clerk-expo-patterns

Original：🇺🇸 English

Translated

Expo / React Native patterns with Clerk — SecureStore token cache, OAuth deep linking, useAuth in native, Expo Router protected routes, push notifications with user context. Triggers on: expo clerk, clerk react native, SecureStore token cache, expo router auth, OAuth deep link clerk, mobile auth clerk.

4installs

Sourceclerk/skills

Added on2026-04-07

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add clerk/skills clerk-expo-patterns

SKILL.md Content

View Translation Comparison →

Expo Patterns

SDK:

@clerk/expo

v3+. Requires Expo 53+, React Native 0.73+.

What Do You Need?

Task	Reference
Persist tokens with SecureStore	references/token-storage.md
OAuth (Google, Apple, GitHub)	references/oauth-deep-linking.md
Protected screens with Expo Router	references/protected-routes.md
Push notifications with user data	references/push-notifications.md

Mental Model

Clerk stores the session token in memory by default. In native apps:

SecureStore — encrypt token in device keychain (recommended for production)
tokenCache
— prop on
```
<ClerkProvider>
```
that provides custom storage
useAuth
— same API as web, works in any component
OAuth — requires
```
useSSO
```
+ deep link scheme configured in
```
app.json
```

Minimal Setup

app/_layout.tsx

tsx

import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/expo'
import { tokenCache } from '@clerk/expo/token-cache'
import { Stack } from 'expo-router'

const publishableKey = process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY!

export default function RootLayout() {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider publishableKey={publishableKey} tokenCache={tokenCache}>
      <Stack />
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}

CRITICAL: Use
EXPO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
— not
NEXT_PUBLIC_
. Env vars inside
node_modules
are not inlined in production builds. Always pass
publishableKey
explicitly.

Built-in Token Cache

tsx

import { tokenCache } from '@clerk/expo/token-cache'

This uses

expo-secure-store

with

keychainAccessible: AFTER_FIRST_UNLOCK

. Install the peer dep:

bash

npx expo install expo-secure-store

Auth Hooks

tsx

import { useAuth, useUser, useSignIn, useSignUp, useClerk } from '@clerk/expo'

export function ProfileScreen() {
  const { isSignedIn, userId, signOut } = useAuth()
  const { user } = useUser()

  if (!isSignedIn) return <Redirect href="/sign-in" />
  return (
    <View>
      <Text>{user?.fullName}</Text>
      <Button title="Sign Out" onPress={() => signOut()} />
    </View>
  )
}

OAuth Flow (Google)

tsx

import { useSSO } from '@clerk/expo'
import * as WebBrowser from 'expo-web-browser'

WebBrowser.maybeCompleteAuthSession()

export function GoogleSignIn() {
  const { startSSOFlow } = useSSO()

  const handlePress = async () => {
    try {
      const { createdSessionId, setActive } = await startSSOFlow({
        strategy: 'oauth_google',
        redirectUrl: 'myapp://oauth-callback',
      })
      if (createdSessionId) await setActive!({ session: createdSessionId })
    } catch (err) {
      console.error(err)
    }
  }

  return <Button title="Continue with Google" onPress={handlePress} />
}

Org Switching

tsx

import { useOrganization, useOrganizationList } from '@clerk/expo'

export function OrgSwitcher() {
  const { organization } = useOrganization()
  const { setActive, userMemberships } = useOrganizationList()

  return (
    <View>
      <Text>Current: {organization?.name ?? 'Personal'}</Text>
      {userMemberships.data?.map(mem => (
        <Button
          key={mem.organization.id}
          title={mem.organization.name}
          onPress={() => setActive({ organization: mem.organization.id })}
        />
      ))}
    </View>
  )
}

Common Pitfalls

Symptom	Cause	Fix
`publishableKey` undefined in prod	Using env var without `EXPO_PUBLIC_`	Rename to `EXPO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY`
Token lost on app restart	No `tokenCache`	Pass `tokenCache` from `@clerk/expo/token-cache`
OAuth redirect not working	Missing scheme in `app.json`	Add `"scheme": "myapp"` to `app.json`
`WebBrowser.maybeCompleteAuthSession`	Not called	Call it at the top level of the OAuth callback screen
`useSSO` not found	Old `@clerk/expo` version	`useSSO` replaced `useOAuth` in v3+

Import Map

What	Import From
`ClerkProvider`	`@clerk/expo`
`tokenCache`	`@clerk/expo/token-cache`
`useAuth` , `useUser` , `useSignIn`	`@clerk/expo`
`useSSO`	`@clerk/expo`
`useOrganization` , `useOrganizationList`	`@clerk/expo`

Docs

Expo SDK