Devise vs Passport

Overview

Devise

Stacks535

Followers232

Votes56

Passport

Stacks471

Followers368

Votes0

GitHub Stars23.5K

Forks1.2K

Devise vs Passport: What are the differences?

Key Differences between Devise and Passport

Introduction Devise and Passport are two popular authentication libraries used in web development. While both serve the purpose of user authentication, there are key differences that set them apart from each other.

Implementation Language: Devise is primarily designed for Ruby on Rails applications, while Passport is commonly used with Node.js. This means that Devise integrates seamlessly with Ruby on Rails features and conventions, such as ActiveRecord for managing database records. Passport, on the other hand, leverages the asynchronous and event-driven nature of Node.js, making it a good fit for JavaScript-based applications.
Community and Ecosystem: Devise has a long-standing community and a large number of contributors, making it a mature and well-documented library. It has a wide range of plugins and extensions available, providing additional functionality and customization options. Passport, although not as mature as Devise, has a growing community and a modular design that allows developers to easily integrate various authentication strategies.
Authentication Strategies: Devise mainly focuses on username/password authentication, providing features like session management, password encryption, and email confirmation. Passport, on the other hand, is a library that handles authentication through multiple strategies, including local username/password, social login (such as Google, Facebook, etc.), and token-based authentication using JSON Web Tokens (JWT). This flexibility makes Passport more suitable for applications that require different authentication methods.
Middleware vs Engine: Devise is implemented as a Rails engine, which means it provides a set of predefined routes, views, and controllers that can be easily customized. Passport, on the other hand, is a middleware that can be used with any Node.js framework. It does not provide any UI components or pre-defined routes, giving developers more flexibility to design their own authentication flow.
Database and ORM: Devise is tightly integrated with ActiveRecord, the default ORM for Ruby on Rails. It provides built-in database models and migrations for user-related functionality. Passport, being framework-agnostic, does not make any assumptions about the database or ORM being used. It allows developers to choose their preferred database and ORM, such as Sequelize or MongoDB, providing more flexibility in terms of database choices.
Learning Curve: Devise follows the conventions of Ruby on Rails and provides an intuitive and easy-to-use interface for implementing authentication. If you are already familiar with Ruby on Rails, it is relatively straightforward to get started with Devise. Passport, being a JavaScript library, requires knowledge of JavaScript and Node.js concepts. It may have a steeper learning curve for developers who are new to JavaScript or Node.js.

In summary, Devise and Passport differ in their implementation language, community support, authentication strategies, implementation style, database compatibility, and learning curve. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, and the choice between them depends on the specific requirements of your project and your familiarity with the respective technologies.

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Advice on Devise, Passport

Vaibhav

Jul 17, 2020

Needs advice

Currently, Passport.js repo has 324 open issues, and Jared (the original author) seems to be the one doing most of the work. Also, given that the documentation is not proper. Is it worth using Passport.js?

As of now, StackShare shows it has 29 companies using it. How do you implement auth in your project or your company? Are there any good alternatives to Passport.js? Should I implement auth from scratch?

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Comments

Detailed Comparison

Devise	Passport
Devise is a flexible authentication solution for Rails based on Warden	It is authentication middleware for Node.js. Extremely flexible and modular, It can be unobtrusively dropped in to any Express-based web application. A comprehensive set of strategies support authentication using a username and password, Facebook, Twitter, and more.
Is Rack based;Is a complete MVC solution based on Rails engines;Allows you to have multiple models signed in at the same time;Is based on a modularity concept: use just what you really need.	Single sign-on with OpenID and OAuth; Easily handle success and failure
Statistics
GitHub Stars -	GitHub Stars 23.5K
GitHub Forks -	GitHub Forks 1.2K
Stacks 535	Stacks 471
Followers 232	Followers 368
Votes 56	Votes 0
Pros & Cons
Pros 33 Reliable 17 Open Source 4 Support for neo4j database 2 Secure	No community feedback yet
Integrations
Rails	ExpressJS Vue.js JSON Web Token

What are some alternatives to Devise, Passport?

