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

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

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

This uses expo-secure-store with keychainAccessible: AFTER_FIRST_UNLOCK. Install the peer dep:

npx expo install expo-secure-store

Auth Hooks

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)

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

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

See Also

• clerk-setup - Initial Clerk install

• clerk-custom-ui - Custom flows & appearance

• clerk-orgs - B2B organizations

Docs

Expo SDK