Build a User Management App with Ionic React

This tutorial demonstrates how to build a basic user management app. The app authenticates and identifies the user, stores their profile information in the database, and allows the user to log in, update their profile details, and upload a profile photo. The app uses:

Supabase Database - a Postgres database for storing your user data and Row Level Security so data is protected and users can only access their own information.
Supabase Auth - users log in through magic links sent to their email (without having to set up passwords).
Supabase Storage - users can upload a profile photo.

Supabase User Management example

If you get stuck while working through this guide, refer to the full example on GitHub.

Project setup

Before we start building we're going to set up our Database and API. This is as simple as starting a new Project in Supabase and then creating a "schema" inside the database.

Create a project

Create a new project in the Supabase Dashboard.
Enter your project details.
Wait for the new database to launch.

Set up the database schema

Now we are going to set up the database schema. We can use the "User Management Starter" quickstart in the SQL Editor, or you can just copy/paste the SQL from below and run it yourself.

Go to the SQL Editor page in the Dashboard.
Click User Management Starter.
Click Run.

You can easily pull the database schema down to your local project by running the db pull command. Read the local development docs for detailed instructions.


_10supabase link --project-ref <project-id>
_10# You can get <project-id> from your project's dashboard URL: https://supabase.com/dashboard/project/<project-id>
_10supabase db pull

Get the API Keys

Now that you've created some database tables, you are ready to insert data using the auto-generated API. We just need to get the Project URL and anon key from the API settings.

Go to the API Settings page in the Dashboard.
Find your Project URL, anon, and service_role keys on this page.

Building the app

Let's start building the React app from scratch.

Initialize an Ionic React app

We can use the Ionic CLI to initialize an app called supabase-ionic-react:


_10npm install -g @ionic/cli
_10ionic start supabase-ionic-react blank --type react
_10cd supabase-ionic-react

Then let's install the only additional dependency: supabase-js


_10npm install @supabase/supabase-js

And finally we want to save the environment variables in a .env. All we need are the API URL and the anon key that you copied earlier.

.env


_10REACT_APP_SUPABASE_URL=YOUR_SUPABASE_URL
_10REACT_APP_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=YOUR_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY

Now that we have the API credentials in place, let's create a helper file to initialize the Supabase client. These variables will be exposed on the browser, and that's completely fine since we have Row Level Security enabled on our Database.

src/supabaseClient.js


_10import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
_10
_10const supabaseUrl = process.env.REACT_APP_SUPABASE_URL
_10const supabaseAnonKey = process.env.REACT_APP_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY
_10
_10export const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseAnonKey)

Let's set up a React component to manage logins and sign ups. We'll use Magic Links, so users can sign in with their email without using passwords.

/src/pages/Login.tsx


_70import { useState } from 'react';
_70import {
_70  IonButton,
_70  IonContent,
_70  IonHeader,
_70  IonInput,
_70  IonItem,
_70  IonLabel,
_70  IonList,
_70  IonPage,
_70  IonTitle,
_70  IonToolbar,
_70  useIonToast,
_70  useIonLoading,
_70} from '@ionic/react';
_70import { supabase } from '../supabaseClient';
_70
_70export function LoginPage() {
_70  const [email, setEmail] = useState('');
_70
_70  const [showLoading, hideLoading] = useIonLoading();
_70  const [showToast ] = useIonToast();
_70  const handleLogin = async (e: React.FormEvent<HTMLFormElement>) => {
_70    console.log()
_70    e.preventDefault();
_70    await showLoading();
_70    try {
_70      await supabase.auth.signIn({ email });
_70      await showToast({ message: 'Check your email for the login link!' });
_70    } catch (e: any) {
_70      await showToast({ message: e.error_description || e.message , duration: 5000});
_70    } finally {
_70      await hideLoading();
_70    }
_70  };
_70  return (
_70    <IonPage>
_70      <IonHeader>
_70        <IonToolbar>
_70          <IonTitle>Login</IonTitle>
_70        </IonToolbar>
_70      </IonHeader>
_70
_70      <IonContent>
_70        <div className="ion-padding">
_70          <h1>Supabase + Ionic React</h1>
_70          <p>Sign in via magic link with your email below</p>
_70        </div>
_70        <IonList inset={true}>
_70          <form onSubmit={handleLogin}>
_70            <IonItem>
_70              <IonLabel position="stacked">Email</IonLabel>
_70              <IonInput
_70                value={email}
_70                name="email"
_70                onIonChange={(e) => setEmail(e.detail.value ?? '')}
_70                type="email"
_70              ></IonInput>
_70            </IonItem>
_70            <div className="ion-text-center">
_70              <IonButton type="submit" fill="clear">
_70                Login
_70              </IonButton>
_70            </div>
_70          </form>
_70        </IonList>
_70      </IonContent>
_70    </IonPage>
_70  );
_70}

Account page

After a user is signed in we can allow them to edit their profile details and manage their account.

