Clerk Authentication Patterns

Authentication integration patterns for Clerk with Next.js and Convex backends.

Core Concepts

Authentication Flow

•User authenticates via Clerk (sign-in/sign-up)
•Clerk issues session token (JWT)
•Frontend passes token to backend
•Backend verifies token and extracts user identity

Key Components

•Clerk Dashboard: User management, JWT templates, webhooks
•@clerk/nextjs: React hooks, middleware, components
•Convex auth: ctx.auth.getUserIdentity() for backend verification

Next.js Setup

Middleware

typescript

// middleware.ts
import { clerkMiddleware, createRouteMatcher } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

const isPublicRoute = createRouteMatcher([
  '/',
  '/sign-in(.*)',
  '/sign-up(.*)',
  '/api/webhooks(.*)',  // Webhooks must be public
])

export default clerkMiddleware((auth, req) => {
  if (!isPublicRoute(req)) {
    auth().protect()
  }
})

export const config = {
  matcher: ['/((?!.*\\..*|_next).*)', '/', '/(api|trpc)(.*)'],
}

Environment Variables

bash

# .env.local
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_xxx
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_xxx
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL=/sign-in
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL=/sign-up

Critical: Set on BOTH Vercel and local. Mismatch causes silent failures.

Convex Integration

JWT Template (Clerk Dashboard)

Create JWT template named convex:

json

{
  "sub": "{{user.id}}",
  "iss": "https://clerk.your-domain.com",
  "email": "{{user.primary_email_address}}",
  "name": "{{user.full_name}}"
}

Template name is case-sensitive. Must match convex/auth.config.ts.

Convex Auth Config

typescript

// convex/auth.config.ts
export default {
  providers: [
    {
      domain: process.env.CLERK_JWT_ISSUER_DOMAIN,
      applicationID: "convex",
    },
  ],
}

Backend User Identity

typescript

// convex/users.ts
import { query, mutation } from "./_generated/server"

export const getCurrentUser = query({
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const identity = await ctx.auth.getUserIdentity()
    if (!identity) return null

    // identity contains JWT claims:
    // - subject (Clerk user ID)
    // - email
    // - name
    return identity
  },
})

Webhook Handling

Webhook URL

Configure in Clerk Dashboard → Webhooks:

•URL: https://your-app.com/api/webhooks/clerk
•Events: user.created, user.updated, user.deleted

Webhook Handler

typescript

// app/api/webhooks/clerk/route.ts
import { Webhook } from 'svix'
import { headers } from 'next/headers'
import { WebhookEvent } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

export async function POST(req: Request) {
  const WEBHOOK_SECRET = process.env.CLERK_WEBHOOK_SECRET

  if (!WEBHOOK_SECRET) {
    throw new Error('Missing CLERK_WEBHOOK_SECRET')
  }

  const headerPayload = headers()
  const svix_id = headerPayload.get('svix-id')
  const svix_timestamp = headerPayload.get('svix-timestamp')
  const svix_signature = headerPayload.get('svix-signature')

  if (!svix_id || !svix_timestamp || !svix_signature) {
    return new Response('Missing svix headers', { status: 400 })
  }

  const payload = await req.json()
  const body = JSON.stringify(payload)

  const wh = new Webhook(WEBHOOK_SECRET)
  let evt: WebhookEvent

  try {
    evt = wh.verify(body, {
      'svix-id': svix_id,
      'svix-timestamp': svix_timestamp,
      'svix-signature': svix_signature,
    }) as WebhookEvent
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('Webhook verification failed:', err)
    return new Response('Invalid signature', { status: 400 })
  }

  // Handle events
  switch (evt.type) {
    case 'user.created':
      // Sync user to database
      break
    case 'user.updated':
      // Update user in database
      break
    case 'user.deleted':
      // Handle user deletion
      break
  }

  return new Response('OK', { status: 200 })
}

Common Issues

"Unauthenticated" errors

•Check JWT template name matches config
•Verify CLERK_JWT_ISSUER_DOMAIN is set
•Ensure middleware isn't blocking auth routes

Webhook failures

•Verify CLERK_WEBHOOK_SECRET is set (not just locally)
•Check webhook URL uses canonical domain (no redirects)
•Ensure /api/webhooks/* is in public routes

Session not persisting

•Check cookies are being set (dev tools)
•Verify domain configuration in Clerk Dashboard
•Ensure HTTPS in production

Best Practices

•Sync users via webhooks, not on-demand
•Store Clerk ID as foreign key in your database
•Use currentUser() for server components
•Use useUser() for client components
•Protect API routes with auth() in route handlers
•Keep JWT templates minimal (only needed claims)

References

•references/convex-integration.md — Detailed Convex auth patterns
•references/webhook-events.md — Clerk webhook event types
•references/troubleshooting.md — Common issues and solutions

Related Skills

•billing-security — Payment and auth security patterns
•external-integration-patterns — General external service integration
•env-var-hygiene — Environment variable management