Clerk Testing & Validation

Comprehensive testing and validation toolkit for Clerk authentication integrations. Provides test templates, validation scripts, security audit tools, and E2E testing patterns for sign-in, sign-up, session management, and multi-factor authentication flows.

Instructions

When Validating Clerk Setup

1. Run Configuration Validation

   • Execute scripts/validate-setup.sh to verify:
     • Environment variables (CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY, CLERK_SECRET_KEY)
     • Middleware configuration
     • Protected routes setup
     • Provider configuration (Google, GitHub, etc.)
   • Check output for missing configurations or security warnings
   • Review generated validation report

2. What Gets Validated

   • Environment variable presence and format
   • API key validity (publishable vs secret key patterns)
   • ClerkProvider wrapper in app structure
   • Middleware configuration in middleware.ts/js
   • Protected route patterns in route configuration
   • CORS and domain settings for production

When Testing Authentication Flows

1. Run E2E Authentication Tests

   • Execute scripts/test-auth-flows.sh to test:
     • Sign-up flow (email/password, OAuth providers)
     • Sign-in flow (all configured providers)
     • Session persistence across page reloads
     • Sign-out functionality
     • Protected route access control
   • Supports both Playwright and Cypress
   • Generates test coverage reports

2. Authentication Flow Coverage

   • Email/password registration and login
   • OAuth provider authentication (Google, GitHub, Microsoft)
   • Magic link authentication
   • Multi-factor authentication (2FA/MFA)
   • Session management and token refresh
   • User profile updates
   • Password reset flows

When Running Security Audits

1. Execute Security Checks

   • Run scripts/check-security.sh to audit:
     • Environment variable exposure (no keys in client bundles)
     • Public vs secret key usage
     • Protected route coverage
     • Session security configuration
     • CSRF protection implementation
     • XSS prevention patterns
   • Review security findings report
   • Address high-priority vulnerabilities immediately

2. Security Checklist Items

   • No secret keys exposed to client
   • All admin routes properly protected
   • Session tokens stored securely (httpOnly cookies)
   • Rate limiting on auth endpoints
   • Input sanitization for user data
   • HTTPS enforcement in production
   • Proper CORS configuration

When Creating Unit Tests

1. Use Provided Test Templates

   • For React components: templates/test-suites/clerk-react.test.tsx
   • For Next.js pages: templates/test-suites/clerk-nextjs.test.tsx
   • For API routes: templates/test-suites/clerk-api.test.ts
   • Templates include mocking patterns for Clerk hooks

2. Unit Test Coverage

   • Mock useAuth(), useUser(), useSession() hooks
   • Test component behavior for authenticated/unauthenticated states
   • Verify loading states during auth
   • Test error handling for auth failures
   • Validate conditional rendering based on auth status

When Creating E2E Tests

1. Use Playwright Templates

   • Base template: templates/e2e-tests/clerk-auth-flows.spec.ts
   • OAuth template: templates/e2e-tests/clerk-oauth.spec.ts
   • Protected routes: templates/e2e-tests/clerk-protected-routes.spec.ts
   • Templates include Clerk test helpers and fixtures

2. E2E Test Patterns

   • Use Clerk test users (configured in .env.test)
   • Test complete user journeys (sign-up → profile → sign-out)
   • Verify redirect flows after authentication
   • Test session persistence across browser tabs
   • Validate error messages and UI feedback

Templates

Test Suite Templates

React Component Tests:

• templates/test-suites/clerk-react.test.tsx - Jest/Vitest tests with React Testing Library
• templates/test-suites/clerk-hooks.test.ts - Unit tests for Clerk hook integrations
• templates/test-suites/clerk-components.test.tsx - Tests for SignIn, SignUp, UserButton components

Next.js Tests:

• templates/test-suites/clerk-nextjs.test.tsx - App Router component tests
• templates/test-suites/clerk-middleware.test.ts - Middleware function tests
• templates/test-suites/clerk-api.test.ts - API route authentication tests

Backend Tests:

• templates/test-suites/clerk-backend.test.ts - Server-side auth validation
• templates/test-suites/clerk-webhooks.test.ts - Webhook handler tests

E2E Test Templates

Playwright Tests:

• templates/e2e-tests/clerk-auth-flows.spec.ts - Complete auth flow testing
• templates/e2e-tests/clerk-oauth.spec.ts - OAuth provider testing
• templates/e2e-tests/clerk-protected-routes.spec.ts - Route protection tests
• templates/e2e-tests/clerk-session.spec.ts - Session management tests
• templates/e2e-tests/clerk-mfa.spec.ts - Multi-factor authentication tests