Let's create a new component for that called Account.tsx.

src/pages/Account.tsx


_147import {
_147  IonButton,
_147  IonContent,
_147  IonHeader,
_147  IonInput,
_147  IonItem,
_147  IonLabel,
_147  IonPage,
_147  IonTitle,
_147  IonToolbar,
_147  useIonLoading,
_147  useIonToast,
_147  useIonRouter
_147} from '@ionic/react';
_147import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
_147import { supabase } from '../supabaseClient';
_147
_147export function AccountPage() {
_147  const [showLoading, hideLoading] = useIonLoading();
_147  const [showToast] = useIonToast();
_147  const [session] = useState(() => supabase.auth.session());
_147  const router = useIonRouter();
_147  const [profile, setProfile] = useState({
_147    username: '',
_147    website: '',
_147    avatar_url: '',
_147  });
_147  useEffect(() => {
_147    getProfile();
_147  }, [session]);
_147  const getProfile = async () => {
_147    console.log('get');
_147    await showLoading();
_147    try {
_147      const user = supabase.auth.user();
_147      const { data, error, status } = await supabase
_147        .from('profiles')
_147        .select(`username, website, avatar_url`)
_147        .eq('id', user!.id)
_147        .single();
_147
_147      if (error && status !== 406) {
_147        throw error;
_147      }
_147
_147      if (data) {
_147        setProfile({
_147          username: data.username,
_147          website: data.website,
_147          avatar_url: data.avatar_url,
_147        });
_147      }
_147    } catch (error: any) {
_147      showToast({ message: error.message, duration: 5000 });
_147    } finally {
_147      await hideLoading();
_147    }
_147  };
_147  const signOut = async () => {
_147    await supabase.auth.signOut();
_147    router.push('/', 'forward', 'replace');
_147  }
_147  const updateProfile = async (e?: any, avatar_url: string = '') => {
_147    e?.preventDefault();
_147
_147    console.log('update ');
_147    await showLoading();
_147
_147    try {
_147      const user = supabase.auth.user();
_147
_147      const updates = {
_147        id: user!.id,
_147        ...profile,
_147        avatar_url: avatar_url,
_147        updated_at: new Date(),
_147      };
_147
_147      const { error } = await supabase.from('profiles').upsert(updates, {
_147        returning: 'minimal', // Don't return the value after inserting
_147      });
_147
_147      if (error) {
_147        throw error;
_147      }
_147    } catch (error: any) {
_147      showToast({ message: error.message, duration: 5000 });
_147    } finally {
_147      await hideLoading();
_147    }
_147  };
_147  return (
_147    <IonPage>
_147      <IonHeader>
_147        <IonToolbar>
_147          <IonTitle>Account</IonTitle>
_147        </IonToolbar>
_147      </IonHeader>
_147
_147      <IonContent>
_147        <form onSubmit={updateProfile}>
_147          <IonItem>
_147            <IonLabel>
_147              <p>Email</p>
_147              <p>{session?.user?.email}</p>
_147            </IonLabel>
_147          </IonItem>
_147
_147          <IonItem>
_147            <IonLabel position="stacked">Name</IonLabel>
_147            <IonInput
_147              type="text"
_147              name="username"
_147              value={profile.username}
_147              onIonChange={(e) =>
_147                setProfile({ ...profile, username: e.detail.value ?? '' })
_147              }
_147            ></IonInput>
_147          </IonItem>
_147
_147          <IonItem>
_147            <IonLabel position="stacked">Website</IonLabel>
_147            <IonInput
_147              type="url"
_147              name="website"
_147              value={profile.website}
_147              onIonChange={(e) =>
_147                setProfile({ ...profile, website: e.detail.value ?? '' })
_147              }
_147            ></IonInput>
_147          </IonItem>
_147          <div className="ion-text-center">
_147            <IonButton fill="clear" type="submit">
_147              Update Profile
_147            </IonButton>
_147          </div>
_147        </form>
_147
_147        <div className="ion-text-center">
_147          <IonButton fill="clear" onClick={signOut}>
_147            Log Out
_147          </IonButton>
_147        </div>
_147      </IonContent>
_147    </IonPage>
_147  );
_147}

Launch!

Now that we have all the components in place, let's update App.tsx:

src/App.tsx


_45import { Redirect, Route } from 'react-router-dom'
_45import { IonApp, IonRouterOutlet, setupIonicReact } from '@ionic/react'
_45import { IonReactRouter } from '@ionic/react-router'
_45import { supabase } from './supabaseClient'
_45
_45import '@ionic/react/css/ionic.bundle.css'
_45
_45/* Theme variables */
_45import './theme/variables.css'
_45import { LoginPage } from './pages/Login'
_45import { AccountPage } from './pages/Account'
_45import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
_45import { Session } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
_45
_45setupIonicReact()
_45
_45const App: React.FC = () => {
_45  const [session, setSession] = useState < Session > null
_45  useEffect(() => {
_45    setSession(supabase.auth.session())
_45    supabase.auth.onAuthStateChange((_event, session) => {
_45      setSession(session)
_45    })
_45  }, [])
_45  return (
_45    <IonApp>
_45      <IonReactRouter>
_45        <IonRouterOutlet>
_45          <Route
_45            exact
_45            path="/"
_45            render={() => {
_45              return session ? <Redirect to="/account" /> : <LoginPage />
_45            }}
_45          />
_45          <Route exact path="/account">
_45            <AccountPage />
_45          </Route>
_45        </IonRouterOutlet>
_45      </IonReactRouter>
_45    </IonApp>
_45  )
_45}
_45
_45export default App

Once that's done, run this in a terminal window:


_10ionic serve

And then open the browser to localhost:3000 and you should see the completed app.

