Stytch and full-stack development

Stytch is an identity platform that enables developers to build scalable authentication, authorization, and fraud prevention. Whether you're working on an enterprise system or a new startup application, our developer tools are designed to be integrated with any tech stack and application architecture.

These guides provide a high-level explanation of the various methods in which Stytch can be implemented. If you are a developer who is planning to integrate Stytch into your application, we recommend reading these guides to determine the best approach or strategy.

How Stytch connects to your application

Stytch is an API-first cloud-based platform that primarily communicates with your application through RESTful HTTP calls. Stytch’s backend API exposes a comprehensive suite of resource-oriented endpoints that power your application’s identity management and authentication flows. This includes functionality and features like login and signup, invites, user management, session management, and more.

From anywhere in the tech stack, your application can call the Stytch API to trigger auth events and manage identity-related resources. Stych processes the operations, stores all created and updated records, and returns a response with the resulting data which your application’s logic then handles as needed.

Stytch full-stack diagram

A full-stack identity platform, Stytch works in tandem with your application to orchestrate authentication and authorization events.

How your application integrates with Stytch

Our developer toolkit provides you with multiple strategies and options when integrating with the Stytch API. There are three main methods for implementing Stytch:

  1. A backend server-side integration that calls the Stytch API directly or uses our backend SDKs.
  2. A frontend client-side integration that uses our frontend SDKs headlessly.
  3. A frontend client-side integration that uses our frontend SDKs with our pre-built UI components.

It’s important to note that these integration methods are ordered by their level of dependency in terms of implementation.

  1. A Stytch backend integration can be implemented as a standalone solution because it is the most flexible and feature-complete option.
  2. A Stytch frontend headless integration requires some backend integration to be effective.
  3. A Stytch frontend pre-built UI integration should leverage both the frontend headless and backend integrations to some degree.

Each Stytch integration approach offers unique advantages and is designed for flexible, multi-layered use. These strategies can be combined together to build a full-stack auth solution, tailored to the specific needs and structure of your application.

Which type of Stytch integration is right for you

We designed the Stytch API and SDKs to provide developers with maximum flexibility and precision. Ultimately, the integration methods you choose to use will depend on your application's unique requirements.

Here are some key differences to consider:

Pros and cons of implementation methods

We recommend reviewing the frontend implementation guides (pre-built UI and headless) and the backend implementation guide before choosing which type of Stytch integration you’d like to pursue.

Here's a brief overview and a list of developer tools available for each integration approach.

Frontend and client-side development

Our frontend and mobile SDKs enable you to build and manage your auth client-side. Use the frontend SDKs headlessly and wire them to your own custom-built UI. For a more out-of-the-box experience, utilize our frontend SDKs with our pre-built UI components and customize ready-to-use login and signup forms.

Below is a quick list of our options for client-side development.

Check out the SDKs reference for full documentation.

Read the guide for implementing pre-built UI components and for using our frontend SDK headlessly for more in-depth implementation details and considerations.

Backend and server-side development

Our backend API and SDKs integrate tightly with your application's server-side logic for maximum code control and flexibility. This implementation method enables you to build auth precisely to your requirements.

Below is a quick list of our options for server-side development:

Check out the API reference where you can select the language and backend SDK of your preference for full documentation.

Read the backend implementation guide for more in-depth implementation details and considerations.

What’s next

Learn how to implement our frontend SDK with pre-built UI components.

If you have additional questions about our different integration options, please feel free to reach out to us in our community Slack, our developer forum, or at support@stytch.com for further guidance.