clerk-expo-patterns

SKILL.md

Expo Patterns

SDK: @clerk/expo v3+. Requires Expo 53+, React Native 0.73+.

What Do You Need?

Task
Reference

Persist tokens with SecureStore
references/token-storage.md

OAuth (Google, Apple, GitHub)
references/oauth-deep-linking.md

Protected screens with Expo Router
references/protected-routes.md

Push notifications with user data
references/push-notifications.md

Mental Model

Clerk stores the session token in memory by default. In native apps:

SecureStore — encrypt token in device keychain (recommended for production)

tokenCache — prop on <ClerkProvider> that provides custom storage

useAuth — same API as web, works in any component

OAuth — requires useSSO + deep link scheme configured in app.json

Minimal Setup

app/_layout.tsx

import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/expo'
import { tokenCache } from '@clerk/expo/token-cache'
import { Stack } from 'expo-router'

const publishableKey = process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY!

export default function RootLayout() {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider publishableKey={publishableKey} tokenCache={tokenCache}>
      <Stack />
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}

CRITICAL: Use EXPO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY — not NEXT_PUBLIC_. Env vars inside node_modules are not inlined in production builds. Always pass publishableKey explicitly.

Built-in Token Cache

import { tokenCache } from '@clerk/expo/token-cache'

This uses expo-secure-store with keychainAccessible: AFTER_FIRST_UNLOCK. Install the peer dep:

npx expo install expo-secure-store

Auth Hooks

import { useAuth, useUser, useSignIn, useSignUp, useClerk } from '@clerk/expo'

export function ProfileScreen() {
  const { isSignedIn, userId, signOut } = useAuth()
  const { user } = useUser()

  if (!isSignedIn) return <Redirect href="/sign-in" />
  return (
    <View>
      <Text>{user?.fullName}</Text>
      <Button title="Sign Out" onPress={() => signOut()} />
    </View>
  )
}

OAuth Flow (Google)

import { useSSO } from '@clerk/expo'
import * as WebBrowser from 'expo-web-browser'

WebBrowser.maybeCompleteAuthSession()

export function GoogleSignIn() {
  const { startSSOFlow } = useSSO()

  const handlePress = async () => {
    try {
      const { createdSessionId, setActive } = await startSSOFlow({
        strategy: 'oauth_google',
        redirectUrl: 'myapp://oauth-callback',
      })
      if (createdSessionId) await setActive!({ session: createdSessionId })
    } catch (err) {
      console.error(err)
    }
  }

  return <Button title="Continue with Google" onPress={handlePress} />
}

Org Switching

import { useOrganization, useOrganizationList } from '@clerk/expo'

export function OrgSwitcher() {
  const { organization } = useOrganization()
  const { setActive, userMemberships } = useOrganizationList()

  return (
    <View>
      <Text>Current: {organization?.name ?? 'Personal'}</Text>
      {userMemberships.data?.map(mem => (
        <Button
          key={mem.organization.id}
          title={mem.organization.name}
          onPress={() => setActive({ organization: mem.organization.id })}
        />
      ))}
    </View>
  )
}

Common Pitfalls

Symptom
Cause
Fix

publishableKey undefined in prod
Using env var without EXPO_PUBLIC_
Rename to EXPO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY

Token lost on app restart
No tokenCache
Pass tokenCache from @clerk/expo/token-cache

OAuth redirect not working
Missing scheme in app.json
Add "scheme": "myapp" to app.json

WebBrowser.maybeCompleteAuthSession
Not called
Call it at the top level of the OAuth callback screen

useSSO not found
Old @clerk/expo version
useSSO replaced useOAuth in v3+

Import Map

What
Import From

ClerkProvider
@clerk/expo

tokenCache
@clerk/expo/token-cache

useAuth, useUser, useSignIn
@clerk/expo

useSSO
@clerk/expo

useOrganization, useOrganizationList
@clerk/expo

See Also

clerk-setup - Initial Clerk install

clerk-custom-ui - Custom flows & appearance

clerk-orgs - B2B organizations

Docs

Expo SDK