Chrome Extension Patterns

CRITICAL RULES

1. OAuth (Google, GitHub, etc.) and SAML are NOT supported in popups or side panels -- use syncHost to delegate auth to your web app
2. Email links (magic links) don't work in popups -- the popup closes when the user clicks outside, resetting sign-in state
3. Side panels don't auto-refresh auth state -- users must close and reopen the side panel after signing in via the web app
4. Service workers and content scripts have NO access to Clerk React hooks -- use createClerkClient() or message passing
5. Extension URLs use chrome-extension:// not http:// -- all redirect URLs must use chrome.runtime.getURL('.')
6. Without a stable CRX ID, every rebuild breaks auth -- configure key in manifest BEFORE deploying
7. Content scripts cannot use Clerk directly due to origin restrictions -- Clerk enforces strict allowed origins
8. Bot protection must be DISABLED in Clerk Dashboard -- Cloudflare bot detection is not supported in extension environments

Authentication Options

Quick Start (Plasmo)

npx create-plasmo --with-tailwindcss --with-src my-extension
cd my-extension
npm install @clerk/chrome-extension

Enable Native API in Clerk Dashboard under Native applications. Required for all extension integrations.

.env.development:

PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_...
CLERK_FRONTEND_API=https://your-app.clerk.accounts.dev

src/popup.tsx:

import { ClerkProvider, Show, SignInButton, SignUpButton, UserButton } from '@clerk/chrome-extension'

const PUBLISHABLE_KEY = process.env.PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
const EXTENSION_URL = chrome.runtime.getURL('.')

if (!PUBLISHABLE_KEY) {
  throw new Error('Missing PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY')
}

function IndexPopup() {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider
      publishableKey={PUBLISHABLE_KEY}
      afterSignOutUrl={`${EXTENSION_URL}/popup.html`}
      signInFallbackRedirectUrl={`${EXTENSION_URL}/popup.html`}
      signUpFallbackRedirectUrl={`${EXTENSION_URL}/popup.html`}
    >
      <Show when="signed-out">
        <SignInButton mode="modal" />
        <SignUpButton mode="modal" />
      </Show>
      <Show when="signed-in">
        <UserButton />
      </Show>
    </ClerkProvider>
  )
}

export default IndexPopup

Use mode="modal" for SignInButton -- navigating to a separate page breaks the popup flow.

syncHost -- Sync Auth with Web App

Use this when you need OAuth, SAML, or want the extension to reflect sign-in from your web app.

How it works: The extension reads the Clerk session cookie from your web app's domain via host_permissions.

Step 1 -- Environment variables:

.env.development:

PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_...
CLERK_FRONTEND_API=https://your-app.clerk.accounts.dev
PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_SYNC_HOST=http://localhost

.env.production:

PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_live_...
CLERK_FRONTEND_API=https://clerk.your-domain.com
PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_SYNC_HOST=https://clerk.your-domain.com

Step 2 -- Add syncHost prop:

const SYNC_HOST = process.env.PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_SYNC_HOST

<ClerkProvider
  publishableKey={PUBLISHABLE_KEY}
  syncHost={SYNC_HOST}
  afterSignOutUrl="/"
  routerPush={(to) => navigate(to)}
  routerReplace={(to) => navigate(to, { replace: true })}
>

Step 3 -- Configure host_permissions in package.json:

{
  "manifest": {
    "key": "$CRX_PUBLIC_KEY",
    "permissions": ["cookies", "storage"],
    "host_permissions": [
      "$PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_SYNC_HOST/*",
      "$CLERK_FRONTEND_API/*"
    ]
  }
}

Step 4 -- Add extension ID to web app's allowed origins via Clerk API:

curl -X PATCH https://api.clerk.com/v1/instance \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"allowed_origins": ["chrome-extension://YOUR_EXTENSION_ID"]}'

Hide unsupported auth methods in popup when using syncHost:

<SignIn
  appearance={{
    elements: {
      socialButtonsRoot: 'plasmo-hidden',
      dividerRow: 'plasmo-hidden',
    },
  }}
/>

Full guide: references/sync-host.md

createClerkClient() for Vanilla JS / Service Workers

Import from @clerk/chrome-extension/client (not @clerk/chrome-extension).

