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Variables prop

The variables property is used to adjust the general styles of the component's base theme, like colors, backgrounds, and typography.

Properties

  • Name
    colorPrimary
    Type
    string
    Description

    The primary color used throughout the components.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-primary

  • Name
    colorDanger
    Type
    string
    Description

    The color used for error states.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-danger

  • Name
    colorSuccess
    Type
    string
    Description

    The color used for success states.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-success

  • Name
    colorWarning
    Type
    string
    Description

    The color used for warning states.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-warning

  • Name
    colorNeutral
    Type
    string
    Description

    The color that will be used for all to generate the neutral shades the components use. This option applies to borders, backgrounds for hovered elements, hovered dropdown options.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-neutral

  • Name
    colorForeground
    Type
    string
    Description

    The color used for text.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-foreground

  • Name
    colorPrimaryForeground
    Type
    string
    Description

    The color used for text on the primary background.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-primary-foreground

  • Name
    colorMutedForeground
    Type
    string
    Description

    The color used for secondary text.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-muted-foreground

  • Name
    colorMuted
    Type
    string
    Description

    The color used for muted backgrounds.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-muted

  • Name
    colorBackground
    Type
    string
    Description

    The background color for the card container.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-background

  • Name
    colorInputForeground
    Type
    string
    Description

    The color used for text in input fields.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-input-foreground

  • Name
    colorInput
    Type
    string
    Description

    The background color used for input fields.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-input

  • Name
    colorShimmer
    Type
    string
    Description

    The color of the avatar shimmer.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-shimmer

  • Name
    colorRing
    Type
    string
    Description

    The color of the ring when an interactive element is focused.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-ring

  • Name
    colorShadow
    Type
    string
    Description

    The base shadow color used in the components.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-shadow

  • Name
    colorBorder
    Type
    string
    Description

    The base border color used in the components.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-border

  • Name
    colorModalBackdrop
    Type
    string
    Description

    The background color of the modal backdrop.

    CSS variable: --clerk-color-modal-backdrop

  • Name
    fontFamily
    Type
    string
    Description

    The font family used throughout the components. By default, it is set to inherit.

    CSS variable: --clerk-font-family

  • Name
    fontFamilyButtons
    Type
    string
    Description

    The font family used for buttons. By default, it is set to inherit.

    CSS variable: --clerk-font-family-buttons

  • Name
    fontSize
    Type
    string | {xs: string, sm: string, md: string, lg: string, xl: string}
    Description

    The font size used throughout the components. By default, this is set to 0.8125rem.

    CSS variable: --clerk-font-size

  • Name
    fontWeight
    Type
    {normal: number, medium: number, semibold: number, bold: number}
    Description

    The font weight used throughout the components. By default, this is set to {normal: 400, medium: 500, semibold: 600, bold: 700}.

    CSS variable: --clerk-font-weight

  • Name
    borderRadius
    Type
    string
    Description

    The border radius used throughout the components. By default, this is set to 0.375rem.

    CSS variable: --clerk-border-radius

  • Name
    spacing
    Type
    string
    Description

    The spacing unit used throughout the components. By default, this is set to 1rem.

    CSS variable: --clerk-spacing

Deprecated properties

The following properties are deprecated as of 2025-07-15 and will be removed in the next major version of Clerk.

  • colorText (use colorForeground instead)
  • colorTextOnPrimaryBackground (use colorPrimaryForeground instead)
  • colorTextSecondary (use colorMutedForeground instead)
  • spacingUnit (use spacing instead)
  • colorInputText (use colorInputForeground instead)
  • colorInputBackground (use colorInput instead)

Usage

You can customize Clerk components by passing an object of variables to the variables property of the appearance prop.

Note

Browser Compatibility Considerations

Clerk's theming system uses modern CSS features like color-mix() and relative color syntax to automatically generate color variations from your base colors. These features require:

  • color-mix(): Chrome 111+, Firefox 113+, Safari 16.2+
  • Relative color syntax: Chrome 119+, Firefox 120+, Safari 16.4+

For broader browser support, when using the variables prop, use direct color values (e.g. colorPrimary: '#6c47ff') instead of CSS variables or modern color functions.

Apply variables to all Clerk components

To customize all Clerk components, pass the variables property to the appearance prop of the <ClerkProvider> component.

In the following example, the primary color is set to blue and the text color is set to black. Because these styles are applied to the <ClerkProvider>, which wraps the entire application, these styles will be applied to all Clerk components that use the primary color and text color.

