Clerk provides a complete authentication and user management solution with pre-built React components, Next.js middleware, and a Backend API. Handle sign-up/sign-in with email, password, magic links, OAuth (Google, GitHub, etc.), and passkeys. Manage user profiles, organizations, roles, and sessions. The Backend API lets you read and manage users, create tokens, impersonate users, and configure security policies.
https://api.clerk.com/v1
Auth type
Bearer Token
Auth header
Authorization: Bearer sk_live_...
Rate limit
100 requests/10 sec
Pricing
Pay per use
Free quota
10,000 MAU free forever
Documentation
https://clerk.com/docs
Endpoint status
Server online — HTTP 401 — server is online but path returned an error (may require auth)790ms
(checked Mar 29, 2026)
Builder score
B
72%
builder-friendly
Use your Clerk Secret Key (starts with sk_) as a Bearer token for Backend API requests. The Publishable Key is for frontend SDKs.
Authorization: Bearer sk_live_...
Free: 10k MAU, all core auth features. Pro $25/mo: includes 10k MAU + $0.02/additional MAU, organizations, custom domains, MFA. Enterprise: custom.
| Method | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GET | /users |
List users with filtering and search |
| GET | /users/{userId} |
Get a specific user's full profile |
| PATCH | /users/{userId} |
Update user metadata or profile fields |
| DELETE | /users/{userId} |
Delete a user and all their sessions |
| POST | /users/{userId}/ban |
Ban a user from signing in |
| GET | /sessions |
List active sessions across all users |
| GET | /organizations |
List organizations in your application |
curl "https://api.clerk.com/v1/users?limit=5&order_by=-created_at" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_SECRET_KEY"
{
"data": [{
"id": "user_2abc123",
"email_addresses": [{"email_address": "alice@example.com"}],
"first_name": "Alice",
"last_name": "Chen",
"created_at": 1704067200000,
"last_sign_in_at": 1710000000000,
"public_metadata": {}
}],
"total_count": 842
}
Data sourced from API Map. Always verify pricing and rate limits against the official Clerk documentation.