Background service worker (src/background/index.ts):

import { createClerkClient } from '@clerk/chrome-extension/client'

const publishableKey = process.env.PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY

async function getToken(): Promise<string | null> {
  const clerk = await createClerkClient({
    publishableKey,
    background: true,
  })
  if (!clerk.session) return null
  return await clerk.session.getToken()
}

chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener((request, sender, sendResponse) => {
  getToken()
    .then((token) => sendResponse({ token }))
    .catch((error) => {
      console.error('[Background] Error:', JSON.stringify(error))
      sendResponse({ token: null })
    })
  return true
})

The background: true flag keeps sessions fresh even when popup/sidepanel is closed. Without it, tokens expire after 60 seconds.

Popup with vanilla JS (src/popup.ts):

import { createClerkClient } from '@clerk/chrome-extension/client'

const EXTENSION_URL = chrome.runtime.getURL('.')
const POPUP_URL = `${EXTENSION_URL}popup.html`

const clerk = createClerkClient({ publishableKey })

clerk.load({
  afterSignOutUrl: POPUP_URL,
  signInForceRedirectUrl: POPUP_URL,
  signUpForceRedirectUrl: POPUP_URL,
  allowedRedirectProtocols: ['chrome-extension:'],
}).then(() => {
  clerk.addListener(render)
  render()
})

Full guide: references/create-clerk-client.md

Headless Extension (no popup, no side panel)

For extensions that run entirely in the background and sync with a web app.

Uses syncHost + createClerkClient with background: true to read auth state from the web app's cookies.

import { createClerkClient } from '@clerk/chrome-extension/client'

const publishableKey = process.env.PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
const syncHost = process.env.PLASMO_PUBLIC_CLERK_SYNC_HOST

async function getAuthenticatedUser() {
  const clerk = await createClerkClient({
    publishableKey,
    syncHost,
    background: true,
  })
  return clerk.user
}

Requires host_permissions for the sync host domain in package.json.

Full guide: references/headless-extension.md

Content Scripts

Content scripts run in an isolated JavaScript world injected into web pages. Clerk cannot be used directly -- origin restrictions prevent it.

Use message passing to request auth state from the background service worker:

// content.ts
async function getToken(): Promise<string | null> {
  return new Promise((resolve) => {
    chrome.runtime.sendMessage({ type: 'GET_TOKEN' }, (response) => {
      resolve(response?.token ?? null)
    })
  })
}

async function main() {
  const token = await getToken()
  if (!token) return
  // use token for authenticated API calls
}

main()

Full guide: references/content-scripts.md

Stable CRX ID

Without a pinned key, Chrome derives the CRX ID from a random key at build time. This rotates every rebuild, breaking allowed origins.

Option A -- Plasmo Itero (recommended):

1. Visit Plasmo Itero Generate Keypairs
2. Click "Generate KeyPairs" -- save Private Key securely, copy Public Key and CRX ID

Option B -- OpenSSL:

openssl genrsa -out key.pem 2048
# Use Plasmo Itero to convert or extract the public key in correct format

.env.chrome:

CRX_PUBLIC_KEY="<PUBLIC KEY from Itero>"

package.json:

{
  "manifest": {
    "key": "$CRX_PUBLIC_KEY",
    "permissions": ["cookies", "storage"],
    "host_permissions": [
      "http://localhost/*",
      "$CLERK_FRONTEND_API/*"
    ]
  }
}

Add chrome-extension://YOUR_STABLE_CRX_ID to Clerk Dashboard > Allowed Origins.

Token Cache (persist across popup closes)

const tokenCache = {
  async getToken(key: string) {
    const result = await chrome.storage.local.get(key)
    return result[key] ?? null
  },
  async saveToken(key: string, token: string) {
    await chrome.storage.local.set({ [key]: token })
  },
  async clearToken(key: string) {
    await chrome.storage.local.remove(key)
  },
}

<ClerkProvider publishableKey={PUBLISHABLE_KEY} tokenCache={tokenCache}>

Common Pitfalls

Plan Requirements

See Also

• clerk-setup - Initial Clerk install
• clerk-custom-ui - Custom flows & appearance