clerk-hello-world

name	clerk-hello-world
description	Create your first authenticated request with Clerk. Use when making initial API calls, testing authentication, or verifying Clerk integration works correctly. Trigger with phrases like "clerk hello world", "first clerk request", "test clerk auth", "verify clerk setup".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Bash(npm:*), Grep
version	1.14.0
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
tags	["saas","clerk","api","testing","authentication"]
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code, also compatible with Codex and OpenClaw

Clerk Hello World

Overview

Make your first authenticated requests using Clerk across server components, client components, API routes, and server actions. Validates your Clerk integration end-to-end.

Prerequisites

• Clerk SDK installed (clerk-install-auth completed)
• Environment variables configured (NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY, CLERK_SECRET_KEY)
• ClerkProvider wrapping application root
• Middleware configured at project root

Instructions

Step 1: Server Component — auth() and currentUser()

// app/dashboard/page.tsx
import { auth, currentUser } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
import { redirect } from 'next/navigation'

export default async function DashboardPage() {
  // auth() is lightweight — reads JWT from the session cookie, no API call
  const { userId } = await auth()

  if (!userId) redirect('/sign-in')

  // currentUser() makes a Backend API call — use sparingly, counts toward rate limit
  const user = await currentUser()

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Hello, {user?.firstName || 'User'}!</h1>
      <p>User ID: {userId}</p>
      <p>Email: {user?.emailAddresses[0]?.emailAddress}
      Created: {user?.createdAt ? new Date(user.createdAt).toLocaleDateString() : 'N/A'}
    
  )
}