Lovable auth

JWT Token Expires Silently Causing Unexpected Logout

Users experience sudden logout after being idle or when making requests. API calls start failing with 401 Unauthorized. The JWT token has expired but the app didn't refresh it before it became invalid.

By default, Supabase tokens expire after 1 hour. Without proper refresh token handling, expired tokens cause failures silently rather than triggering re-authentication flow.

Error Messages You Might See

401 Unauthorized JWT expired Invalid or expired token auth/invalid-api-key
401 UnauthorizedJWT expiredInvalid or expired tokenauth/invalid-api-key

Common Causes

  1. autoRefreshToken not enabled in Supabase client config
  2. No error handling for expired token (401 response)
  3. Refresh token also expired or missing
  4. App doesn't check token expiration before making requests
  5. Network request fails during token refresh

How to Fix It

Enable automatic token refresh and add auth state listener:

const { data: { session } } = await supabase.auth.getSession();

supabase.auth.onAuthStateChange((event, session) => {
  if (event === 'TOKEN_REFRESHED') {
    console.log('Token refreshed');
  } else if (event === 'SIGNED_OUT') {
    // Redirect to login
  }
});

Real developers can help you.

Matthew Jordan Matthew Jordan I've been working at a large software company named Kainos for 2 years, and mainly specialise in Platform Engineering. I regularly enjoy working on software products outside of work, and I'm a huge fan of game development using Unity. I personally enjoy Python & C# in my spare time, but I also specialise in multiple different platform-related technologies from my day job. Pratik Pratik SWE with 15+ years of experience building and maintaining web apps and extensive BE infrastructure Bastien Labelle Bastien Labelle Full stack dev w/ 20+ years of experience Kingsley Omage Kingsley Omage Fullstack software engineer passionate about AI Agents, blockchain, LLMs. Costea Adrian Costea Adrian Embedded Engineer specilizing in perception systems. Latest project was a adas camera calibration system. Taufan Taufan I’m a product-focused engineer and tech leader who builds scalable systems and turns ideas into production-ready platforms. Over the past years, I’ve worked across startups and fast-moving teams, leading backend architecture, improving system reliability, and shipping products used by thousands of users. My strength is not just writing code — but connecting product vision, technical execution, and business impact. Alvin Voo Alvin Voo I’ve watched the tech landscape evolve over the last decade—from the structured days of Java Server Pages to the current "wild west" of Agentic-driven development. While AI can "vibe" a frontend into existence, I specialize in the architecture that keeps it from collapsing. My expertise lies in the critical backend infrastructure: the parts that must be fast, secure, and scalable. I thrive on high-pressure environments, such as when I had only three weeks to architect and launch an Ethereum redemption system with minimal prior crypto knowledge, turning it into a major revenue stream. What I bring to your project: Forensic Debugging: I don't just "patch" bugs; I use tools like Datadog and Explain Analyzers to map out bottlenecks and resolve root causes—like significantly reducing memory usage by optimizing complex DB joins. Full-Stack Context: Deep experience in Node.js and React, ensuring backends play perfectly with mobile and web teams. Sanity in the Age of AI: I bridge the gap between "best practices" and modern speed, ensuring your project isn't just built fast, but built to last. Vlad Temian Vlad Temian 15+ years shipping production infrastructure for startups. Former CTO at qed.builders (acquired by The Sandbox). Cursor ambassador and agentic tooling builder. I've scaled systems, automated deployments, and built observability tools for AI coding workflows. I specialize in taking vibe-coded apps from broken prototype to production-ready: fixing Supabase auth/RLS, Stripe integrations, deployment pipelines, and cleaning up AI-generated spaghetti. I build tools in this space (agentprobe, claudebin, micode) and understand both sides: how AI generates code and why it breaks. https://blog.vtemian.com/ Richard McSorley Richard McSorley Full-Stack Software Engineer with 8+ years building high-performance applications for enterprise clients. Shipped production systems at Walmart (4,000+ stores), Cigna (20M+ users), and Arkansas Blue Cross. 5 patents in retail/supply chain tech. Currently focused on AI integrations, automation tools, and TypeScript-first architectures. Matt Butler Matt Butler Software Engineer @ AWS

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long are JWT tokens valid?

By default 1 hour for access tokens. Refresh tokens last 30 days. Configure in Supabase > Authentication > Providers > General.

Should I manually refresh tokens?

No, enable autoRefreshToken in client config and Supabase handles it automatically before expiry.

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