Clerk Testing

---
name: clerk-testing
description: E2E testing for Clerk apps. Use with Playwright or Cypress for auth flow
  tests.
allowed-tools: WebFetch
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: clerk
  version: 1.2.1
compatibility: Requires a publishable key and either CLERK_SECRET_KEY or CLERK_TESTING_TOKEN. Keys can be auto-generated by `clerk init` (temporary development keys, no Clerk account required), or pulled from the Clerk Dashboard.
---

# Testing

## Decision Tree

| Framework | Documentation |
|-----------|---------------|
| Overview | https://clerk.com/docs/guides/development/testing/overview |
| Playwright | https://clerk.com/docs/guides/development/testing/playwright/overview |
| Cypress | https://clerk.com/docs/guides/development/testing/cypress/overview |

## 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

| Pattern | Problem | Fix |
|---------|---------|-----|
| Production keys in tests | Security risk | Use `pk_test_*` keys |
| No `setupClerkTestingToken()` | Auth fails | Call before navigation |
| UI-based sign-in every test | Slow tests | Use `storageState` |

## 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](https://github.com/clerk/clerk-playwright-nextjs/tree/main/e2e)