clerk backend api

Options context

User Prompt: $ARGUMENTS

CRITICAL: Mandatory checks before EVERY write request

Before ANY POST / PATCH / PUT / DELETE, you MUST do ALL of the following in your response:

1. Check CLERK_SECRET_KEY — verify it is set:

   echo $CLERK_SECRET_KEY | head -c 10

If empty, stop and ask the user. Do not proceed without a valid key.

2. Check CLERK_BAPI_SCOPES — run:

   echo $CLERK_BAPI_SCOPES

Inspect the output. If scopes are missing or do not include the required write permission, tell the user: "This is a write operation and your current scopes may not allow it. Rerun with --admin to bypass?" Do NOT attempt the request and fail — ask first.

3. For DELETE requests: warn explicitly that the action is IRREVERSIBLE and list exactly what data will be permanently destroyed (user record, all sessions, all memberships, all associated data). Require explicit confirmation before proceeding. This warning is MANDATORY — never skip it.

4. For metadata operations: always explain which metadata type is being used and why (see Metadata types section below).

FAST PATH: Common operations (use directly, no spec fetching needed)

For the operations below, skip spec fetching and execute immediately using these exact templates. Substitute $CLERK_SECRET_KEY, $USER_ID, $ORG_ID, $EMAIL as needed from the user's context.

Create organization + invite member (two-step)

# Step 1 — Create organization
ORG=$(curl -s -X POST "https://api.clerk.com/v1/organizations" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"name\": \"Acme Corp\", \"created_by\": \"$USER_ID\"}")
echo "$ORG" | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(json.dumps(d, indent=2))"

# Step 2 — Extract org ID
ORG_ID=$(echo "$ORG" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")

# Step 3 — Invite member with role
curl -s -X POST "https://api.clerk.com/v1/organizations/${ORG_ID}/invitations" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"email_address\": \"user@example.com\", \"role\": \"org:admin\"}" \
  | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.dumps(json.load(sys.stdin), indent=2))"

Roles: use "org:admin" or "org:member" (always prefix with org:).

SDK equivalent (for Next.js / TypeScript projects with @clerk/nextjs or @clerk/backend)

import { clerkClient } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
// OR if using @clerk/backend directly:
// import { createClerkClient } from '@clerk/backend'
// const clerkClient = createClerkClient({ secretKey: process.env.CLERK_SECRET_KEY })

// Step 1: Create organization
const org = await clerkClient.organizations.createOrganization({
  name: 'Acme Corp',
  createdBy: userId,  // required — the ID of the user creating the org
})

// Step 2: Invite member to the org
const invitation = await clerkClient.organizations.createOrganizationInvitation({
  organizationId: org.id,
  emailAddress: 'user@example.com',
  role: 'org:admin',  // or 'org:member'
})

Update user metadata

Always explain the three metadata types before asking which to use:

For plan: 'pro' and onboarded: true — use public_metadata (frontend-readable, server-writable):

curl -s -X PATCH "https://api.clerk.com/v1/users/${USER_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"public_metadata": {"plan": "pro", "onboarded": true}}' \
  | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(f'Updated user {d[\"id\"]}: public_metadata={d.get(\"public_metadata\")}')"

SDK equivalent:

import { clerkClient } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
// OR: import { createClerkClient } from '@clerk/backend'

await clerkClient.users.updateUser(userId, {
  publicMetadata: { plan: 'pro', onboarded: true },   // readable by client, writable server-only
  // privateMetadata: { stripeId: 'cus_xxx' },         // server-only read AND write
  // unsafeMetadata: { step: 'welcome' },              // client-writable, avoid sensitive data
})

Note: REST API uses snake_case (public_metadata). SDK uses camelCase (publicMetadata).

