---

name: clerk-install-auth description: | Install and configure Clerk SDK/CLI authentication. Use when setting up a new Clerk integration, configuring API keys, or initializing Clerk in your project. Trigger with phrases like "install clerk", "setup clerk", "clerk auth", "configure clerk API key", "add clerk to project". allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash(npm:), Bash(pnpm:), Grep version: 1.0.0 license: MIT author: Jeremy Longshore jeremy@intentsolutions.io

Clerk Install & Auth

Overview

Set up Clerk SDK and configure authentication credentials for your application.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (Next.js, React, Express, etc.)
• Package manager (npm, pnpm, or yarn)
• Clerk account with API access
• Publishable and Secret keys from Clerk dashboard

Instructions

Step 1: Install SDK

# Next.js
npm install @clerk/nextjs

# React
npm install @clerk/clerk-react

# Express/Node.js
npm install @clerk/express

# Remix
npm install @clerk/remix

Step 2: Configure Environment Variables

# Create .env.local file
cat >> .env.local << 'EOF'
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_...
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_...
EOF

Step 3: Add ClerkProvider (Next.js App Router)

// app/layout.tsx
import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/nextjs'

export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider>
      <html lang="en">
        <body>{children}</body>
      </html>
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}

Step 4: Add Middleware

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

export default clerkMiddleware()

export const config = {
  matcher: [
    '/((?!_next|[^?]*\\.(?:html?|css|js(?!on)|jpe?g|webp|png|gif|svg|ttf|woff2?|ico|csv|docx?|xlsx?|zip|webmanifest)).*)',
    '/(api|trpc)(.*)',
  ],
}

Step 5: Verify Connection

import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

export async function GET() {
  const { userId } = await auth()
  return Response.json({ authenticated: !!userId })
}

Output

• Installed SDK package in node_modules
• Environment variables configured in .env.local
• ClerkProvider wrapping application
• Middleware protecting routes

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Invalid API Key	Incorrect or mismatched keys	Verify keys in Clerk dashboard match environment
ClerkProvider Missing	SDK used outside provider	Wrap app root with ClerkProvider
Middleware Not Running	Matcher misconfigured	Check matcher regex in middleware.ts
Module Not Found	Installation failed	Run npm install @clerk/nextjs again

Examples

Next.js App Router Setup

// app/layout.tsx
import { ClerkProvider, SignInButton, SignedIn, SignedOut, UserButton } from '@clerk/nextjs'

export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider>
      <html lang="en">
        <body>
          <header>
            <SignedOut>
              <SignInButton />
            </SignedOut>
            <SignedIn>
              <UserButton />
            </SignedIn>
          </header>
          {children}
        </body>
      </html>
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}

React SPA Setup

import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/clerk-react'

const PUBLISHABLE_KEY = import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY

function App() {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider publishableKey={PUBLISHABLE_KEY}>
      <Router />
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}

Resources

• Clerk Documentation
• Clerk Dashboard
• Clerk Status

Next Steps

After successful auth, proceed to clerk-hello-world for your first authenticated request.