'],
    invitation: ['read'],
  },
});

Use updateRole({ roleId, permission }) and deleteRole({ roleId }). Pre-defined roles (owner, admin, member) cannot be deleted. Roles assigned to members cannot be deleted until reassigned.

Lifecycle Hooks

Execute custom logic at various points in the organization lifecycle:

organization({
  hooks: {
    organization: {
      beforeCreate: async ({ data, user }) => {
        // Validate or modify data before creation
        return {
          data: {
            ...data,
            metadata: { ...data.metadata, createdBy: user.id },
          },
        };
      },
      afterCreate: async ({ organization, member }) => {
        // Post-creation logic (e.g., send welcome email, create default resources)
        await createDefaultResources(organization.id);
      },
      beforeDelete: async ({ organization }) => {
        // Cleanup before deletion
        await archiveOrganizationData(organization.id);
      },
    },
    member: {
      afterCreate: async ({ member, organization }) => {
        await notifyAdmins(organization.id, `New member joined`);
      },
    },
    invitation: {
      afterCreate: async ({ invitation, organization, inviter }) => {
        await logInvitation(invitation);
      },
    },
  },
});

Schema Customization

Customize table names, field names, and add additional fields:

organization({
  schema: {
    organization: {
      modelName: 'workspace', // Rename table
      fields: {
        name: 'workspaceName', // Rename fields
      },
      additionalFields: {
        billingId: {
          type: 'string',
          required: false,
        },
      },
    },
    member: {
      additionalFields: {
        department: {
          type: 'string',
          required: false,
        },
        title: {
          type: 'string',
          required: false,
        },
      },
    },
  },
});

Security Considerations

Owner Protection

• The last owner cannot be removed from an organization
• The last owner cannot leave the organization
• The owner role cannot be removed from the last owner

Always ensure ownership transfer before removing the current owner:

// Transfer ownership first
await authClient.organization.updateMemberRole({
  memberId: 'new-owner-member-id',
  role: 'owner',
});

// Then the previous owner can be demoted or removed

Organization Deletion

Deleting an organization removes all associated data (members, invitations, teams). Prevent accidental deletion:

organization({
  disableOrganizationDeletion: true, // Disable via config
});

Or implement soft delete via hooks:

organization({
  hooks: {
    organization: {
      beforeDelete: async ({ organization }) => {
        // Archive instead of delete
        await archiveOrganization(organization.id);
        throw new Error('Organization archived, not deleted');
      },
    },
  },
});

Invitation Security

• Invitations expire after 48 hours by default
• Only the invited email address can accept an invitation
• Pending invitations can be cancelled by organization admins

Complete Configuration Example

import { betterAuth } from 'better-auth';
import { organization } from 'better-auth/plugins';
import { sendEmail } from './email';

export const auth = betterAuth({
  plugins: [
    organization({
      // Organization limits
      allowUserToCreateOrganization: true,
      organizationLimit: 10,
      membershipLimit: 100,
      creatorRole: 'owner',

      // Slugs
      defaultOrganizationIdField: 'slug',

      // Invitations
      invitationExpiresIn: 60 * 60 * 24 * 7, // 7 days
      invitationLimit: 50,
      sendInvitationEmail: async (data) => {
        await sendEmail({
          to: data.email,
          subject: `Join ${data.organization.name}`,
          html: `<a href="https://app.com/invite/${data.invitation.id}">Accept</a>`,
        });
      },

      // Hooks
      hooks: {
        organization: {
          afterCreate: async ({ organization }) => {
            console.log(`Organization ${organization.name} created`);
          },
        },
      },
    }),
  ],
});