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

Makes your coding agent add Clerk sign-in to a Vite or CRA React app: provider, hooks, protected routes and custom flows.

Installs: 20K; on skills.sh
Stars: 89; on GitHub
Files: 11; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

The SKILL.md tells the agent to use @clerk/react in a client-only React app. It sets up ClerkProvider in main.tsx, guards on isLoaded before trusting isSignedIn, builds a protected route with React Router, and fetches a session token with getToken() for API calls.

It loads on Vite Clerk setup, useAuth, protected route and custom sign-in form questions. For Next.js the SKILL.md points to clerk-nextjs-patterns, and for TanStack Start to clerk-tanstack-patterns. You need a Clerk publishable key.

Good for

React SPA developers adding Clerk
Teams building custom sign-in forms
Anyone gating routes behind sign-in with React Router

Install clerk-react-patterns

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the clerk-react-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

React SPA auth patterns with @clerk/react for Vite/CRA - ClerkProvider setup, useAuth/useUser/useClerk hooks, React Router protected routes, custom sign-in flows. Triggers on: Vite Clerk setup, React Router auth, useAuth hook, protected route, custom sign-in form React.

Sections in SKILL.md

What Do You Need?
References
Setup
Mental Model
Minimal Pattern
Protected Route (React Router v6/v7)
Token for API Calls
Common Pitfalls
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: 19,996 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 89 for the whole clerk/skills repo (Nov 2, 2026)
Last repo commit: Oct 30, 2026
What it includes: 12 files including SKILL.md: 4 reference files, an evals/evals.json file and 6 files in a React starter template
Needs: `@clerk/react` and VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY in .env (SKILL.md setup)
Works in: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and GitHub Copilot CLI through the plugin; any agent through npx skills

What it includes

Install @clerk/react and wrap the app in ClerkProvider.
The SKILL.md shows an npm install, the Vite env variable and the main.tsx change that adds ClerkProvider.
Try: “Add Clerk to my Vite React app”
Runs code · Provider setup
Use useAuth, useUser and useClerk with an isLoaded guard.
Always checks isLoaded before isSignedIn. Source: references/hooks.md.
Try: “Show the signed-in user name in this React component”
Write · Hooks
Gate React Router routes behind sign-in.
Covers a ProtectedRoute component, router setup, organization-gated routes and prebuilt components. Source: references/protected-routes.md.
Try: “Protect /dashboard and /settings with Clerk”
Write · Protected routes
Build sign-in and sign-up forms with useSignIn and useSignUp.
Covers custom sign-in, custom sign-up, email verification and signIn.status values. Source: references/custom-flows.md.
Write · Custom flows
Place ClerkProvider correctly and wire redirect URLs.
Covers provider position, redirect URLs, the prebuilt sign-in component and useNavigate with Clerk actions. Source: references/router-integration.md.
Write · Router integration
Send the session token in an Authorization header.
Calls getToken() and sends it as a Bearer token with fetch.
Write · Token for API calls

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 setup runs an npm install of `@clerk/react`, adds a publishable key to `.env` and edits `src/main.tsx`. Review the diff before you commit it. 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-react-patterns do?

It makes your coding agent write Clerk sign-in code for a client-side React app: ClerkProvider, the auth hooks, protected routes with React Router and custom sign-in forms.

How do I install clerk-react-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-react-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-react-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 for the app you are building. The SKILL.md setup reads it from VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY.

Is clerk-react-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.

clerk-react-patterns vs clerk-react-router-patterns?

Use clerk-react-patterns for a Vite or CRA single-page app. Use clerk-react-router-patterns for React Router v7 or v8 apps with loaders and server rendering, where @clerk/react-router replaces @clerk/react.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

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

clerk/skills skills.sh

Sources

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

Show all 4

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