List users (last 7 days)

curl -s "https://api.clerk.com/v1/users?limit=100&offset=0&order_by=-created_at&created_at=gt:$(date -d '7 days ago' +%s 2>/dev/null || date -v-7d +%s)000" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_SECRET_KEY" \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
if isinstance(data, list):
    print(f'Found {len(data)} users:')
    for u in data:
        print(f'  {u[\"id\"]}: {u.get(\"email_addresses\", [{}])[0].get(\"email_address\", \"no email\")}')
else:
    print(json.dumps(data, indent=2))
"

Delete user (confirm required)

# ONLY run after explicit user confirmation
curl -s -X DELETE "https://api.clerk.com/v1/users/${USER_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_SECRET_KEY" \
  | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(f'Deleted: {d}')"

Clerk Backend API — Full Endpoint Reference

Base URL: https://api.clerk.com/v1 Auth: Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_SECRET_KEY on every request.

Users

List users

GET /v1/users
Query params: limit (max 500, default 10), offset, order_by (+/-created_at, +/-updated_at, +/-email_address, +/-web3wallet, +/-first_name, +/-last_name, +/-phone_number, +/-username, +/-last_active_at, +/-last_sign_in_at), email_address[], phone_number[], username[], web3wallet[], user_id[], query, created_at (ISO 8601 range: gt:TIMESTAMP or lt:TIMESTAMP in Unix ms)
Returns: array of User objects

Get user

GET /v1/users/{user_id}
Returns: User object

Update user

PATCH /v1/users/{user_id}
Body (JSON, snake_case): { public_metadata, private_metadata, unsafe_metadata, first_name, last_name, username, ... }

Delete user — IRREVERSIBLE

DELETE /v1/users/{user_id}
Destroys: user record, all sessions, all memberships, all associated data
Returns: { id, object, deleted: true }

Always warn the user this is permanent and confirm before proceeding.

Organizations

Create organization

POST /v1/organizations
Body: { name: string, created_by: string (user_id), public_metadata?, private_metadata?, max_allowed_memberships? }
Returns: Organization object with { id, name, slug, ... }

List organizations

GET /v1/organizations
Query params: limit, offset, query, order_by

Invite member

POST /v1/organizations/{organization_id}/invitations
Body: { email_address: string, role: string ("org:admin" or "org:member"), public_metadata?, private_metadata? }
Returns: OrganizationInvitation object

How to execute requests

ALWAYS execute requests with direct curl commands. Use the spec-extraction scripts (api-specs-context.sh, extract-tags.js, extract-endpoint-detail.sh) to discover endpoints, but make actual API calls with curl. Do NOT use scripts/execute-request.sh — it's a local dev helper, not for agent use.

Template for GET requests:

curl -s "https://api.clerk.com/v1${PATH}${QUERY_STRING}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_SECRET_KEY"

Template for POST/PATCH requests:

curl -s -X ${METHOD} "https://api.clerk.com/v1${PATH}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '${BODY_JSON}'

Template for DELETE requests:

curl -s -X DELETE "https://api.clerk.com/v1${PATH}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_SECRET_KEY"

After getting the response: Parse and display it clearly. Use python3 -c "import sys,json; data=json.load(sys.stdin); print(json.dumps(data, indent=2))" to pretty-print JSON. Extract key fields (id, email, name, etc.) and summarize them for the user.

API specs context

Before doing anything outside the FAST PATH, fetch the available spec versions and tags by running:

bash scripts/api-specs-context.sh

Use the output to determine the latest version and available tags.

Caching: If you already fetched the spec context earlier in this conversation, do NOT fetch it again. Reuse the version and tags from the previous call.

Rules

• For common operations (list users, create org, invite, update metadata, delete user): use the FAST PATH above — do NOT fetch specs first.
• Always disregard endpoints/schemas related to platform.
• Always confirm before performing write requests (POST/PUT/PATCH/DELETE).
• For DELETE operations, always warn the user that the action is irreversible and mention what data will be lost (user record, sessions, memberships). This warning is MANDATORY — never skip it.
• For write operations (POST/PUT/PATCH/DELETE), check CLERK_BAPI_SCOPES before attempting the request. If missing or insufficient, ask the user upfront. Do NOT attempt and fail — ask before executing. This check is MANDATORY.
• For metadata operations, always explain all three types (public, private, unsafe) and recommend the appropriate one.
• Pagination: always use limit + offset and mention that results may be paginated for large datasets.
• Use direct curl commands for all API calls — never use scripts/execute-request.sh.

Rate Limits & Gotchas

Rate Limits

currentUser() makes a real API call that counts against rate limits. Use auth() for just the session claims — it reads from the token without an API call.

