{"data":{"slug":"iron-session","name":"iron-session","tagline":"MIT stateless encrypted cookie sessions for JavaScript","category":"nextjs","categoryName":"Next.js","url":"https://get-iron-session.vercel.app","github":"https://github.com/vvo/iron-session","pricing":"open-source","hook":"iron-session is a secure, stateless session library for JavaScript: session data lives in signed and encrypted cookies that your server decodes without a database or network call.","whatsGood":"MIT (vvo/iron-session), release v9.0.1 (2026-08-30). Featured in the Next.js docs, it works with the App Router, route handlers, server actions, Express and other Node-style runtimes. It is the same technique Rails uses for cookie sessions. Online demo with examples. ★~4.1k.","theCatch":"v9 requires Node 22.13+ and is ESM-only, so upgrading from v8 needs code changes. Cookies cap out at about 4 KB, so store IDs, not big objects. Stateless sessions cannot be revoked server-side without extra bookkeeping. It manages sessions; login, OAuth and passwords are up to you.","verdict":"The simplest secure session layer for a Next.js app.","addedAt":"2026-10-18","featured":false,"domain":"Next.js","subSpecialty":"App Platform","subcategory":"App Platform","tags":["self-host","permissive","security","active"],"capabilities":[],"surfaces":["Self-host"],"ecosystem":["Node.js","Browser"],"licenseModel":"OSS/MIT","githubStars":4148,"starsPerWeek":12,"access":"free","archived":false,"repo":{"createdAt":"2020-03-05","pushedAt":"2026-10-12","license":"MIT","archived":false,"checkedAt":"2026-10-19"}},"related":[{"slug":"vercel","name":"Vercel","tagline":"The platform that made Next.js deployment trivial"},{"slug":"prisma","name":"Prisma","tagline":"Type-safe database access with killer DX"},{"slug":"drizzle","name":"Drizzle ORM","tagline":"TypeScript ORM that feels like SQL"},{"slug":"trpc","name":"tRPC","tagline":"End-to-end typesafe APIs without codegen"},{"slug":"clerk","name":"Clerk","tagline":"Auth that actually ships with your UI"}],"links":{"self":"/api/gems/iron-session","html":"/gems/iron-session","markdown":"/gems/iron-session.md","category":"/api/gems?category=nextjs","categoryPage":"/stacks/nextjs"}}