/src/app/layout.tsx
import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/nextjs'

export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider
      appearance={{
        variables: {
          colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
          colorForeground: '#000000', // black
        },
      }}
    >
      <html lang="en">
        <body>{children}</body>
      </html>
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}
_app.tsx
import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/nextjs'
import type { AppProps } from 'next/app'

function MyApp({ Component, pageProps }: AppProps) {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider
      appearance={{
        variables: {
          colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
          colorForeground: '#000000', // black
        },
      }}
    >
      <Component {...pageProps} />
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}

export default MyApp
app.tsx
import React from 'react'
import './App.css'
import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/clerk-react'

if (!process.env.REACT_APP_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY) {
  throw new Error('Missing Publishable Key')
}
const clerkPubKey = process.env.REACT_APP_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY

function App() {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider
      appearance={{
        variables: {
          colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
          colorForeground: '#000000', // black
        },
      }}
      publishableKey={clerkPubKey}
    >
      <div>Hello from clerk</div>
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}

export default App
app/root.tsx
// Import ClerkApp
import { ClerkApp } from '@clerk/remix'
import type { MetaFunction, LoaderFunction } from '@remix-run/node'

import { Links, LiveReload, Meta, Outlet, Scripts, ScrollRestoration } from '@remix-run/react'

import { rootAuthLoader } from '@clerk/remix/ssr.server'

export const meta: MetaFunction = () => ({
  charset: 'utf-8',
  title: 'New Remix App',
  viewport: 'width=device-width,initial-scale=1',
})

export const loader: LoaderFunction = (args) => rootAuthLoader(args)

function App() {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <head>
        <Meta />
        <Links />
      </head>
      <body>
        <Outlet />
        <ScrollRestoration />
        <Scripts />
        <LiveReload />
      </body>
    </html>
  )
}

export default ClerkApp(App, {
  appearance: {
    variables: {
      colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
      colorForeground: '#000000', // black
    },
  },
})
astro.config.mjs
import clerk from '@clerk/astro'

export default defineConfig({
  integrations: [
    clerk({
      appearance: {
        variables: {
          colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
          colorForeground: '#000000', // black
        },
      },
    }),
  ],
})
src/main.ts
import { createApp } from 'vue'
import App from './App.vue'
import { clerkPlugin } from '@clerk/vue'

const app = createApp(App)
app.use(clerkPlugin, {
  appearance: {
    variables: {
      colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
      colorForeground: '#000000', // black
    },
  },
})
app.mount('#app')
nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: ['@clerk/nuxt'],
  clerk: {
    appearance: {
      variables: {
        colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
        colorForeground: '#000000', // black
      },
    },
  },
})

Apply variables to all instances of a Clerk component

You can customize all instances of a Clerk component by passing the component to the appearance prop of the <ClerkProvider>. The appearance prop accepts the name of the Clerk component you want to style as a key.

In the following example, the primary color is set to blue and the text color is set to black for all instances of the <SignIn /> component.

/src/app/layout.tsx
import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/nextjs'

export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider
      appearance={{
        signIn: {
          variables: {
            colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
            colorForeground: '#000000', // black
          },
        },
      }}
    >
      <html lang="en">
        <body>{children}</body>
      </html>
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}
_app.tsx
import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/nextjs'
import type { AppProps } from 'next/app'

function MyApp({ Component, pageProps }: AppProps) {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider
      appearance={{
        signIn: {
          variables: {
            colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
            colorForeground: '#000000', // black
          },
        },
      }}
    >
      <Component {...pageProps} />
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}

export default MyApp
app.tsx
import React from 'react'
import './App.css'
import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/clerk-react'

if (!process.env.REACT_APP_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY) {
  throw new Error('Missing Publishable Key')
}
const clerkPubKey = process.env.REACT_APP_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY

function App() {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider
      appearance={{
        signIn: {
          variables: {
            colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
            colorForeground: '#000000', // black
          },
        },
      }}
      publishableKey={clerkPubKey}
    >
      <div>Hello from clerk</div>
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}

export default App
app/root.tsx
// Import ClerkApp
import { ClerkApp } from '@clerk/remix'
import type { MetaFunction, LoaderFunction } from '@remix-run/node'

import { Links, LiveReload, Meta, Outlet, Scripts, ScrollRestoration } from '@remix-run/react'

import { rootAuthLoader } from '@clerk/remix/ssr.server'

export const meta: MetaFunction = () => ({
  charset: 'utf-8',
  title: 'New Remix App',
  viewport: 'width=device-width,initial-scale=1',
})

export const loader: LoaderFunction = (args) => rootAuthLoader(args)

function App() {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <head>
        <Meta />
        <Links />
      </head>
      <body>
        <Outlet />
        <ScrollRestoration />
        <Scripts />
        <LiveReload />
      </body>
    </html>
  )
}

