Hanko

Open SourceOtherSelf-hostable

Open-source authentication built passkey-first — login, sessions and user management you can self-host. A privacy-friendly alternative to Clerk and Auth0.

Open source alternative to

Clerk

Auth0

Visit Hanko View source

About Hanko

Hanko is authentication built for the passwordless era: passkeys (WebAuthn) are the default, not an add-on, with email passcodes, OAuth logins and passwords available where you still need them.

It ships as a compact Go backend plus polished, framework-agnostic web components — drop `<hanko-auth>` into your app and you have modern login, sessions and user management. Self-host it and your user database answers to no third party.

AGPL-3.0 licensed (with a hosted cloud available), Hanko is the clean open alternative to renting your auth from Clerk or Auth0 — especially for teams that care where credentials live.

Key features

Passkey-first — WebAuthn passkeys by default, plus passcodes, OAuth providers and optional passwords.
Drop-in components — Prebuilt, themeable web components for login and profile — minutes to integrate.
Full user management — Sessions, JWTs, user admin and audit logs handled by the backend.
Self-host with Docker — Own your user data outright — a Go binary and Postgres is all it takes.

The honest read

What we like

Modern passkey-first UX
Your user data stays on your servers
Quick drop-in web components
Lightweight Go backend
Open source under AGPL-3.0

Worth knowing

Fewer enterprise features than Auth0
Smaller ecosystem than Clerk
B2B SSO/SAML needs work elsewhere
Younger community

FAQ

Is Hanko free?

Yes — Hanko is open source under AGPL-3.0 and free to self-host. Hanko Cloud offers a managed option with a free tier.

What are passkeys?

Passkeys are phishing-resistant WebAuthn credentials that replace passwords with device biometrics — Face ID, Touch ID, security keys. Hanko makes them the default login.

How does Hanko compare to Clerk?

Clerk is a polished closed SaaS; Hanko gives you comparable modern auth UX, open source and self-hostable, so credentials live on your infrastructure.

Can I still offer passwords?

Yes — passwords, email passcodes and OAuth providers are all supported alongside passkeys.

What's needed to self-host?

Docker with the Hanko backend and PostgreSQL — a small VPS is plenty for most apps.