Auth0

A set of unified APIs and tools that instantly enables Single Sign On and user management to all your applications.

Stormpath

Stormpath is an authentication and user management service that helps development teams quickly and securely build web and mobile applications and services.

Keycloak

It is an Open Source Identity and Access Management For Modern Applications and Services. It adds authentication to applications and secure services with minimum fuss. No need to deal with storing users or authenticating users. It's all available out of the box.

Firebase Authentication

It provides backend services, easy-to-use SDKs, and ready-made UI libraries to authenticate users to your app. It supports authentication using passwords, phone numbers, popular federated identity providers like Google,

Amazon Cognito

You can create unique identities for your users through a number of public login providers (Amazon, Facebook, and Google) and also support unauthenticated guests. You can save app data locally on users’ devices allowing your applications to work even when the devices are offline.

WorkOS

Start selling to enterprise customers with just a few lines of code.

OAuth.io

OAuth is a protocol that aimed to provide a single secure recipe to manage authorizations. It is now used by almost every web application. However, 30+ different implementations coexist. OAuth.io fixes this massive problem by acting as a universal adapter, thanks to a robust API. With OAuth.io integrating OAuth takes minutes instead of hours or days.

OmniAuth

OmniAuth is a Ruby authentication framework aimed to abstract away the difficulties of working with various types of authentication providers. It is meant to be hooked up to just about any system, from social networks to enterprise systems to simple username and password authentication.

ORY Hydra

It is a self-managed server that secures access to your applications and APIs with OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect. It is OpenID Connect Certified and optimized for latency, high throughput, and low resource consumption.

Kinde

Simple, powerful authentication that you can integrate in minutes. Free your users from passwords with secure and frictionless one click sign up and sign in. Built from the ground up using the best in class security protocols available today.

Related Comparisons

Devise vs Passport: What are the differences?

Key Differences between Devise and Passport

Implementation Language: Devise is primarily designed for Ruby on Rails applications, while Passport is commonly used with Node.js. This means that Devise integrates seamlessly with Ruby on Rails features and conventions, such as ActiveRecord for managing database records. Passport, on the other hand, leverages the asynchronous and event-driven nature of Node.js, making it a good fit for JavaScript-based applications.
Community and Ecosystem: Devise has a long-standing community and a large number of contributors, making it a mature and well-documented library. It has a wide range of plugins and extensions available, providing additional functionality and customization options. Passport, although not as mature as Devise, has a growing community and a modular design that allows developers to easily integrate various authentication strategies.
Authentication Strategies: Devise mainly focuses on username/password authentication, providing features like session management, password encryption, and email confirmation. Passport, on the other hand, is a library that handles authentication through multiple strategies, including local username/password, social login (such as Google, Facebook, etc.), and token-based authentication using JSON Web Tokens (JWT). This flexibility makes Passport more suitable for applications that require different authentication methods.
Middleware vs Engine: Devise is implemented as a Rails engine, which means it provides a set of predefined routes, views, and controllers that can be easily customized. Passport, on the other hand, is a middleware that can be used with any Node.js framework. It does not provide any UI components or pre-defined routes, giving developers more flexibility to design their own authentication flow.
Database and ORM: Devise is tightly integrated with ActiveRecord, the default ORM for Ruby on Rails. It provides built-in database models and migrations for user-related functionality. Passport, being framework-agnostic, does not make any assumptions about the database or ORM being used. It allows developers to choose their preferred database and ORM, such as Sequelize or MongoDB, providing more flexibility in terms of database choices.
Learning Curve: Devise follows the conventions of Ruby on Rails and provides an intuitive and easy-to-use interface for implementing authentication. If you are already familiar with Ruby on Rails, it is relatively straightforward to get started with Devise. Passport, being a JavaScript library, requires knowledge of JavaScript and Node.js concepts. It may have a steeper learning curve for developers who are new to JavaScript or Node.js.

Devise vs Passport

Overview

Devise vs Passport: What are the differences?