home / skills / jeremylongshore / claude-code-plugins-plus-skills / clerk-ci-integration
This skill configures Clerk CI/CD with GitHub Actions and Playwright testing to automate authentication tests and build validation.
npx playbooks add skill jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills --skill clerk-ci-integrationReview the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.
---
name: clerk-ci-integration
description: |
Configure Clerk CI/CD integration with GitHub Actions and testing.
Use when setting up automated testing, configuring CI pipelines,
or integrating Clerk tests into your build process.
Trigger with phrases like "clerk CI", "clerk GitHub Actions",
"clerk automated tests", "CI clerk", "clerk pipeline".
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash(gh:*)
version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
author: Jeremy Longshore <[email protected]>
---
# Clerk CI Integration
## Overview
Set up CI/CD pipelines with Clerk authentication testing.
## Prerequisites
- GitHub repository with Actions enabled
- Clerk test API keys
- npm/pnpm project configured
## Instructions
### Step 1: GitHub Actions Workflow
```yaml
# .github/workflows/test.yml
name: Test
on:
push:
branches: [main]
pull_request:
branches: [main]
env:
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY: ${{ secrets.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY_TEST }}
CLERK_SECRET_KEY: ${{ secrets.CLERK_SECRET_KEY_TEST }}
jobs:
test:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Setup Node.js
uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: '20'
cache: 'npm'
- name: Install dependencies
run: npm ci
- name: Type check
run: npm run typecheck
- name: Run unit tests
run: npm test
- name: Run integration tests
run: npm run test:integration
env:
CLERK_SECRET_KEY: ${{ secrets.CLERK_SECRET_KEY_TEST }}
- name: Build
run: npm run build
```
### Step 2: E2E Testing with Playwright
```yaml
# .github/workflows/e2e.yml
name: E2E Tests
on:
push:
branches: [main]
pull_request:
branches: [main]
jobs:
e2e:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Setup Node.js
uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: '20'
cache: 'npm'
- name: Install dependencies
run: npm ci
- name: Install Playwright
run: npx playwright install --with-deps
- name: Build application
run: npm run build
env:
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY: ${{ secrets.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY_TEST }}
- name: Run E2E tests
run: npx playwright test
env:
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY: ${{ secrets.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY_TEST }}
CLERK_SECRET_KEY: ${{ secrets.CLERK_SECRET_KEY_TEST }}
CLERK_TEST_USER_EMAIL: ${{ secrets.CLERK_TEST_USER_EMAIL }}
CLERK_TEST_USER_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.CLERK_TEST_USER_PASSWORD }}
- name: Upload test results
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
if: always()
with:
name: playwright-report
path: playwright-report/
```
### Step 3: Test User Setup
```typescript
// scripts/setup-test-user.ts
import { clerkClient } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
async function setupTestUser() {
const client = await clerkClient()
// Check if test user exists
const { data: users } = await client.users.getUserList({
emailAddress: ['[email protected]']
})
if (users.length === 0) {
// Create test user
const user = await client.users.createUser({
emailAddress: ['[email protected]'],
password: process.env.CLERK_TEST_USER_PASSWORD,
firstName: 'Test',
lastName: 'User'
})
console.log('Created test user:', user.id)
} else {
console.log('Test user already exists:', users[0].id)
}
}
setupTestUser()
```
### Step 4: Playwright Test Configuration
```typescript
// playwright.config.ts
import { defineConfig, devices } from '@playwright/test'
export default defineConfig({
testDir: './e2e',
fullyParallel: true,
forbidOnly: !!process.env.CI,
retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0,
workers: process.env.CI ? 1 : undefined,
reporter: 'html',
use: {
baseURL: 'http://localhost:3000',
trace: 'on-first-retry',
},
projects: [
{
name: 'chromium',
use: { ...devices['Desktop Chrome'] },
},
],
webServer: {
command: 'npm run start',
url: 'http://localhost:3000',
reuseExistingServer: !process.env.CI,
},
})
```
### Step 5: Authentication Test Helpers
```typescript
// e2e/helpers/auth.ts
import { Page } from '@playwright/test'
export async function signIn(page: Page) {
await page.goto('/sign-in')
await page.fill('input[name="identifier"]', process.env.CLERK_TEST_USER_EMAIL!)
await page.click('button:has-text("Continue")')
await page.fill('input[name="password"]', process.env.CLERK_TEST_USER_PASSWORD!)
await page.click('button:has-text("Continue")')
// Wait for redirect to dashboard
await page.waitForURL('/dashboard')
}
export async function signOut(page: Page) {
await page.click('[data-clerk-user-button]')
await page.click('button:has-text("Sign out")')
await page.waitForURL('/')
}
```
### Step 6: Sample E2E Tests
```typescript
// e2e/auth.spec.ts
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test'
import { signIn, signOut } from './helpers/auth'
test.describe('Authentication', () => {
test('user can sign in and access dashboard', async ({ page }) => {
await signIn(page)
await expect(page).toHaveURL('/dashboard')
await expect(page.locator('h1')).toContainText('Dashboard')
})
test('user can sign out', async ({ page }) => {
await signIn(page)
await signOut(page)
await expect(page).toHaveURL('/')
})
test('unauthenticated user is redirected', async ({ page }) => {
await page.goto('/dashboard')
await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/sign-in/)
})
})
```
## Output
- GitHub Actions workflows configured
- E2E tests with Playwright
- Test user management
- CI/CD pipeline ready
## Secret Configuration
Required GitHub Secrets:
- `CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY_TEST` - Test publishable key
- `CLERK_SECRET_KEY_TEST` - Test secret key
- `CLERK_TEST_USER_EMAIL` - Test user email
- `CLERK_TEST_USER_PASSWORD` - Test user password
## Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| Secret not found | Missing GitHub secret | Add secret in repo settings |
| Test user not found | User not created | Run setup script first |
| Timeout on sign-in | Slow response | Increase timeout, check network |
| Build fails | Missing env vars | Check all NEXT_PUBLIC vars set |
## Resources
- [GitHub Actions Docs](https://docs.github.com/en/actions)
- [Playwright Testing](https://playwright.dev)
- [Clerk Testing Guide](https://clerk.com/docs/testing/overview)
## Next Steps
Proceed to `clerk-deploy-integration` for deployment platform setup.
This skill configures Clerk CI/CD integration with GitHub Actions to run unit, integration, and end-to-end tests using Playwright. It includes workflows, test user management, and Playwright configuration so authentication flows are validated in CI. Use it to automate Clerk-related test coverage and keep auth regressions out of production.
The skill provides GitHub Actions workflows for unit/integration tests and a separate E2E workflow that installs Playwright, builds the app, and runs browser tests. It adds a test user setup script using the Clerk server SDK and Playwright helpers to sign in and sign out. Secrets are injected via GitHub repository secrets so tests run against Clerk test keys without exposing credentials.
Which GitHub secrets are required?
You need CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY_TEST, CLERK_SECRET_KEY_TEST, CLERK_TEST_USER_EMAIL, and CLERK_TEST_USER_PASSWORD in repo secrets.
How do I avoid flaky E2E tests?
Limit workers in CI, add retries, increase timeouts where needed, and enable traces on first retry for diagnostics.
Can I run Playwright locally with the same config?
Yes. The Playwright config uses environment variables for CI-specific behavior; locally you can omit CI env and reuse the same config.