React Quickstart

Set up a React application using Vite

Scaffold your new React application using Vite(opens in a new tab).

terminal
npm create vite@latest clerk-react@beta -- --template react-ts
cd clerk-react
npm install
npm run dev

terminal
yarn create vite clerk-react@beta --template react-ts
cd clerk-react
yarn install
yarn dev

terminal
pnpm create vite clerk-react@beta --template react-ts
cd clerk-react
pnpm install
pnpm dev

Install @clerk/clerk-react

Clerk's React SDK gives you access to prebuilt components, hooks, and helpers for React.

To get started using Clerk with React, add the SDK to your project:

terminal
npm install @clerk/clerk-react@beta

terminal
yarn add @clerk/clerk-react@beta

terminal
pnpm add @clerk/clerk-react@beta

Set your environment variables

1. If you don't have an .env.local file in the root directory of your React project, create one now.
2. Find your Clerk publishable key. If you're signed into Clerk, the .env.local snippet below will contain your key. Otherwise:

• Navigate to the Clerk Dashboard(opens in a new tab) and select your application.
• In the navigation sidebar, select API Keys.
• You can copy your key from the Quick Copy section.

3. Add your key to your .env.local file.

The final result should look as follows:

.env.local
VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY={{pub_key}}

Import the Clerk publishable key

You will need to import your Clerk publishable key into your application. You can add an if statement to check that it is imported and that it exists. This will prevent running the application without the publishable key, and will also prevent TypeScript errors.

src/main.tsx
import React from 'react'
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client'
import App from './App.tsx'
import './index.css'
 
// Import your publishable key
const PUBLISHABLE_KEY = import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
 
if (!PUBLISHABLE_KEY) {
  throw new Error("Missing Publishable Key")
}
 
ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root')!).render(
  <React.StrictMode>
      <App />
  </React.StrictMode>,
)

Add <ClerkProvider> to your app

All Clerk hooks and components must be children of the <ClerkProvider> component, which provides active session and user context.

To make this data available across your entire app, wrap your app in the <ClerkProvider> component. You must pass your publishable key as a prop to the <ClerkProvider> component.

src/main.tsx
import React from 'react'
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client'
import App from './App.tsx'
import './index.css'
import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/clerk-react'
 
// Import your publishable key
const PUBLISHABLE_KEY = import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
 
if (!PUBLISHABLE_KEY) {
  throw new Error("Missing Publishable Key")
}
 
ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root')!).render(
  <React.StrictMode>
    <ClerkProvider publishableKey={PUBLISHABLE_KEY}>
      <App />
    </ClerkProvider>
  </React.StrictMode>,
)

Create a header with Clerk components

You can control which content signed in and signed out users can see with Clerk's prebuilt components. To get started, create a header for your users to sign in or out. To do this, you will use:

• <SignedIn>: Children of this component can only be seen while signed in.
• <SignedOut>: Children of this component can only be seen while signed out.
• <UserButton />: A prebuilt component that comes styled out of the box to show the avatar from the account the user is signed in with.
• <SignInButton />: An unstyled component that links to the sign-in page or displays the sign-in modal.

src/App.tsx
import { SignedIn, SignedOut, SignInButton, UserButton } from "@clerk/clerk-react";
 
export default function App() {
  return (
    <header>
      <SignedOut>
        <SignInButton />
      </SignedOut>
      <SignedIn>
        <UserButton />
      </SignedIn>
    </header>
  )
}

Then, visit your app's homepage at http://localhost:5173 while signed out to see the sign-in button. Once signed in, your app will render the user button.