How to get providerId with better-auth component?

[dire quiver]

I am using the BetterAuth component in my app and I support email/pw and Google OAuth account types. I want my password reset email to only send to accounts with providerId set to "credential". However, the authComponent.getAuthUser function returns a user object that does not include a providerId. How can I query for that?

[valid lion]

Hi @dire quiver. I'm kapa.ai, your friendly support bot. I will try to answer your question by searching through the knowledge base. :wave:

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The knowledge sources do not provide a direct method to retrieve the providerId from the user object returned by authComponent.getAuthUser. The user object typically contains profile information (like name, email, etc.), but not the provider details.

However, in the context of Better Auth, the provider information (such as whether the account is from "credential" or "google") is associated with the account, not directly with the user profile. The Better Auth component client does not expose a method to fetch the providerId for a user in the documented API.

If you need to determine the provider for a user (e.g., to send a password reset only to "credential" users), you would likely need to query the accounts table or equivalent in your Convex database, filtering by the user's ID and checking the provider field. Unfortunately, the knowledge sources do not provide an example or API for querying accounts by user or extracting the providerId from the user object returned by Better Auth.

Summary:
You cannot get the providerId directly from authComponent.getAuthUser. You would need to query the accounts data, but the exact method for doing this is not documented in the provided knowledge sources. If you need this functionality, you may need to extend your schema or store the provider information in your user table during account creation or linking, or consult the Better Auth documentation for more advanced usage.

If you have access to the accounts table or can customize your schema, you could add a field to track the provider when accounts are created, but this is not covered in the current documentation.

I'm sorry, but there's no information in the knowledge sources about retrieving the providerId directly from the Better Auth user object or a built-in method to query it via the component client.

Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon:

@dire quiver Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.

[dire quiver]

@valid lion How do I query against a table that belongs to a component instead of my app instance?

[valid lion]

Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! :books:

---

To query a table that belongs to a component (such as Better Auth) instead of your app's own tables, you need to use the component's API. Each component in Convex runs in its own sandbox with its own schema and tables, which are isolated from your app's tables.

Here’s how you can query a component table:

1. Use the component client:
   Import the component client (e.g., for Better Auth) and use its provided methods to access data. For example, to get a user by ID from the Better Auth component:

   import { query } from "./_generated/server";
   import { v } from "convex/values";
   import { authComponent } from "./auth";
   
   export const getUser = query({
     args: { id: v.id("user") },
     handler: async (ctx, args) => {
       return authComponent.getAnyUserById(ctx, args.id);
     },
   });
   

   This uses the component's API to access its tables, not your app's tables.
   Component Client API

2. For local installs or custom queries:
   If you have a local install of a component, you can write queries or mutations inside the component directory that access its tables directly. These functions can then be called from your app using ctx.runQuery, ctx.runMutation, or ctx.runAction:

   // Inside convex/betterAuth/someFile.ts
   import { query } from "./_generated/server";
   import { v } from "convex/values";
   import schema from "./schema";
   
   export const someFunction = query({
     args: { sessionId: v.id("session") },
     handler: async (ctx, args) => {
       return await ctx.db.get(args.sessionId);
     },
   });
   
   // From your app code
   import { query } from "./_generated/server";
   import { components } from "./_generated/api";
   import { v } from "convex/values";

export const someFunction = query({
args: { sessionId: v.id("session") },
handler: async (ctx, args) => {
return await ctx.runQuery(components.betterAuth.someFile.someFunction, {
sessionId: args.sessionId,
});
},
});

[Local Install Usage](<https://convex-better-auth.netlify.app/features/local-install#usage>)

**Note:**  
You cannot use `v.id("user")` in your app schema to reference a component table directly due to schema isolation. Use `v.string()` for IDs referencing component tables, and use the component's API to resolve those references when needed  
[Discord: Schema linking](<https://discord.com/channels/1019350475847499849/1431223149927596074>).

In summary:  
- Use the component's client API to query its tables.
- For local installs, write queries inside the component and call them from your app using `ctx.runQuery` or similar methods.  
- You cannot directly reference component tables in your app schema; use string IDs and resolve via the component API.
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Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon:
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