Changelog May 26, 2023

Clerk Avatars

Clerk improved the default avatars for users who haven't uploaded a profile image by adding customization options. These unique avatars are designed to add an extra level of polish to your application and can be fully customized to align with your brand.

Customization

Avatars can easily be customized via the dashboard under Customization > Avatars. In there, you can adjust the following settings:

• Background: Select from an array of color options and effects. You can retain the default marble effect, which accommodates up to five colors, or opt for a solid background.
• Foreground: Choose from a diverse range of colors and styles. Your options encompass initials, silhouette, or none at all.

An Eye-Catching Shimmer

To add a unique touch, we've implemented a subtle shimmer animation on our internal avatar component. This is available on the <UserButton /> component and you can enable the shimmer effect using the appearance prop:

<UserButton
  appearance={{
    layout: {
      shimmer: true,
    },
  }}
/>

Learn more in this blog post →

Other Fixes & Improvements

• Change domains and subdomains for production instances via the Dashboard. (Link to Docs)
• Added sorting capabilities Clerk Backend API organization membership and user list endpoints. (Org Membership, User)
• Implemented allowedOrigins prop to mitigate the risk of open redirect vulnerabilities.
• Added new I18n translations for Clerk JS, including Japanese [PR] and Hebrew [PR], thanks to community contributions.
• Introduced a feature to delete satellite domains in the multi-domain configuration. (Link to Docs)
• Enhanced password reset flow for strong password verification, adjustable complexity settings, and guidance cues. (Read More)

Upcoming Events

RenderATL – May 31st to June 2nd

Several team members are heading down to Atlanta to participate in RenderATL. If you are attending, we would love to meet you! Keep an eye out for our team who will be handing out warm cookies and invitations to community-driven side events.

CityJS – May 29th to May 31st

Our engineering team is heading to CityJS in Athens with swag. Be sure to tune in for a talk from our VP of Engineering, Sokratis Vidros, on how to add authentication to your Next.js app in just 7 minutes.

Community Shoutouts

• A big thank you to Raz Levi and Daichi Ninomiya for their pull request adding localization support for Hebrew and Japanese
• Another big thanks to Tom Milewski for reducing our SVG size by 80% in our ClerkJS package, allowing us to reduce our bundle size even more.
• A thanks to DevelopedByEd for featuring us in his “My Ultimate tech stack 2023” video, check it out on YouTube.

Resources

• Stable Support for Next.js 13.4: We are excited to announce that Clerk's app router support is now out of beta. Additionally, we've launched a significant update to our middleware.
• A <Component /> is Worth 1,000 APIs: At Reactathon, Clerk’s CEO, Colin Sidoti, discussed his belief that the future of technology is in components, not APIs.
• How We Roll: Passwords: We've initiated a new series that provides insight into our approach to building authentication at Clerk.
• Validating Clerk Tokens with Go: Brian Morrison has shared a tutorial on how to validate Clerk tokens with Go in Netlify functions.

Stay tuned for future updates. If you have feedback or suggestions, leave us feedback on the docs (thank you Docsly), tweet us at @ClerkDev, or join the Clerk Community on Discord.