diff --git a/backend/tabby/middleware.py b/backend/tabby/middleware.py
index 5197501..44e0ed4 100644
--- a/backend/tabby/middleware.py
+++ b/backend/tabby/middleware.py
@@ -10,6 +10,94 @@ def __init__(self, get_response):
         self.get_response = get_response
 
 
+class ProxyAuthMiddleware(BaseMiddleware):
+    """
+    Middleware to authenticate users via auth proxy headers.
+
+    When running behind an authenticating proxy (like Authentik, Authelia,
+    or any ForwardAuth service), this middleware trusts the X-Auth-* headers
+    set by the proxy and automatically logs in users based on their email.
+
+    Headers:
+        X-Auth-User-Email: User's email address (required for auth)
+        X-Auth-User-Name: User's display name (optional)
+        X-Auth-User-Id: External user ID (optional)
+        X-Auth-Tenant-Id: Tenant ID (optional)
+
+    Enable by setting PROXY_AUTH_ENABLED=true in environment.
+    """
+
+    def __call__(self, request):
+        # Only process if proxy auth is enabled
+        if not getattr(settings, "PROXY_AUTH_ENABLED", False):
+            return self.get_response(request)
+
+        # Skip if user is already authenticated
+        if request.user.is_authenticated:
+            return self.get_response(request)
+
+        # Check for proxy auth header (Django converts X-Auth-User-Email to HTTP_X_AUTH_USER_EMAIL)
+        user_email = request.META.get("HTTP_X_AUTH_USER_EMAIL")
+        if not user_email:
+            return self.get_response(request)
+
+        # Get optional headers
+        user_name = request.META.get("HTTP_X_AUTH_USER_NAME", "")
+        tenant_id = request.META.get("HTTP_X_AUTH_TENANT_ID", "")
+
+        # Get or create user by email
+        user, created = User.objects.get_or_create(
+            email=user_email,
+            defaults={
+                "username": self._generate_username(user_email, user_name),
+                "first_name": user_name.split()[0] if user_name else "",
+                "last_name": " ".join(user_name.split()[1:]) if user_name else "",
+            }
+        )
+
+        if created:
+            logging.info(
+                f"ProxyAuthMiddleware: Created new user {user.username} "
+                f"(email={user_email}, tenant={tenant_id})"
+            )
+        else:
+            # Update name if provided and changed
+            if user_name and user.first_name != user_name.split()[0]:
+                user.first_name = user_name.split()[0] if user_name else ""
+                user.last_name = " ".join(user_name.split()[1:]) if user_name else ""
+                user.save(update_fields=["first_name", "last_name"])
+
+        # Log in the user
+        setattr(user, "backend", "django.contrib.auth.backends.ModelBackend")
+        login(request, user)
+        setattr(request, "_dont_enforce_csrf_checks", True)
+
+        # Store tenant info on request for potential future use
+        if tenant_id:
+            setattr(request, "tenant_id", tenant_id)
+
+        return self.get_response(request)
+
+    def _generate_username(self, email: str, name: str) -> str:
+        """Generate a unique username from email or name."""
+        # Try name first (without spaces)
+        if name:
+            base_username = name.replace(" ", "_").lower()[:30]
+        else:
+            # Use email prefix
+            base_username = email.split("@")[0].lower()[:30]
+
+        # Ensure uniqueness
+        username = base_username
+        counter = 1
+        while User.objects.filter(username=username).exists():
+            suffix = f"_{counter}"
+            username = base_username[: 30 - len(suffix)] + suffix
+            counter += 1
+
+        return username
+
+
 class TokenMiddleware(BaseMiddleware):
     def __call__(self, request):
         token_value = None
diff --git a/backend/tabby/settings.py b/backend/tabby/settings.py
index 0714461..a3459e9 100644
--- a/backend/tabby/settings.py
+++ b/backend/tabby/settings.py
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
     "django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware",
     "django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware",
     "django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware",
+    "tabby.middleware.ProxyAuthMiddleware",  # Must come after AuthenticationMiddleware
     "django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware",
     "django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware",
     "corsheaders.middleware.CorsMiddleware",
@@ -46,6 +47,10 @@
     "tabby.middleware.GAMiddleware",
 ]
 
+# Proxy authentication - enable when running behind an authenticating proxy
+# (Authentik, Authelia, etc.) that sets X-Auth-User-Email headers
+PROXY_AUTH_ENABLED = os.getenv("PROXY_AUTH_ENABLED", "").lower() in ("true", "1", "yes")
+
 ROOT_URLCONF = "tabby.urls"
 
 TEMPLATES = [
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 6202d8e..2a7b5ae 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,24 @@ services:
         - PORT=80
         - DEBUG=False
         - DOCKERIZE_ARGS="-wait tcp://db:3306 -timeout 60s"
+        #
+        # Authentication Options (choose one):
+        #
+        # Option 1: Proxy Authentication (Authentik, Authelia, etc.)
+        # Enable when running behind a reverse proxy that sets X-Auth-User-Email headers
+        # - PROXY_AUTH_ENABLED=true
+        #
+        # Option 2: OAuth Providers (GitHub, GitLab, Google, Microsoft)
+        # Uncomment and set credentials for providers you want to enable:
+        # - SOCIAL_AUTH_GITHUB_KEY=your_github_client_id
+        # - SOCIAL_AUTH_GITHUB_SECRET=your_github_client_secret
+        # - SOCIAL_AUTH_GITLAB_KEY=your_gitlab_client_id
+        # - SOCIAL_AUTH_GITLAB_SECRET=your_gitlab_client_secret
+        # - SOCIAL_AUTH_GOOGLE_OAUTH2_KEY=your_google_client_id
+        # - SOCIAL_AUTH_GOOGLE_OAUTH2_SECRET=your_google_client_secret
+        # - SOCIAL_AUTH_MICROSOFT_GRAPH_KEY=your_microsoft_client_id
+        # - SOCIAL_AUTH_MICROSOFT_GRAPH_SECRET=your_microsoft_client_secret
+        #
         # - APP_DIST_STORAGE="file:///app-dist"
 
     db: