Nuxt 3 app using Httponly cookies losing authentification after page refresh

Hi all,

I have a Nuxt 3 frontend and Django backend deployed on DigitalOcean App platform. Authentication is implemented using HttpOnly cookies, and the application works correctly locally. However, in the production environment, when a user refreshes the page, there is a slight delay during which it appears as though the user is not logged in.

// /plugins/auth.ts

import { useAuthUser } from "../composables/useAuthUser"

export default defineNuxtPlugin(async () => {
    const user = useAuthUser()

    if(!user.value) {
        const { fetchUser } = useAuth();

        await fetchUser();
    }
});

1. The issue is specifically observed during page refresh in the production environment.
2. The authentication state, managed by HttpOnly cookies, appears to resolve with a slight delay, leading to a brief period where it seems the user is not logged in.
3. The problem does not occur in the local development environment.

Tested with Node.js versions 16.x and 20.x. The issue persists with both versions.

"engines": {
    "node": "20.x"
}

Thank you for any insights or suggestions provided.