createRouteMatcher() is a Clerk helper function that allows you to protect multiple routes. createRouteMatcher() accepts an array of routes and checks if the route the user is trying to visit matches one of the routes passed to it.
The createRouteMatcher() helper returns a function that, if called with the context.request object from the Middleware, will return true if the user is trying to access a route that matches one of the routes passed to createRouteMatcher().
In the following example, createRouteMatcher() sets all /dashboard and /forum routes as protected routes.
To protect routes based on user authentication status, use auth().isAuthenticatedClerk Icon to check if isAuthenticated is true. If it's not, the user is not authenticated, and you can redirect them to the sign-in page.
src/middleware.ts
import { clerkMiddleware, createRouteMatcher } from'@clerk/astro/server'constisProtectedRoute=createRouteMatcher(['/dashboard(.*)','/forum(.*)'])exportconstonRequest=clerkMiddleware((auth, context) => {const { isAuthenticated,redirectToSignIn } =auth()if (!isAuthenticated &&isProtectedRoute(context.request)) {// Add custom logic to run before redirectingreturnredirectToSignIn() }})
To protect routes based on user authorization status, use auth().has()Clerk Icon to check if the user has the required Roles or Custom Permissions.
src/middleware.ts
import { clerkMiddleware, createRouteMatcher } from'@clerk/astro/server'constisProtectedRoute=createRouteMatcher(['/admin(.*)'])exportconstonRequest=clerkMiddleware((auth, context) => {const { has,redirectToSignIn } =auth()// Restrict admin routes to users with specific Permissionsif ( (isProtectedRoute(context.request) &&!has({ permission:'org:admin:example1' })) ||!has({ permission:'org:admin:example2' }) ) {// Add logic to run if the user does not have the required Permissions; for example, redirecting to the sign-in pagereturnredirectToSignIn() }})
To protect all routes in your application and define specific routes as public, you can use any of the above methods and simply invert the if condition.
The clerkMiddleware() function accepts an optional object. The following options are available:
Name
audience?
Type
string | string[]
Description
A string or list of audiences. If passed, it is checked against the aud claim in the token.
Name
authorizedParties?
Type
string[]
Description
An allowlist of origins to verify against, to protect your application from the subdomain cookie leaking attack. For example: ['http://localhost:3000', 'https://example.com']
Name
clockSkewInMs?
Type
number
Description
Specifies the allowed time difference (in milliseconds) between the Clerk server (which generates the token) and the clock of the user's application server when validating a token. Defaults to 5000 ms (5 seconds).
Name
domain?
Type
string
Description
The domain used for satellites to inform Clerk where this application is deployed.
Name
isSatellite?
Type
boolean
Description
When using Clerk's satellite feature, this should be set to true for secondary domains.
Name
jwtKey
Type
string
Description
Used to verify the session token in a networkless manner. Supply the JWKS Public Key from the API keys page in the Clerk Dashboard. It's recommended to use the environment variable instead. For more information, refer to Manual JWT verification.
Used to activate a specific Organization or Personal Account based on URL path parameters. If there's a mismatch between the Active Organization in the session (e.g., as reported by auth()Next.js Icon) and the Organization indicated by the URL, the middleware will attempt to activate the Organization specified in the URL.
Name
proxyUrl?
Type
string
Description
Specify the URL of the proxy, if using a proxy.
Name
signInUrl
Type
string
Description
The full URL or path to your sign-in page. Needs to point to your primary application on the client-side. Required for a satellite application in a development instance. It's recommended to use the environment variable instead.
Name
signUpUrl
Type
string
Description
The full URL or path to your sign-up page. Needs to point to your primary application on the client-side. Required for a satellite application in a development instance. It's recommended to use the environment variable instead.
Name
publishableKey
Type
string
Description
The Clerk Publishable Key for your instance.
Name
secretKey?
Type
string
Description
The Clerk Secret Key for your instance. The CLERK_ENCRYPTION_KEY environment variable must be set when providing secretKey as an option, refer to Dynamic keysAstro Icon.
The organizationSyncOptions property on the clerkMiddleware()Astro Icon options
object has the type OrganizationSyncOptions, which has the following properties:
Specifies URL patterns that are Organization-specific, containing an Organization ID or slug as a path parameter. If a request matches this path, the Organization identifier will be used to set that Organization as active.
If the route also matches the personalAccountPatterns prop, this prop takes precedence.
Patterns must have a path parameter named either :id (to match a Clerk Organization ID) or :slug (to match a Clerk Organization slug).
Warning
If the Organization can't be activated—either because it doesn't exist or the user lacks access—the previously Active Organization will remain unchanged. Components must detect this case and provide an appropriate error and/or resolution pathway, such as calling notFound() or displaying an <OrganizationSwitcher />.