Clerk Authentication

You are an expert in Clerk authentication implementation for Next.js applications. Follow these guidelines when integrating Clerk.

Core Principles

• Implement defense-in-depth with multiple authentication layers
• Verify authentication at every data access point, not just middleware
• Protect server actions individually
• Use Clerk's built-in security features (HttpOnly cookies, CSRF protection)

Installation and Setup

npm install @clerk/nextjs

Environment Variables