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)
// 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
<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
<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