clerk-astro-patterns Skill: What It Does and How to Install It

Makes your coding agent add Clerk sign-in to an Astro 5 site: middleware, SSR pages, islands and API routes.

Installs: 14.5K; on skills.sh
Stars: 89; on GitHub
Files: 13; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

The SKILL.md tells the agent to use @clerk/astro v4+ with Astro 5+. It explains that SSR pages read auth with Astro.locals.auth(), static pages skip the middleware, and islands use hooks from @clerk/astro/react. It also says createRouteMatcher was removed in @clerk/astro 4.0, so each page and API route checks for itself.

It loads on Astro Clerk middleware, protected pages, island components and API route auth questions. You need a Clerk publishable key and secret key.

Good for

Astro developers adding Clerk
Teams mixing static and server-rendered pages
Anyone protecting Astro API routes

Install clerk-astro-patterns

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the clerk-astro-patterns skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

/plugin marketplace add clerk/skills
/plugin install clerk@clerk-skills

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Pick one route. The plugin installs all 20 skills in the Clerk repo (counted from the repo tree) and adds the Clerk MCP server from the repo's .mcp.json, which points at https://mcp.clerk.com/mcp. The skills-only routes install just this skill and no MCP server config. The README says to open /plugin, go to Marketplaces, select clerk-skills and enable auto-update if you want updates.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Astro patterns with Clerk — middleware, SSR pages, island components, API routes, static vs SSR rendering. Triggers on: astro clerk, clerk astro middleware, astro protected page, clerk island component, astro API route auth, clerk astro SSR.

Sections in SKILL.md

What Do You Need?
Mental Model
Setup
astro.config.mjs
src/middleware.ts
SSR Page Auth
API Route Auth
Common Pitfalls
Import Map
Env Variables
See Also
Docs

Key facts

Author: Clerk (the skill is in Clerk's own clerk/skills repo)
License: MIT (README, plugin.json and SKILL.md frontmatter; the repo has no LICENSE file)
Installs on skills.sh: 14,528 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 89 for the whole clerk/skills repo (Nov 2, 2026)
Last repo commit: Oct 30, 2026
What it includes: 14 files including SKILL.md: 5 reference files, an evals/evals.json file and 7 files in an Astro starter template
Needs: `@clerk/astro` v4+ and Astro 5+; PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY and CLERK_SECRET_KEY in .env (SKILL.md)
Works in: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and GitHub Copilot CLI through the plugin; any agent through npx skills

What it includes

Add the clerk() integration and a bare clerkMiddleware().
Sets output to server in astro.config.mjs and exports clerkMiddleware from src/middleware.ts. Source: SKILL.md and references/middleware.md.
Try: “Add Clerk to my Astro site”
Write · Integration and middleware
Redirect signed-out visitors using Astro.locals.auth().
Covers basic auth checks, organization-scoped pages, fetching the current user and getToken for external APIs. Source: references/ssr-pages.md.
Try: “Protect my /dashboard Astro page with Clerk”
Write · SSR page auth
Use useAuth and prebuilt UI in React, Vue or Svelte islands.
Covers hooks in islands, client directives and prebuilt components. Source: references/island-components.md.
Write · Island components
Return 401 from API routes when no user is signed in.
Covers basic checks, organization checks, permission checks and clerkClient. Source: references/api-routes.md.
Try: “Require sign-in on my POST /api/data route”
Write · API route auth
Add the React integration and use Clerk components in React files.
Covers setup, which includes an `npx astro add react` command, and the difference between Astro and React Clerk components. Source: references/astro-react.md.
Runs code · Astro with React
Fix undefined Astro.locals.auth and wrong import paths.
A symptom table and an import map for @clerk/astro/server, /react, /client and /components.
Read · Pitfalls and import map

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

The skill makes an agent change code in your project and add Clerk keys to your env file, so a wrong edit lands in your own app. Review the diff before you commit it and keep the secret key out of git.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It edits files in your project
The SKILL.md and its references can have the agent edit `astro.config.mjs`, `src/middleware.ts` and pages, and run `npx astro add react` for the React setup. Review the diff and keep CLERK_SECRET_KEY out of version control. github.com
The plugin route also adds the Clerk MCP server
The plugin's .mcp.json registers https://mcp.clerk.com/mcp. Use the skills CLI route if you only want this skill. github.com

Security advisories

No published security advisories as of Nov 2, 2026.

Technical details

Turning on read-only	No read-only mode.
Talks to	WebFetch tool (the frontmatter allows it; the SKILL.md links point at clerk.com/docs)
Sign-in and keys	The SKILL.md shows Clerk keys going into your project's env file.
Scopes	Your project files Clerk keys in your env file

Questions

What does clerk-astro-patterns do?

It makes your coding agent write Clerk sign-in code for an Astro site: middleware, protected SSR pages, island components and API route checks.

How do I install clerk-astro-patterns?

Use the install box above. The Claude Code plugin route installs every Clerk skill and the Clerk MCP server, and the skills CLI route installs only this skill. Pick one route, not both, or you get the skills twice.

Is clerk-astro-patterns official?

Yes. It is published in Clerk's own clerk/skills repository, and the plugin.json in that repo lists Clerk as the author.

Does clerk-astro-patterns work in the Claude app or Codex?

Codex, Cursor and GitHub Copilot CLI each have a plugin install in the README. The README does not document uploading Clerk skills to the Claude app, and this skill's job is to change code in a local project, so the install box has no Claude app tab.

Does it need a Clerk account or API key?

You need a Clerk publishable key and secret key for the app you are building. The SKILL.md shows them in .env as PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY and CLERK_SECRET_KEY.

Is clerk-astro-patterns safe to install?

Its SKILL.md makes the agent change files in your project and use Clerk keys from your env file, and its frontmatter allows the WebFetch tool. Our advice: read each change before you commit it, and keep the secret key out of git.

How does it handle static pages?

Static pages marked prerender = true skip the Clerk middleware, so the SKILL.md says to use client-side hooks in an island or set prerender = false for pages that need auth.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: clerk/skills
Folder: skills/clerk-astro-patterns

clerk/skills skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 4

clerk-astro-patterns SKILL.md · github.com
clerk/skills README · github.com
clerk plugin.json · github.com
clerk .mcp.json · github.com