Next.js Clerk Auth Starter Template

The Next.js Clerk auth starter template is a boilerplate project for the Next.js App Router that comes pre-configured with Clerk, a developer-first authentication and user management solution. Cloned and run locally, it produces a working Next.js application with a complete auth flow, protected pages, and organization support, and is maintained by Clerk.

What is the Next.js Clerk auth starter template?

It is a starter template maintained by Clerk that wires the Clerk authentication solution into a Next.js application using the App Router. Developers clone the repository, supply Clerk environment variables, and get a runnable app with sign-in, sign-up, a protected page, and user/organization management, all built from Clerk's pre-built React components and hooks.

Key Features

• Fully functional auth flow — includes working sign-in, sign-up, and a protected page out of the box.
• Next.js App Router — built on the App Router architecture rather than the legacy Pages Router.
• Clerk React components and hooks — pre-built components for sign-in, sign-up, user profile, and organization management, plus hooks for reading user data and authentication state.
• Tailwind CSS customization — Clerk's pre-built components are styled with Tailwind CSS to demonstrate customization.
• Organizations support — multi-tenant applications are supported; Organizations must be enabled in the Clerk dashboard's Organization Settings.
• Vercel deploy button — one-click deployment to Vercel, with environment variables set in the Vercel dashboard.
• Hosted demo — a live demo runs at clerk-nextjs-app-router.vercel.app.

Who is it for?

• Next.js developers adding auth: start from a working sign-in, sign-up, and protected-page flow instead of wiring Clerk from scratch.
• Teams building multi-tenant SaaS: use the Organization support to model tenants, after enabling Organizations in the Clerk dashboard.
• Developers learning Clerk: the template demonstrates Clerk's components, hooks, and Tailwind customization in a small app.

How does the starter template work?

1. Sign up for a Clerk account and create an application in the Clerk dashboard.
2. Set the required Clerk environment variables as shown in the example env file.
3. Enable Organizations under "Organization Settings" in the sidebar.
4. Run pnpm install, then pnpm run dev to launch the development server.

FAQ

Is the template free to use?

Yes. It is an open-source starter repository on GitHub that you clone; usage of Clerk itself is governed by a separate Clerk account created at clerk.com.

Do I need a Clerk account to run it?

Yes. The template requires a Clerk account and an application created in the Clerk dashboard, plus Clerk environment variables, before the auth flow works.

Which package manager does it use?

The instructions use pnpm for installing dependencies and starting the development server (pnpm install, pnpm run dev).

Does it support multi-tenant apps?

Yes. Organizations are included, but you must enable them in the Clerk dashboard's Organization Settings for the feature to work.