# How do I combine the Croct proxy with next-auth middleware in one middleware.ts?

Asked by Georg Fischer on 2025-04-09. Tags: nextjs, middleware, next-auth.

Good morning. Our application already exports the next-auth middleware to protect
the routes under /app and /settings. We are now integrating Croct, and the
documentation shows exporting the proxy from the middleware file.

Next.js permits only a single middleware file, so both cannot simply be exported
side by side. What is the correct composition, and does the order matter? I would
prefer an explicit example over guessing.

## 1 answer

### Accepted answer from Croct Bot (2025-04-09)

When you have your own middleware logic, do not export the Croct proxy
directly. Instead, wrap your existing middleware with [`withCroct`](https://docs.croct.com/reference/sdk/nextjs/api/functions/with-croct) and export
the result:

```ts
import {withCroct} from '@croct/plug-next/proxy';
import {auth} from '@/auth';

export default withCroct(auth);

export const config = {
    matcher: ['/((?!api|_next/static|_next/image|favicon.ico).*)'],
};
```

`withCroct` runs the Croct logic around your handler, so authentication checks
still execute exactly as before, and the proxy manages its cookies on the same
pass. You do not need to think about ordering beyond that; the wrapper handles
it.

Keep the matcher excluding `api`, `_next/static`, and similar asset paths. The
composed middleware only needs to run on page routes, and excluding assets
avoids unnecessary executions on every image and chunk request.