Session helpers

These helpers read the session from request headers through payload.betterAuth. They return Better Auth's session object, not a Payload document.

getServerSessionCopy Anchor Link

getServerSession<TUser>(payload: BasePayload, headers: Headers): Promise<Session<TUser> | null>

Returns { user, session } for the current request, or null when there is no session (or Better Auth isn't initialized). Pass your Payload-generated User type to type session.user.

getServerUserCopy Anchor Link

getServerUser<TUser>(payload: BasePayload, headers: Headers): Promise<TUser | null>

Shorthand for session.user.

Both are read-only: they pass disableRefresh, because a server component has no response to carry a refreshed cookie. See Sliding sessions.

createSessionHelpersCopy Anchor Link

Creates typed versions of both helpers. Define them once and import them everywhere, with no generics at call sites.

import { createSessionHelpers } from '@delmaredigital/payload-better-auth'
import type { User } from '@/payload-types'

export const { getServerSession, getServerUser } = createSessionHelpers<User>({
  idType: 'number',
})

// no generic needed
const session = await getServerSession(payload, headersList)