Common setup tasks in Kinde

Kinde is designed to fit the way you work — not the other way around. You have full control over how users authenticate, what your brand looks like, and how your app is structured.

Here are the most common setup tasks. Depending on your business structure and goals, you may complete some or all of them.

What you need

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• A Kinde account with Admin access (sign up for free)
• Familiarity with auth strategies and user management

Core setup

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Change authentication strategies

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By default, Kinde uses the Email + code authentication strategy for user sign-up and sign-in. You can enable different strategies for your app, including:

Passwordless connections:

• Email + code (default)
• Phone
• Username + code

Password connections:

• Email + password
• Username

To configure an authentication strategy:

1. Go to your application > View details > Authentication.
2. Enable the authentication strategy you want to use.
3. Select Save.

If you want to use phone or WhatsApp connections, you’ll need to configure those services separately. See the authentication methods page for details and setup instructions for each.

You can use different authentication strategies for different applications in your environment.

Set up social or enterprise connections

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You can let users sign in with social profiles like Google, Facebook, or GitHub, or use enterprise connections such as Microsoft Entra ID or SAML. To configure a social or enterprise connection:

1. Go to Settings > Environment > Authentication.

2. In the Social connections or Enterprise connections section, select Add connection.

3. In the window that appears, select the service you want to use and select Next.

4. Configure the connection details and select Save.

5. Go to your application > View details > Authentication and enable the connection you just added.

   

See the detailed guides for each auth method:

• Add social sign-in with Kinde
• Add enterprise connections with Kinde

Branding & customization

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Change authentication page design

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You can change the Kinde-hosted auth pages to match your brand:

1. Go to Kinde dashboard > Design to change your:

   • Brand assets like logo, favicon, avatar, and link colors
   • Sign-in and sign-up page content
   • Email content and copy
   • Custom code

Take a look at the guide for changing Kinde design and branding for more details.

Remove the Kinde branding

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You will need a Kinde paid plan to remove the Kinde branding.

You can remove the default “Powered by Kinde” logo from the auth pages:

1. Go to Kinde dashboard > select Your business name > Business details.
2. On the Global display settings page, disable the Show Kinde branding switch.

Add a custom domain

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Use your own domain to create a seamless user experience:

1. Go to your Kinde dashboard and select Settings > Environment > Custom domain.
2. Select Add custom domain.
3. In the dialog, enter your custom domain such as auth.yourcompany.com.
4. Select Save.

For detailed setup instructions, see the guide for using a custom domain.

Customize email sender

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You can customize the sender name, email copy, and design — or use your own SMTP provider for a fully branded messaging experience.

1. Go to Kinde dashboard > select Settings > Environment > Messaging > Email Sender.
2. Enter a Sender name to change the email sender details.
3. Enable Use custom sender to add your own SMTP details.
4. To change the email contents, go to your Kinde dashboard > Design > Email content and update the email copy.

See the guide for customizing email sender for more details.

User management

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Import users to Kinde

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You can add users directly from the Kinde dashboard or import them from another platform or database. To add an individual user:

1. Go to Kinde dashboard > Users > Add user.
2. Enter the user’s email address and select Save.
3. The user will receive an email to set their password.

To migrate users from platforms like Auth0, Clerk, or Firebase, see the dedicated migration guides.

Add user permissions and roles

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Use role-based access control to grant users access to different features and resources in your app.

Add user permissions:

1. Go to Kinde dashboard > Settings > User Management > Permissions.
2. Select Add permission and enter the permission name, description, and key.
3. Select Save.

Add user roles:

1. Go to Kinde dashboard > Settings > User Management > Roles.
2. Select Add role and enter the role name, description, and key.
3. Select the permissions that are included in the role by switching them on.
4. Select Save.

Add a role to a user:

1. Go to Kinde dashboard > Users > select the user you want to update.
2. Select Roles and enable the role you want to add to the user.
3. Select Save.

Learn more in the dedicated guides:

• Add user permissions
• Add and assign user roles

Growth tools

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Build your list

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You can build your mailing list with Kinde using a hosted request access page, an embeddable subscription form, or both.

Create a hosted “Request access” page:

1. Go to your Kinde dashboard > Design > Lead generation > Request access.
2. Add a background image and adjust the widget alignment.
3. Enter the success link URL (where users will be redirected after requesting access).
4. Check the Make page live switch.
5. Select Save.
6. Copy the Request access URL and share with your audience.

To change the content on the page:

1. Go to Page content in the menu and select Request Access from the dropdown.
2. Make the content changes you want and select Save.

Learn more about request access pages.

Create an embedded subscription form:

1. Go to your Kinde dashboard > Design > Lead generation > Subscribe.
2. Enter the success text — this is displayed after a user subscribes.
3. Enter the URL for the site where the form will appear. Note that you only need to include the root part of the URL, not the specific pages (e.g. https://kinde.com).
4. Select Save.
5. Select Get code. A popup appears.
6. Copy the HTML, CSS, and JS code and paste it into your website.

Once the form is activated, go to Users and select Subscribers to view everyone who has signed up. You can add, delete, and convert subscribers into users. Learn more about subscription forms.

Add analytics and tracking

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You will need a Kinde paid plan to add third-party analytics and tracking.

Kinde lets you add third-party analytics and tracking to your sign-in and sign-up pages. To add a tracking code:

1. Go to Kinde dashboard > Settings > Environment > Environment details.
2. Scroll to the Third-party analytics section and enter your preferred tracking code.
3. Select Save.

Learn more in the dedicated guides:

• Google Analytics
• Hotjar

You can also add UTM tags to your auth flows. See your preferred SDK page for details — here’s an example using UTM tags from the Next.js App Router SDK.

Next steps

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Once you’ve completed the basics, here are some ways to go further with Kinde:

• Use multi-tenancy and organizations in Kinde
• Enable Kinde Billing to get paid from your customers