diff --git a/src/middleware/auth.js b/src/middleware/auth.js
index 155874d..84f13e4 100644
--- a/src/middleware/auth.js
+++ b/src/middleware/auth.js
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import { auth } from 'express-oauth2-jwt-bearer';
 import bcrypt from 'bcryptjs';
 import { dbGet, dbRun } from '../db/database.js';
 import { ApiResponse } from '../utils/helpers.js';
@@ -8,9 +7,10 @@ const SALT_ROUNDS = 12;
 
 // Auth0 configuration from environment
 const AUTH0_DOMAIN = process.env.AUTH0_DOMAIN || 'dev-t13zhs74oltgqtfx.us.auth0.com';
-const AUTH0_AUDIENCE = process.env.AUTH0_AUDIENCE || `https://${AUTH0_DOMAIN}/api/v2/`;
-const AUTH0_CLIENT_ID = process.env.AUTH0_CLIENT_ID;
-const AUTH0_CLIENT_SECRET = process.env.AUTH0_CLIENT_SECRET;
+
+// Simple in-memory cache for userinfo to reduce API calls
+const userInfoCache = new Map();
+const CACHE_TTL = 5 * 60 * 1000; // 5 minutes
 
 /**
  * Hash a password (for API keys and local use)
@@ -32,13 +32,72 @@ export const comparePassword = async (password, hash) => {
 };
 
 /**
- * Auth0 JWT validation middleware
- * Validates the access token from Auth0
+ * Fetch user info from Auth0 using the access token
+ * Works with both opaque tokens and JWTs
  */
-export const validateAccessToken = auth({
-  issuerBaseURL: `https://${AUTH0_DOMAIN}`,
-  audience: AUTH0_AUDIENCE,
-});
+async function fetchUserInfo(accessToken) {
+  // Check cache first
+  const cached = userInfoCache.get(accessToken);
+  if (cached && Date.now() - cached.timestamp < CACHE_TTL) {
+    return cached.data;
+  }
+
+  const response = await fetch(`https://${AUTH0_DOMAIN}/userinfo`, {
+    headers: {
+      'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`
+    }
+  });
+
+  if (!response.ok) {
+    const error = await response.text();
+    throw new Error(`Auth0 userinfo failed: ${response.status} ${error}`);
+  }
+
+  const userInfo = await response.json();
+  
+  // Cache the result
+  userInfoCache.set(accessToken, {
+    data: userInfo,
+    timestamp: Date.now()
+  });
+
+  return userInfo;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Validate access token and attach user info to request
+ * Works with both opaque tokens and JWTs from Auth0
+ */
+export const validateAccessToken = async (req, res, next) => {
+  const authHeader = req.headers.authorization;
+
+  if (!authHeader || !authHeader.startsWith('Bearer ')) {
+    return res.status(401).json(ApiResponse(false, null, 'Authorization header required'));
+  }
+
+  const accessToken = authHeader.substring(7); // Remove 'Bearer ' prefix
+
+  try {
+    const userInfo = await fetchUserInfo(accessToken);
+    
+    // Attach to request
+    req.auth = {
+      payload: {
+        sub: userInfo.sub,
+        email: userInfo.email,
+        name: userInfo.name,
+        nickname: userInfo.nickname,
+        picture: userInfo.picture,
+        email_verified: userInfo.email_verified
+      }
+    };
+    
+    next();
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Token validation error:', error.message);
+    return res.status(401).json(ApiResponse(false, null, 'Invalid or expired token'));
+  }
+};
 
 /**
  * Check if user exists in our database, create if not (first-time Auth0 login)
@@ -46,7 +105,7 @@ export const validateAccessToken = auth({
  */
 export const ensureUserExists = async (req, res, next) => {
   try {
-    // Auth0 payload from JWT
+    // Auth0 payload from userinfo
     const auth0User = req.auth?.payload;
     
     if (!auth0User) {
@@ -55,9 +114,9 @@ export const ensureUserExists = async (req, res, next) => {
 
     // Extract Auth0 user ID (sub claim)
     const auth0Id = auth0User.sub;
-    const email = auth0User.email || auth0User['https://moxiegen.client.guacamolebox.net/email'];
-    const name = auth0User.name || auth0User.nickname || auth0User['https://moxiegen.client.guacamolebox.net/name'];
-    const picture = auth0User.picture || auth0User['https://moxiegen.client.guacamolebox.net/picture'];
+    const email = auth0User.email;
+    const name = auth0User.name || auth0User.nickname;
+    const picture = auth0User.picture;
 
     // Check if user exists by auth0_id
     let user = await dbGet('SELECT * FROM users WHERE auth0_id = ?', [auth0Id]);
@@ -119,7 +178,7 @@ export const ensureUserExists = async (req, res, next) => {
 
 /**
  * Combined Auth0 authentication middleware
- * Validates JWT and ensures user exists in database
+ * Validates token via userinfo and ensures user exists in database
  */
 export const authenticateToken = [validateAccessToken, ensureUserExists];
 
@@ -133,24 +192,20 @@ export const optionalAuth = async (req, res, next) => {
   if (!authHeader || !authHeader.startsWith('Bearer ')) {
     req.user = null;
     req.auth0 = null;
+    req.auth = null;
     return next();
   }
 
   try {
-    // Try to validate the token
-    await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-      validateAccessToken(req, res, (err) => {
-        if (err) reject(err);
-        else resolve();
-      });
+    await validateAccessToken(req, res, (err) => {
+      if (err) throw err;
     });
-
-    // If valid, ensure user exists
     await ensureUserExists(req, res, next);
   } catch (error) {
     // Token invalid or missing - continue without user
     req.user = null;
     req.auth0 = null;
+    req.auth = null;
     next();
   }
 };
@@ -220,6 +275,16 @@ setInterval(() => {
   }
 }, 60000);
 
+// Clean up userinfo cache periodically
+setInterval(() => {
+  const now = Date.now();
+  for (const [token, cached] of userInfoCache.entries()) {
+    if (now - cached.timestamp > CACHE_TTL) {
+      userInfoCache.delete(token);
+    }
+  }
+}, CACHE_TTL);
+
 /**
  * Check if user has required scope/permission
  * @param {string} scope - Required scope