Read session and user data in your Next.js app with Clerk
Clerk provides a set of hooks and helpers that you can use to access the active session and user data in your Next.js application. Here are examples of how to use these helpers in both the client and server-side to get you started.
Server-side
App Router
auth() and currentUser() are App Router-specific helpers that you can use inside of your Route Handlers, Middleware, Server Components, and Server Actions.
The auth() helper will return the Auth object of the currently active user. Now that request data is available in the global scope through Next.js's headers() and cookies() methods, passing the request object to Clerk is no longer required.
The currentUser() helper will return the Backend User object of the currently active user. This is helpful if you want to render information, like their first and last name, directly from the server.
Under the hood, currentUser() uses the clerkClient wrapper to make a call to the Backend API. This does count towards the Backend API request rate limit. This also uses fetch() so it is automatically deduped per request.
This example uses the new auth() helper to validate an authenticated user and the new currentUser() helper to access the Backend API User object for the authenticated user.
import { auth, currentUser } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
export default async function Page() {
// Get the userId from auth() -- if null, the user is not signed in
const { userId } = await auth()
if (userId) {
// Query DB for user specific information or display assets only to signed in users
}
// Get the Backend API User object when you need access to the user's information
const user = await currentUser()
// Use `user` to render user details or create UI elements
}A Route Handler can use the auth() helper to return information about the user or their authentication state, or to control access to some or all of the Route Handler. The auth() helper does require Middleware.
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server'
import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
export async function GET() {
// Get the userId from auth() -- if null, the user is not signed in
const { userId } = await auth()
if (!userId) {
return new NextResponse('Unauthorized', { status: 401 })
}
// Perform your Route Handler's logic
return NextResponse.json({ userId }, { status: 200 })
}A Route Handler can use the auth() helper to return information about the user or their authentication state, or to control access to some or all of the Route Handler. The auth() helper does require Middleware.
In this example, the auth() helper is used to validate an authenticated user and the currentUser() helper is used to access the Backend User object for the authenticated user.
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server'
import { currentUser, auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
export async function GET() {
// Get the userId from auth() -- if null, the user is not signed in
const { userId } = await auth()
if (!userId) {
return new NextResponse('Unauthorized', { status: 401 })
}
// Get the Backend API User object when you need access to the user's information
const user = await currentUser()
// Perform your Route Handler's logic with the returned user object
return NextResponse.json({ user: user }, { status: 200 })
}For Next.js applications using the Pages Router, you can retrieve information about the user and their authentication state, or control access to some or all of your API routes by using the getAuth() helper. The getAuth() helper does require Middleware.
import type { NextApiRequest, NextApiResponse } from 'next'
import { getAuth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
export default function handler(req: NextApiRequest, res: NextApiResponse) {
const { userId } = getAuth(req)
if (!userId) {
return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Unauthorized' })
}
// retrieve data from your database
res.status(200).json({})
}For Next.js applications using the Pages Router, you can retrieve information about the user and their authentication state, or control access to some or all of your API routes by using the getAuth() helper. The getAuth() helper does require Middleware.
In some cases, you may need the full User object. For example, if you want to access the user's email address address or name, you can use the clerkClient helper to get the full User object.
import { getAuth, clerkClient } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
import type { NextApiRequest, NextApiResponse } from 'next'
export default async function handler(req: NextApiRequest, res: NextApiResponse) {
const { userId } = getAuth(req)
if (!userId) {
return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Unauthorized' })
}
const client = await clerkClient()
const user = await client.users.getUser(userId)
// use the user object to decide what data to return
return res.status(200).json({})
}You can access the active session and user data in your getServerSideProps using the getAuth() helper.
import { getAuth, buildClerkProps } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
import { GetServerSideProps } from 'next'
export const getServerSideProps: GetServerSideProps = async (ctx) => {
const { userId } = getAuth(ctx.req)
if (!userId) {
// handle user is not signed in.
}
// Load any data your application needs for the page using the userId
return { props: { ...buildClerkProps(ctx.req) } }
}You can also access the full User object before passing it to the page by using the clerkClient helper.
import { getAuth, buildClerkProps, clerkClient } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
import { GetServerSideProps } from 'next'
export const getServerSideProps: GetServerSideProps = async (ctx) => {
const { userId } = getAuth(ctx.req)
const client = await clerkClient()
const user = userId ? await client.users.getUser(userId) : undefined
return { props: { ...buildClerkProps(ctx.req, { user }) } }
}Client-side
useAuth
The useAuth hook is a convenient way to access the current auth state. This hook provides the minimal information needed for data-loading and helper methods to manage the current active session.
'use client'
import { useAuth } from '@clerk/nextjs'
export default function Example() {
const { isLoaded, userId, sessionId, getToken } = useAuth()
// In case the user signs out while on the page.
if (!isLoaded || !userId) {
return null
}
return (
<div>
Hello, {userId} your current active session is {sessionId}
</div>
)
}useUser
The useUser hook is a convenient way to access the current user data where you need it. This hook provides the user data and helper methods to manage the current active session.
'use client'
import { useUser } from '@clerk/nextjs'
export default function Example() {
const { isLoaded, isSignedIn, user } = useUser()
if (!isLoaded || !isSignedIn) {
return null
}
return <div>Hello, {user.firstName} welcome to Clerk</div>
}Feedback
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