export default ClerkApp(App, {
  appearance: {
    signIn: {
      variables: {
        colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
        colorForeground: '#000000', // black
      },
    },
  },
})
astro.config.mjs
import clerk from '@clerk/astro'

export default defineConfig({
  integrations: [
    clerk({
      appearance: {
        signIn: {
          variables: {
            colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
            colorForeground: '#000000', // black
          },
        },
      },
    }),
  ],
})
src/main.ts
import { createApp } from 'vue'
import App from './App.vue'
import { clerkPlugin } from '@clerk/vue'

const app = createApp(App)
app.use(clerkPlugin, {
  appearance: {
    signIn: {
      variables: {
        colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
        colorForeground: '#000000', // black
      },
    },
  },
})
app.mount('#app')
nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: ['@clerk/nuxt'],
  clerk: {
    appearance: {
      signIn: {
        variables: {
          colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
          colorForeground: '#000000', // black
        },
      },
    },
  },
})

Apply variables to a single Clerk component

To customize a single Clerk component, pass the variables property to the appearance prop of the Clerk component.

The following example shows how to customize the <SignIn /> component by setting the primary color to blue and the text color to black.

app/sign-in/[[...sign-in]]/page.tsx
import { SignIn } from '@clerk/nextjs'

export default function Page() {
  return (
    <SignIn
      appearance={{
        variables: {
          colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
          colorForeground: '#000000', // black
        },
      }}
    />
  )
}
/pages/sign-in/[[...index]].tsx
import { SignIn } from '@clerk/nextjs'

const SignInPage = () => (
  <SignIn
    appearance={{
      variables: {
        colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
        colorForeground: '#000000', // black
      },
    }}
  />
)

export default SignInPage
/src/sign-in/[[...index]].tsx
import { SignIn } from '@clerk/clerk-react'

const SignInPage = () => (
  <SignIn
    appearance={{
      variables: {
        colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
        colorForeground: '#000000', // black
      },
    }}
  />
)

export default SignInPage
app/routes/sign-in/$.tsx
import { SignIn } from '@clerk/remix'

export default function SignInPage() {
  return (
    <div style={{ border: '2px solid blue', padding: '2rem' }}>
      <h1>Sign In route</h1>
      <SignIn
        appearance={{
          variables: {
            colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
            colorForeground: '#000000', // black
          },
        }}
      />
    </div>
  )
}
pages/sign-in.astro
---
import { SignIn } from '@clerk/astro/components'
---

<SignIn
  appearance={{
    colorPrimary: '#0000ff', // blue
    colorForeground: '#000000', // black
  }}
/>
src/pages/sign-in.vue
<script setup lang="ts">
import { SignIn } from '@clerk/vue'
</script>

<template>
  <SignIn :appearance="{ variables: { colorPrimary: '#0000ff', colorForeground: '#000000' } }" />
</template>
pages/sign-in.vue
<script setup lang="ts">
// Components are automatically imported
</script>

<template>
  <SignIn :appearance="{ colorPrimary: '#0000ff', colorForeground: '#000000' }" />
</template>

Using CSS variables

Warning

Please consider this approach with browser compatibility in mind, as it may not work in older browsers. See Browser Compatibility Considerations for details.

You can also use CSS variables to customize the appearance of Clerk components. This approach is particularly useful when:

  • You have a pre-defined design system with CSS custom properties
  • You want to support automatic dark/light mode switching
  • You need to dynamically update colors based on user preferences
  • You're integrating Clerk into an existing application with established CSS variables

The following example demonstrates how to use CSS variables to customize the appearance of Clerk components, but for maximum browser compatibility, it's recommended to use direct color values instead.

/src/app/global.css
:root {
  --brand-primary: oklch(49.1% 0.27 292.581);
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-primary: oklch(54.1% 0.281 293.009);
  }
}
/src/app/layout.tsx
import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/nextjs'
import './global.css'

export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider
      appearance={{
        variables: {
          colorPrimary: 'var(--brand-primary)',
        },
      }}
    >
      <html lang="en">
        <body>{children}</body>
      </html>
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}

Clerk CSS variables

Clerk exposes native CSS variables if you would prefer to define variables directly in your application's stylesheet. All variables exposed through the appearance object are also exposed as CSS variables; see the properties section for a list of the available variables.

The Clerk CSS variables are prefixed with clerk- and are in kebab-case:

:root {
  --clerk-color-primary: #0000ff; /* colorPrimary */
  --clerk-color-foreground: #000000; /* colorForeground */
}

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