Testing
Decision Tree
Mental Model
Test auth = isolated session state. Each test needs fresh auth context.
clerkSetup()initializes test environmentsetupClerkTestingToken()bypasses bot detectionstorageStatepersists auth between tests for speed
Workflow
- Identify test framework (Playwright or Cypress)
- WebFetch the appropriate URL from decision tree above
- Follow official setup instructions
- Use development-instance keys only (
pk_test_*/sk_test_*). If the project has no keys yet,npx clerk@latest init(the Clerk CLI; seeclerk-setup) creates a Clerk application and writes development-instance keys to the env file. No Clerk account or Dashboard visit is needed.
Best Practices
- Use
setupClerkTestingToken()before navigating to auth pages - Use test API keys:
pk_test_xxx,sk_test_xxx - Save auth state with
storageStatefor faster tests - Use
page.waitForSelector('[data-clerk-component]')for Clerk UI
Anti-Patterns
Framework-Specific
Playwright: Use globalSetup for auth state
Cypress: Add addClerkCommands({ Cypress, cy }) to support file
See Also
clerk-setup- Install Clerk before adding testsclerk-nextjs-patterns- Next.js patterns being tested- Demo Repo
