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auth()

The auth() helper returns the Auth object of the currently active user, as well as the redirectToSignIn() method. It includes a single method, protect(), which you can use to check if a user is authenticated or authorized to access certain parts of your application or even entire routes.

  • Only available for App Router.
  • Only works on the server-side, such as in Server Components, Route Handlers, and Server Actions.
  • Requires clerkMiddleware() to be configured.

Parameters

  • Name
    acceptsToken?
    Type
    TokenType
    Description

    The type of authentication token(s) to accept. Valid values are:

    • 'session_token'
    • 'oauth_token'
    • 'machine_token'
    • 'api_key'

    Can be set to:

    • A single token type.
    • An array of token types.
    • 'any' to accept all available token types.

    Defaults to 'session_token'.

auth.protect()

auth includes a single property, the protect() method, which you can use in three ways:

  • to check if a user is authenticated (signed in)
  • to check if a user is authorized (has the correct roles or permissions) to access something, such as a component or a route handler
  • to check if a request includes a valid machine token (e.g. API key or OAuth token) and enforce access rules accordingly

The following table describes how auth.protect() behaves based on user authentication or authorization status:

AuthenticatedAuthorizedauth.protect() will
YesYesReturn the Auth object.
YesNoReturn a 404 error.
NoNoRedirect the user to the sign-in page**.

Important

For non-document requests, such as API requests, auth.protect() returns:

  • A 404 error for unauthenticated requests with session token type.
  • A 401 error for unauthenticated requests with machine token types.

auth.protect() accepts the following parameters:

  • Name
    role?
    Type
    string
    Description

    The role to check for.

  • Name
    permission?
    Type
    string
    Description

    The permission to check for.

  • Name
    has?
    Type
    (isAuthorizedParams: CheckAuthorizationParamsWithCustomPermissions) => boolean
    Description

    A function that checks if the user has an organization role or custom permission. See the reference for more information.

  • Name
    unauthorizedUrl?
    Type
    string
    Description

    The URL to redirect the user to if they are not authorized.

  • Name
    unauthenticatedUrl?
    Type
    string
    Description

    The URL to redirect the user to if they are not authenticated.

  • Name
    token?
    Type
    TokenType
    Description

    The type of authentication token(s) to accept. Valid values are:

    • 'session_token'
    • 'oauth_token'
    • 'machine_token'
    • 'api_key'

    Can be set to:

    • A single token type.
    • An array of token types.
    • 'any' to accept all available token types.

    Defaults to 'session_token'.

Example

auth.protect() can be used to check if a user is authenticated or authorized to access certain parts of your application or even entire routes. See detailed examples in the guide on verifying if a user is authorized.

Returns

The auth() helper returns the following:

redirectToSignIn()

The auth() helper returns the redirectToSignIn() method, which you can use to redirect the user to the sign-in page.

redirectToSignIn() accepts the following parameters:

  • Name
    returnBackUrl?
    Type
    string | URL
    Description

    The URL to redirect the user back to after they sign in.

Note

auth() on the server-side can only access redirect URLs defined via environment variables or clerkMiddleware dynamic keys.

Example

The following example shows how to use redirectToSignIn() to redirect the user to the sign-in page if they are not authenticated. It's also common to use redirectToSignIn() in clerkMiddleware() to protect entire routes; see the clerkMiddleware() docs for more information.

app/page.tsx
import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

export default async function Page() {
  const { userId, redirectToSignIn } = await auth()

  if (!userId) return redirectToSignIn()

  return <h1>Hello, {userId}</h1>
}

auth() usage

Protect pages and routes

You can use auth() to check if a userId exists. If it's null, then there is not an authenticated (signed in) user. See detailed examples in the dedicated guide.

Check if a user is authorized

You can use auth() to check if a user is authorized to access certain parts of your application or even entire routes by checking their type of access control. See detailed examples in the guide on verifying if a user is authorized.

Verify machine requests

You can use auth() to verify OAuth access tokens by passing in the acceptsToken parameter. See detailed examples in the guide on verifying OAuth access tokens.

Data fetching with getToken()

If you need to send a JWT along to a server, getToken() retrieves the current user's session token or a custom JWT template. See detailed examples in the Auth object reference.

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