Metadata Overwrites (Not Merges)

updateUser({ publicMetadata: { role: 'admin' } }) REPLACES all public metadata, not merges. To add a field without losing existing data: read first, spread, then write.

Wrong:

await clerkClient.users.updateUser(userId, { publicMetadata: { newField: 'value' } })

This DELETES all other publicMetadata fields.

Right:

const user = await clerkClient.users.getUser(userId)
await clerkClient.users.updateUser(userId, {
  publicMetadata: { ...user.publicMetadata, newField: 'value' },
})

Modes

Determine the active mode based on the user prompt in Options context:

Your Task

Use the LATEST VERSION from API specs context by default. If the user specifies a different version (e.g. --version 2024-10-01), use that version instead.

Determine the active mode, then follow the applicable steps below.

0. Print usage

Modes: help only — Skip for browse, execute, and detail.

Print the following examples to the user verbatim:

Browse
  /clerk-backend-api tags                         — list all tags
  /clerk-backend-api Users                        — browse endpoints for the Users tag
  /clerk-backend-api Users version 2025-11-10.yml — browse using a different version

Execute
  /clerk-backend-api GET /users             — fetch all users
  /clerk-backend-api get user john_doe      — natural language works too
  /clerk-backend-api POST /invitations      — create an invitation

Inspect
  /clerk-backend-api GET /users help        — show endpoint schema without executing
  /clerk-backend-api POST /invitations -h   — view request/response details

Options
  --admin                            — bypass scope restrictions for write/delete
  --version [date], version [date]   — use a specific spec version
  --help, -h, help                   — inspect endpoint instead of executing

Stop here.

1. Fetch tags

Modes: browse (when prompt is tags or no tag specified) — Skip for help, execute, and detail.

If using a non-latest version, fetch tags for that version:

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/clerk/openapi-specs/main/bapi/${version_name} | node scripts/extract-tags.js

Otherwise, use the TAGS already in API specs context.

Share tags in a table and prompt the user to select a query.

2. Fetch tag endpoints

Modes: browse (when a tag name is provided) — Skip for help, execute, and detail.

Fetch all endpoints for the identified tag:

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/clerk/openapi-specs/main/bapi/${version_name} | bash scripts/extract-tag-endpoints.sh "${tag_name}"

Share the results (endpoints, schemas, parameters) with the user.

3. Fetch endpoint detail

Modes: execute, detail — Skip for help and browse.

For natural language prompts in execute mode, first check if the operation matches a FAST PATH entry above. If it does, skip this step and proceed directly to step 4 using the FAST PATH template.

For other endpoints, identify the matching endpoint by searching the tags in context. Fetch tag endpoints if needed to resolve the exact path and method.

Extract the full endpoint definition:

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/clerk/openapi-specs/main/bapi/${version_name} | bash scripts/extract-endpoint-detail.sh "${path}" "${method}"

• ${path} — e.g. /users/{user_id}
• ${method} — lowercase, e.g. get

detail mode: Share the endpoint definition and schemas with the user. Stop here.

execute mode: Continue to step 4.

4. Execute request

Modes: execute only.

1. Run the mandatory checks from the CRITICAL section above. 2. Identify required and optional parameters from the spec (step 3) or FAST PATH. 3. Ask the user for any required path/query/body parameters that weren't provided. 4. Build and execute a direct curl command (see How to execute requests above). Do NOT use scripts/execute-request.sh. 5. Parse the JSON response and display it clearly. Extract and summarize key fields for the user.

Example — list users and parse response:

RESPONSE=$(curl -s "https://api.clerk.com/v1/users?limit=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_SECRET_KEY")
echo "$RESPONSE" | python3 -c "
import sys, json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
if isinstance(data, list):
    print(f'Found {len(data)} users:')
    for u in data:
        print(f'  {u[\"id\"]}: {u.get(\"email_addresses\", [{}])[0].get(\"email_address\", \"no email\")}')
else:
    print(json.dumps(data, indent=2))
"

See Also

• clerk-setup - Initial Clerk install
• clerk-orgs - Manage organizations via API
• clerk-webhooks - Real-time event sync