# Automatic AuthKit Configuration

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Convex can **create** AuthKit environments in a WorkOS account made on your behalf. By default WorkOS gives you only two environments, but giving each Convex dev deployment its own AuthKit environment is useful for isolating development user data and configuration changes between multiple developers or agents working in parallel.

The Convex CLI will **configure** AuthKit environments, regardless of whether Convex or you created them, if the `WORKOS_CLIENT_ID` and `WORKOS_API_KEY` environment variables are present in the build environment or the Convex deployment. While developing locally, Convex can write environment variables to `.env.local` to make setting up an AuthKit environment a breeze.

This automatic configuration is available whether you're [starting a new application](/auth/authkit/.md) or adding WorkOS AuthKit to an [existing application](/auth/authkit/add-to-app.md).

Read on for some additional details about how the auto-configuration works and some things that you may need to configure manually based on your specific needs.

info

Provisioning or disconnecting the underlying Convex-managed WorkOS team requires **team admin**. Provisioning a per-deployment WorkOS environment uses the deployment's own management permission — any team member can do this for their dev or preview deployment, but production envs require team admin (or project admin). Shared project-level WorkOS environments require team admin or project admin.

## Production deployments[​](#production-deployments "Direct link to Production deployments")

In the Convex dashboard settings for your production deployment, create an AuthKit environment in the WorkOS Authentication integration under settings, integrations. Copy these credentials to your hosting provider environment variables (in addition to other setup, like adding a production `CONVEX_DEPLOY_KEY`, setting the build command, and setting other framework-specific AuthKit environment variables).

## Preview deployments[​](#preview-deployments "Direct link to Preview deployments")

In the Convex dashboard settings for any deployment in your project, create a new project-level AuthKit environment in the WorkOS Authentication integration under settings, integrations. Copy these credentials to your hosting provider environment variables (in addition to other setup, like adding a preview `CONVEX_DEPLOY_KEY`, setting the build command, and setting other framework-specific AuthKit environment variables).

## How it works[​](#how-it-works "Direct link to How it works")

AuthKit provisioning and configuration is triggered by the presence of a `convex.json` file with an `authKit` section with a property corresponding to the type of code push: `dev`, `preview`, or `prod`.

If this section is present, an AuthKit environment may be provisioned (dev only), local environment variables set (dev only), and configured (all code push types).

### Finding the AuthKit environment[​](#finding-the-authkit-environment "Direct link to Finding the AuthKit environment")

The CLI looks for WorkOS credentials `WORKOS_CLIENT_ID` and `WORKOS_API_KEY` in the following order:

1. Environment variables in the build environment shell or `.env.local` file
2. Convex deployment environment variables

In remote build environments (e.g. building a project in Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare) if these two environment variables are not found, the build will fail.

During local dev, credentials are next fetched from the Convex Cloud API for a new or existing AuthKit environment. A link to this deployment in the WorkOS dashboard can be found in the Convex dashboard under the WorkOS integration.

### Configuring the AuthKit environment[​](#configuring-the-authkit-environment "Direct link to Configuring the AuthKit environment")

Once credentials are found, the `WORKOS_API_KEY` is used to configure the environment based on the `configure` section of the relevant `authKit` object. This sets things like an environment's [redirect URIs](https://workos.com/docs/sso/redirect-uris), [allowed CORS origins](https://workos.com/docs/authkit/client-only).

### Setting local environment variables[​](#setting-local-environment-variables "Direct link to Setting local environment variables")

For dev deployments only, environment variables are written to `.env.local` based on the `localEnvVars` section of the relevant `authKit` config.

## Project-level vs deployment level AuthKit environments[​](#project-level-vs-deployment-level-authkit-environments "Direct link to Project-level vs deployment level AuthKit environments")

In hosting providers with remote build pipelines like Vercel, it's difficult to set environment variables like `WORKOS_API_KEY` at build time in a way that's available to server-side code like Next.js middleware. This makes it necessary set the `WORKOS_*` environment variables in advance for preview and production deployments built on these platforms.

After creating the WorkOS AuthKit environments for production and preview deployments in the dashboard, copy relevant environment variables like `WORKOS_CLIENT_ID`, `WORKOS_API_KEY`, `WORKOS_REDIRECT_URI`, and `WORKOS_COOKIE_PASSWORD` to the preview and production environment variables in your hosting provider.

Deployment-specific AuthKit environments can be created for any deployment are difficult set up automatically so shared project-level environments are generally a better fit.

In the `authKit` section of `convex.json`, `localEnvVars` `automate setting up dev environments by automatically setting the right environment variables in .env.local and automatically configuring the environment with a `redirectUri\`.

Environments for hosting providers in build environments like Vercel (production and preview deploys) can be configured at build time, but the environment variables for these build environments must be set manually in the build settings.