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Hanko

Privacy-first, framework-agnostic authentication and user management platform

Identity & SSO

Hanko delivers a lightweight, API-first authentication suite supporting passwords, passkeys, MFA, OAuth, SAML and social logins, with customizable web components and self-hosted or cloud options.

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Overview

Overview

Hanko is a privacy‑first authentication and user‑management solution built on an API‑first, lightweight Go backend. It supports a full spectrum of modern auth methods—passwords, passkeys, MFA, OAuth social logins, and SAML—allowing developers to craft passwordless, mixed, or traditional flows.

Integration & Deployment

The platform is framework‑agnostic: developers can embed ready‑made Hanko Elements web components or use the hanko‑frontend‑sdk to build custom UIs. Deployment is flexible; the backend can run on bare metal or Docker, and a fully managed Hanko Cloud service is available for teams that prefer not to self‑host. Comprehensive documentation, example apps, and community channels help accelerate adoption.

Extensibility

Beyond core authentication, Hanko offers server‑side sessions with remote revocation, webhooks, and customizable OIDC/OAuth connections. Upcoming features include organization management, role‑based permissions, and native mobile SDKs, positioning Hanko as a scalable foundation for both B2C and B2B identity needs.

Highlights

Supports passwords, passkeys, MFA, OAuth, SAML, and social logins
Framework-agnostic Hanko Elements web components for quick UI integration
API-first backend with JWT, session revocation, and webhooks
Self-hostable via Docker or managed via Hanko Cloud

Pros

  • Privacy-first design minimizes data collection
  • Broad authentication method coverage
  • Flexible configuration for passwordless or mixed flows
  • Lightweight Go backend scales easily

Considerations

  • AGPL-3.0 license may restrict commercial use without a separate license
  • Full feature set requires integration effort beyond simple SDKs
  • Limited native SDKs for mobile platforms (iOS/Android pending)
  • Community support may be smaller than major commercial providers

Managed products teams compare with

When teams consider Hanko, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.

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Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.

Fit guide

Great for

  • Teams needing a privacy-centric, self-hosted auth solution
  • Developers who want framework-agnostic components
  • Products requiring passkey-first or multi-method authentication
  • Enterprises looking to avoid vendor lock-in

Not ideal when

  • Projects that cannot accommodate AGPL licensing without a commercial agreement
  • Teams seeking out-of-the-box UI without customization
  • Organizations requiring extensive native mobile SDKs today
  • Businesses that need 24/7 commercial support from a large vendor

How teams use it

Passwordless login for a SaaS dashboard

Users authenticate via WebAuthn passkeys, eliminating passwords and reducing phishing risk.

Enterprise SSO integration

Connects to existing SAML or OIDC providers, enabling single sign-on across internal applications.

Multi-factor authentication for a fintech app

Combines TOTP and security keys, meeting regulatory MFA requirements.

Custom branded login UI

Developers use Hanko Elements to embed a fully styled login component that matches the brand while handling all auth flows.

Tech snapshot

Go66%
TypeScript28%
HTML2%
CSS2%
Sass1%
Svelte1%

Tags

webauthnciamjwtfido2passkeysuser-managementoauthpasswordlesssso2famfaauthenticationsamliam

Frequently asked questions

Can Hanko be self-hosted?

Yes, you can run the Go backend and web components on your own infrastructure via Docker or bare-metal.

What licensing applies to the backend?

The backend is released under AGPL-3.0; commercial licensing is available on request.

Does Hanko support mobile platforms?

Core SDKs are web-focused; iOS, Android, React Native and Flutter SDKs are planned but not yet released.

How does Hanko handle session revocation?

Server-side sessions can be revoked remotely through the API, instantly invalidating tokens.

Is there a managed cloud offering?

Yes, Hanko Cloud provides a fully managed, scalable instance of the authentication service.

Project at a glance

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Repo age3 years old
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Self-hostingSupported
Primary languageGo

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