Testing

Decision Tree

Mental Model

Test auth = isolated session state. Each test needs fresh auth context.

• clerkSetup() initializes test environment
• setupClerkTestingToken() bypasses bot detection
• storageState persists auth between tests for speed

Workflow

1. Identify test framework (Playwright or Cypress)
2. WebFetch the appropriate URL from decision tree above
3. Follow official setup instructions
4. Use development-instance keys only (pk_test_* / sk_test_*). If the project has no keys yet, npx clerk@latest init (the Clerk CLI; see clerk-setup) creates a Clerk application and writes development-instance keys to the env file. No Clerk account or Dashboard visit is needed.

Best Practices

• Use setupClerkTestingToken() before navigating to auth pages
• Use test API keys: pk_test_xxx, sk_test_xxx
• Save auth state with storageState for faster tests
• Use page.waitForSelector('[data-clerk-component]') for Clerk UI

Anti-Patterns

Framework-Specific

Playwright: Use globalSetup for auth state Cypress: Add addClerkCommands({ Cypress, cy }) to support file

See Also

• clerk-setup - Install Clerk before adding tests
• clerk-nextjs-patterns - Next.js patterns being tested
• Demo Repo