Expired JWT token causes redirect without error event in Nuxt Auth

Direct answer

Nuxt Auth does not emit an error or a global event when it detects an expired JWT access token. The module treats expiry as an expected state change and silently redirects to the route defined in redirect.login. Consequently, a global error handler will not receive a 401 from this redirect unless you make an actual API request after the redirect has already occurred.

Confirmed facts

• The onAuthError callback fires only for errors returned from the auth endpoint (e.g., 401/403) or when a token‑refresh attempt fails; it is not triggered by the mere reading of an expired token.
• If you enable automatic refresh by setting refreshDelay (or token.refreshDelay in v5), the module will attempt to refresh the token before it expires. A successful refresh prevents the redirect; a failed refresh then invokes onAuthError.
• Calling $auth.refresh() manually is only needed when you want to trigger a refresh on demand; the automatic refresh handled by refreshDelay runs without manual invocation.

Steps to observe or handle expiry

1. Check which version of @nuxtjs/auth-next you are using (v4 vs v5) because option names differ.
2. To get an explicit event when expiry occurs, enable automatic refresh:

   // nuxt.config.js (v4 example)
   export default {
     auth: {
       strategies: { /* … */ },
       refreshDelay: 5000 // attempt refresh 5 s before expiry
     }
   }
   

3. If the refresh fails, onAuthError will fire; you can handle it globally:

   // plugins/auth.js
   export default ({ $auth, error }) => {
     $auth.onAuthError((err) => {
       // send to analytics, log, etc.
       console.warn('Auth error:', err);
     });
   }
   

4. If you prefer not to rely on refresh, add a router guard to detect the silent redirect:

   // router.js
   export default function ({ store, redirect }) {
     return (to, from, next) => {
       if (store.state.auth.loggedIn === false && to.path !== '/login') {
         // token likely expired; emit custom event or log
         window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('auth-expired'));
         return redirect('/login');
       }
       next();
     };
   }
   

Missing diagnostic detail

Which version of @nuxtjs/auth-next are you installed with? The answer changes the exact option names (refreshDelay vs token.refreshDelay) and the way you access the auth instance.