node-oidc-provider vs Pocket ID
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Pocket ID
Simple OIDC provider that uses only passkeys
| Feature | node-oidc-provider | Pocket ID |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | JavaScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | source, docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,816 | ★ 9,266 |
| First released | 2016 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Okta | Auth0, Authelia |
What are node-oidc-provider and Pocket ID?
node-oidc-provider
node-oidc-provider is an open-source, certified OpenID Connect and OAuth 2.0 provider implementation for Node.js. It can be self-hosted to issue tokens and act as an identity provider for applications.
- Certified OIDC provider
- OAuth 2.0 support
- Embeddable in Node apps
- Standards compliant
Pocket ID
Pocket ID is an open-source, simple OpenID Connect provider that authenticates users exclusively with passkeys. It is self-hosted to add passwordless SSO to applications with minimal configuration.
- Passkey-only authentication
- Simple OIDC provider
- Minimal configuration
- Lightweight
node-oidc-provider vs Pocket ID: key differences
Node-oidc-provider is written in JavaScript, while Pocket ID is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for node-oidc-provider versus BSD-2-Clause for Pocket ID. Pocket ID is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for node-oidc-provider. Node-oidc-provider is the more established project (first released 2016), while Pocket ID arrived in 2024. Pocket ID has the considerably larger community, at 9,266 GitHub stars versus 3,816.
Why pick each one
Choose node-oidc-provider if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Choose Pocket ID if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.3k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is node-oidc-provider or Pocket ID better?
Pocket ID is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider node-oidc-provider if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are node-oidc-provider and Pocket ID free and open-source?
Yes. node-oidc-provider is licensed under MIT and Pocket ID under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run node-oidc-provider and Pocket ID with Docker?
node-oidc-provider: yes. Pocket ID: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, node-oidc-provider or Pocket ID?
Pocket ID has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for node-oidc-provider. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.