Supabase Ionic React

Bonus: Profile photos

Every Supabase project is configured with Storage for managing large files like photos and videos.

First install two packages in order to interact with the user's camera.


_10npm install @ionic/pwa-elements @capacitor/camera

CapacitorJS is a cross platform native runtime from Ionic that enables web apps to be deployed through the app store and provides access to native device API.

Ionic PWA elements is a companion package that will polyfill certain browser APIs that provide no user interface with custom Ionic UI.

With those packages installed we can update our index.tsx to include an additional bootstrapping call for the Ionic PWA Elements.

src/index.tsx


_18import React from 'react'
_18import ReactDOM from 'react-dom'
_18import App from './App'
_18import * as serviceWorkerRegistration from './serviceWorkerRegistration'
_18import reportWebVitals from './reportWebVitals'
_18
_18import { defineCustomElements } from '@ionic/pwa-elements/loader'
_18defineCustomElements(window)
_18
_18ReactDOM.render(
_18  <React.StrictMode>
_18    <App />
_18  </React.StrictMode>,
_18  document.getElementById('root')
_18)
_18
_18serviceWorkerRegistration.unregister()
_18reportWebVitals()

Then create an AvatarComponent.

src/components/Avatar.tsx


_76import { IonIcon } from '@ionic/react';
_76import { person } from 'ionicons/icons';
_76import { Camera, CameraResultType } from '@capacitor/camera';
_76import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
_76import { supabase } from '../supabaseClient';
_76import './Avatar.css'
_76export function Avatar({
_76  url,
_76  onUpload,
_76}: {
_76  url: string;
_76  onUpload: (e: any, file: string) => Promise<void>;
_76}) {
_76  const [avatarUrl, setAvatarUrl] = useState<string | undefined>();
_76
_76  useEffect(() => {
_76    if (url) {
_76      downloadImage(url);
_76    }
_76  }, [url]);
_76  const uploadAvatar = async () => {
_76    try {
_76      const photo = await Camera.getPhoto({
_76        resultType: CameraResultType.DataUrl,
_76      });
_76
_76      const file = await fetch(photo.dataUrl!)
_76        .then((res) => res.blob())
_76        .then(
_76          (blob) =>
_76            new File([blob], 'my-file', { type: `image/${photo.format}` })
_76        );
_76
_76      const fileName = `${Math.random()}-${new Date().getTime()}.${
_76        photo.format
_76      }`;
_76      const { error: uploadError } = await supabase.storage
_76        .from('avatars')
_76        .upload(fileName, file);
_76      if (uploadError) {
_76        throw uploadError;
_76      }
_76      onUpload(null, fileName);
_76    } catch (error) {
_76      console.log(error);
_76    }
_76  };
_76
_76  const downloadImage = async (path: string) => {
_76    try {
_76      const { data, error } = await supabase.storage
_76        .from('avatars')
_76        .download(path);
_76      if (error) {
_76        throw error;
_76      }
_76      const url = URL.createObjectURL(data!);
_76      setAvatarUrl(url);
_76    } catch (error: any) {
_76      console.log('Error downloading image: ', error.message);
_76    }
_76  };
_76
_76  return (
_76    <div className="avatar">
_76    <div className="avatar_wrapper" onClick={uploadAvatar}>
_76      {avatarUrl ? (
_76        <img src={avatarUrl} />
_76      ) : (
_76        <IonIcon icon={person} className="no-avatar" />
_76      )}
_76    </div>
_76
_76    </div>
_76  );
_76}

And then we can add the widget to the Account page:

src/pages/Account.tsx


_15// Import the new component
_15
_15import { Avatar } from '../components/Avatar';
_15
_15// ...
_15return (
_15  <IonPage>
_15    <IonHeader>
_15      <IonToolbar>
_15        <IonTitle>Account</IonTitle>
_15      </IonToolbar>
_15    </IonHeader>
_15
_15    <IonContent>
_15      <Avatar url={profile.avatar_url} onUpload={updateProfile}></Avatar>

At this stage you have a fully functional application!

Build a User Management App with Ionic React

Project setup

Create a project

Set up the database schema

Get the API Keys

Building the app

Initialize an Ionic React app

Account page

Launch!

Bonus: Profile photos

Create an upload widget

Add the new widget

Build a User Management App with Ionic React

Project setup#

Create a project#

Set up the database schema#

Get the API Keys#

Building the app#

Initialize an Ionic React app#

Set up a login route#

Account page#

Launch!#

Bonus: Profile photos#

Create an upload widget#

Add the new widget#

Project setup

Create a project

Set up the database schema

Get the API Keys

Building the app

Initialize an Ionic React app

Set up a login route

Account page

Launch!

Bonus: Profile photos

Create an upload widget

Add the new widget