kickstart-express/templates/add/auth/clerk/ts/examples/app.ts

A powerful CLI tool to quickly scaffold Express.js projects with modern tooling and best practices

import 'dotenv/config';
import express from 'express';
import { clerkClient } from '@clerk/express';
import { clerkAuth, protectedRoute, optionalAuth, customProtection } from '../middleware/auth';

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

// Apply Clerk middleware to all routes
app.use(clerkAuth);

// Example: Public route (no authentication required)
app.get('/public', (req, res) => {
  res.json({ message: 'This is a public route accessible to everyone' });
});

// Example: Route with optional auth (shows user info if authenticated)
app.get('/optional-auth', optionalAuth, (req, res) => {
  if (req.auth && req.auth.userId) {
    res.json({ 
      message: 'You are authenticated!',
      userId: req.auth.userId 
    });
  } else {
    res.json({ 
      message: 'You are not authenticated, but that\'s okay for this route' 
    });
  }
});

// Example: Protected route (requires authentication)
app.get('/protected', protectedRoute, async (req, res) => {
  try {
    // Get the user's information from Clerk
    const userId = req.auth?.userId;
    if (!userId) return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Authentication required' });
    const user = await clerkClient.users.getUser(userId);
    res.json({ 
      message: 'This is a protected route',
      user: {
        id: user.id,
        email: user.emailAddresses[0]?.emailAddress,
        firstName: user.firstName,
        lastName: user.lastName
      }
    });
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to fetch user data' });
  }
});

// Example: Route with custom protection (API-style, returns JSON instead of redirecting)
app.get('/api/user', customProtection, async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const userId = req.auth?.userId;
    if (!userId) return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Authentication required' });
    const user = await clerkClient.users.getUser(userId);
    res.json({
      id: user.id,
      email: user.emailAddresses[0]?.emailAddress,
      firstName: user.firstName,
      lastName: user.lastName,
      createdAt: user.createdAt
    });
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: 'Failed to fetch user data' });
  }
});

// Example: Route with permission check
app.get('/admin', customProtection, (req, res) => {
  // Check if user has admin permission
  if (!req.auth || !req.auth.has({ permission: 'org:admin' })) {
    return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Admin permission required' });
  }
  res.json({ 
    message: 'Admin-only content',
    userId: req.auth.userId 
  });
});

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`);
  console.log('Available routes:');
  console.log('  GET  /public         - Public route');
  console.log('  GET  /optional-auth  - Optional auth route');
  console.log('  GET  /protected      - Protected route (redirects if not auth)');
  console.log('  GET  /api/user       - API route (returns 401 if not auth)');
  console.log('  GET  /admin          - Admin-only route');
  console.log('\nMake sure to set your Clerk keys in .env file!');
});