Clerk Vue Patterns

---
name: clerk-vue-patterns
description: 'Vue 3 patterns with Clerk — composables (useAuth, useUser,
  useClerk, useOrganization), Vue Router guards, Pinia auth store
  integration. Triggers on: vue clerk, useAuth vue, clerk composables,
  vue router clerk guard, pinia auth clerk. For Nuxt, use clerk-nuxt-patterns instead.'
license: MIT
allowed-tools: WebFetch
metadata:
  author: clerk
  version: 1.0.0
---

# Vue Patterns

SDK: `@clerk/vue` v2+ (Vue 3). For Nuxt, use `clerk-nuxt-patterns`.

## What Do You Need?

| Task | Reference |
|------|-----------|
| Composables: useAuth, useUser, useOrganization | references/composables.md |
| Vue Router navigation guards | references/vue-router-guards.md |
| Pinia store with auth state | references/pinia-integration.md |

## Mental Model

Vue uses composables from `@clerk/vue`:

- **`useAuth()`** — reactive `isSignedIn`, `userId`, `signOut`
- **`useUser()`** — reactive `user` object
- **`useClerk()`** — full Clerk instance for advanced operations
- **`useOrganization()`** — reactive `organization`, `membership`

## Setup

### Vue (Plain)

```ts
// main.ts
import { clerkPlugin } from '@clerk/vue'
import { createApp } from 'vue'
import App from './App.vue'

const app = createApp(App)
app.use(clerkPlugin, {
  publishableKey: import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
})
app.mount('#app')
```

## Composables Usage

```vue
<script setup lang="ts">
import { useAuth, useUser } from '@clerk/vue'

const { isSignedIn, userId, signOut } = useAuth()
const { user } = useUser()
</script>

<template>
  <div v-if="isSignedIn">
    <p>Hello {{ user?.firstName }}</p>
    <button @click="signOut()">Sign Out</button>
  </div>
  <SignInButton v-else />
</template>
```

## Org Switching

```vue
<script setup lang="ts">
import { useOrganizationList } from '@clerk/vue'

const { userMemberships, setActive } = useOrganizationList()
</script>

<template>
  <button
    v-for="mem in userMemberships.data ?? []"
    :key="mem.organization.id"
    @click="setActive({ organization: mem.organization.id })"
  >
    {{ mem.organization.name }}
  </button>
</template>
```

## Common Pitfalls

| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---------|-------|-----|
| Composables return `undefined` | Not inside `ClerkProvider` tree | Ensure `app.use(clerkPlugin, { publishableKey })` is called |
| `userId` reactive but not updating | Destructuring loses reactivity | Use `const { userId } = useAuth()` (toRefs-style composable, reactive) |
## Import Map

| What | Import |
|------|--------|
| Composables | `@clerk/vue` |
| Plugin setup | `@clerk/vue` |
| Components | `@clerk/vue` |

## See Also

- `clerk-setup` - Initial Clerk install
- `clerk-custom-ui` - Custom flows & appearance
- `clerk-orgs` - B2B organizations

## Docs

- [Vue SDK](https://clerk.com/docs/vue/getting-started/quickstart)