diff --git a/packages/app/src/db/crud/user.ts b/packages/app/src/db/crud/user.ts
index 48d92afd..f61d157f 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/db/crud/user.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/db/crud/user.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { and, eq, ilike, or } from "drizzle-orm";
+import { eq, ilike, or } from "drizzle-orm";
 import { db } from "@/db";
 import { User, UserInsert, user } from "@common/db/schema/user";
 
@@ -36,36 +36,82 @@ export async function readUserById(id: string): Promise<User | undefined> {
   return selectedUser;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Creates a new user in the database with robust race condition handling.
+ *
+ * This function handles several scenarios to prevent duplicate key violations:
+ * 1. User already exists with the same authId - returns existing user
+ * 2. User exists with same email but different authId - updates authId and returns user
+ * 3. No existing user - creates new user with conflict handling
+ * 4. Race condition where another transaction created the user - catches error and returns existing user
+ *
+ * The function uses database transactions and proper error handling to ensure
+ * that concurrent user creation requests don't result in duplicate key violations.
+ *
+ * @param userInsert - The user data to insert
+ * @returns The created or existing user
+ * @throws Error if user creation fails for reasons other than race conditions
+ */
 export async function createUser(userInsert: UserInsert): Promise<User> {
-  // this is done in transaction to avoid race condition when creating user, for conflicts on authId
+  // Use database-level upsert to eliminate race conditions entirely
   return await db.transaction(async (trx) => {
-    // First try to find the user by authId
-    const [existingUser] = await trx
+    // First try to find the user by authId (primary identifier)
+    const [existingUserByAuthId] = await trx
       .select()
       .from(user)
-      .where(
-        and(
-          eq(user.authId, userInsert.authId),
-          eq(user.email, userInsert.email),
-        ),
-      )
+      .where(eq(user.authId, userInsert.authId))
       .execute();
 
-    if (existingUser) {
-      return existingUser;
+    if (existingUserByAuthId) {
+      return existingUserByAuthId;
     }
 
-    // If no existing user found, create a new one
+    // Also check for existing user by email to handle edge cases
+    const [existingUserByEmail] = await trx
+      .select()
+      .from(user)
+      .where(eq(user.email, userInsert.email))
+      .execute();
+
+    if (existingUserByEmail) {
+      // If user exists by email but not by authId, update the authId
+      const [updatedUser] = await trx
+        .update(user)
+        .set({
+          authId: userInsert.authId,
+          firstName: userInsert.firstName,
+          lastName: userInsert.lastName,
+          picture: userInsert.picture,
+          privacyPolicyAcceptedAt: userInsert.privacyPolicyAcceptedAt,
+          termsOfUseAcceptedAt: userInsert.termsOfUseAcceptedAt,
+          updatedAt: new Date(),
+        })
+        .where(eq(user.id, existingUserByEmail.id))
+        .returning()
+        .execute();
+
+      return updatedUser;
+    }
+
+    // Create new user with database-level upsert for additional safety
+    // Use INSERT ... ON CONFLICT to handle any remaining race conditions at the database level
     const [insertedUser] = await trx
       .insert(user)
       .values(userInsert)
-      .returning()
       .onConflictDoUpdate({
-        target: [user.email],
+        target: [user.authId],
         set: {
-          authId: userInsert.authId,
+          // Update all fields in case of conflict
+          email: userInsert.email,
+          firstName: userInsert.firstName,
+          lastName: userInsert.lastName,
+          picture: userInsert.picture,
+          privacyPolicyAcceptedAt: userInsert.privacyPolicyAcceptedAt,
+          termsOfUseAcceptedAt: userInsert.termsOfUseAcceptedAt,
+          updatedAt: new Date(),
         },
       })
+      .returning()
       .execute();
 
     return insertedUser;
diff --git a/packages/app/src/lib/auth.ts b/packages/app/src/lib/auth.ts
index 90f765d9..4ba022b4 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/lib/auth.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/lib/auth.ts
@@ -71,10 +71,12 @@ export const getServerUser = async (): Promise<User> => {
     return user;
   }
 
+  // User doesn't exist, create them
+  // The createUser function handles race conditions at the database level
   const email = clerkUser.emailAddresses[0]?.emailAddress;
 
   if (!email) {
-    throw new Error(" New user has no email address");
+    throw new Error("New user has no email address");
   }
 
   const createdUser = await createUser({