Cypress Tests:

• templates/e2e-tests/cypress/clerk-signup.cy.ts - Sign-up flow
• templates/e2e-tests/cypress/clerk-signin.cy.ts - Sign-in flow
• templates/e2e-tests/cypress/clerk-profile.cy.ts - User profile tests

Validation Resources

• templates/validation-checklist.md - Comprehensive validation checklist
• templates/security-audit-report.md - Security audit report template
• templates/test-coverage-report.md - Test coverage analysis template

Scripts

Validation Scripts

scripts/validate-setup.sh

• Validates Clerk environment configuration
• Checks API key format and presence
• Verifies middleware and provider setup
• Outputs detailed validation report
• Exit code 0 for success, 1 for failures

Usage:

bash scripts/validate-setup.sh [--fix]

Testing Scripts

scripts/test-auth-flows.sh

• Runs E2E authentication flow tests
• Supports Playwright and Cypress
• Generates coverage reports
• Can run in CI/CD environments

Usage:

bash scripts/test-auth-flows.sh [--playwright|--cypress] [--headed]

scripts/run-unit-tests.sh

• Executes Jest/Vitest unit tests
• Focuses on Clerk component and hook tests
• Generates coverage reports

Usage:

bash scripts/run-unit-tests.sh [--watch] [--coverage]

Security Scripts

scripts/check-security.sh

• Performs security audit of Clerk integration
• Checks for exposed secrets
• Validates authentication patterns
• Outputs security findings report

Usage:

bash scripts/check-security.sh [--detailed]

Examples

Complete Test Examples

examples/auth-flow-tests.spec.ts

• Full Playwright test suite for authentication flows
• Tests sign-up, sign-in, sign-out
• Validates session persistence
• Tests OAuth providers
• Includes setup and teardown

examples/security-audit.ts

• Automated security audit script
• Scans codebase for security issues
• Checks environment variable usage
• Validates route protection patterns
• Generates detailed audit report

examples/clerk-unit-tests.test.tsx

• Comprehensive unit test examples
• React component testing with Clerk hooks
• Mocking patterns for useAuth, useUser
• Testing authenticated/unauthenticated states

examples/webhook-testing.test.ts

• Clerk webhook handler tests
• Validates signature verification
• Tests event processing
• Error handling patterns

Security: API Key Handling

CRITICAL: This skill enforces security best practices:

• Validation scripts check for exposed API keys in client code
• Security audit scans for hardcoded credentials
• Test templates use environment variables only
• Examples demonstrate proper secret management

All generated tests use placeholders:

// .env.test
CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_your_key_here
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_your_key_here
TEST_USER_EMAIL=test_user@example.com
TEST_USER_PASSWORD=test_password_here

Never commit real API keys or test credentials to version control.

Requirements

Testing Frameworks:

• Jest 29.x or Vitest 1.x (for unit tests)
• Playwright 1.40+ or Cypress 13+ (for E2E tests)
• React Testing Library 14+ (for component tests)

Clerk SDKs:

• @clerk/nextjs 4.x or 5.x
• @clerk/clerk-react (for React apps)
• @clerk/clerk-js (for vanilla JS)

Node.js:

• Node.js 18+ (LTS recommended)
• npm 9+ or pnpm 8+

Environment:

• Test Clerk application (separate from production)
• Test user accounts configured
• .env.test file with test credentials

Best Practices

1. Separate Test Environments - Use dedicated Clerk test application, never test against production
2. Mock External Services - Mock OAuth providers in unit tests, use real providers only in E2E
3. Test User Isolation - Create/delete test users for each test suite to avoid conflicts
4. Security First - Always run security audit before deployment
5. Comprehensive Coverage - Test both happy paths and error scenarios
6. CI/CD Integration - Run validation and tests in CI pipeline
7. Regular Security Audits - Schedule weekly security checks
8. Keep Tests Updated - Update tests when Clerk SDK versions change

Validation Workflow

Recommended Testing Pipeline:

1. Setup Validation → Run validate-setup.sh to ensure proper configuration
2. Unit Tests → Run component and hook tests with coverage
3. E2E Tests → Execute authentication flow tests
4. Security Audit → Run security checks before deployment
5. Review Reports → Analyze coverage and security findings
6. Fix Issues → Address any failures or warnings
7. Repeat → Run full suite in CI/CD pipeline

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Purpose: Standardize Clerk authentication testing and security validation Load when: Testing Clerk integrations, validating auth setup, running security audits Security Level: High - Enforces environment variable usage, scans for exposed secrets