Access the Clerk object outside of components

The Clerk object is accessible using the useClerk() hook. However, if you need to access the Clerk object outside of React components, such as in utility functions or background tasks, you can use the getClerkInstance() function.

Fetch

Axios

import { getClerkInstance } from '@clerk/clerk-expo'

export async function fetchFoo() {
  const clerkInstance = getClerkInstance()
  // Use `getToken()` to get the current session token
  const token = await clerkInstance.session?.getToken()

  const response = await fetch('/api/foo', {
    headers: {
      // Include the session token as a Bearer token in the Authorization header
      Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
  })

  if (!response.ok) {
    // Include status code and status text in error message
    throw new Error(`API Error: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`)
  }

  return response.json()
}

Edit this page on GitHub

Last updated on Mar 17, 2025

Access the Clerk object outside of components

Feedback