Middleware Protection

Comprehensive route protection and authorization patterns for Clerk middleware in Next.js applications. Provides middleware configuration, route matchers, role-based access control, and authentication boundaries.

Core Concepts

Middleware Architecture

• Edge Runtime: Clerk middleware runs on Cloudflare Workers/Vercel Edge
• Request Interception: Middleware executes before route handlers
• Auth State: Access to authentication state via auth() helper
• Matcher Patterns: Configure which routes middleware applies to

Route Protection Levels

1. Public Routes: Accessible without authentication (sign-in, sign-up, landing pages)
2. Protected Routes: Require authentication (dashboards, user profiles)
3. Organization Routes: Require organization membership
4. Role-Based Routes: Require specific roles or permissions