clerk · wobsoriano · Aug 11, 2025 · Aug 9, 2025 · Aug 9, 2025 · Aug 9, 2025
diff --git a/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md b/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@clerk/express': patch
+---
+
+Deprecates `enableHandshake` option in `clerkMiddleware`. This option is unnecessary for API requests since they don't trigger handshake flows. The option will be removed in a future version.
diff --git a/integration/presets/express.ts b/integration/presets/express.ts
@@ -6,11 +6,13 @@ import { linkPackage } from './utils';
 const vite = applicationConfig()
  .setName('express-vite')
  .useTemplate(templates['express-vite'])
+ .setEnvFormatter('public', key => `VITE_${key}`)
  .addScript('setup', 'pnpm install')
  .addScript('dev', 'pnpm dev')
  .addScript('build', 'pnpm build')
  .addScript('serve', 'pnpm start')
- .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'));
+ .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'))
+ .addDependency('@clerk/clerk-js', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('clerk-js'));
 
 export const express = {
  vite,

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html b/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+ <head>
+ <meta charset="UTF-8" />
+ <link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/vite.svg" />
+ <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
+ <title>Vite + TS + Express</title>
+ </head>
+ <body>
+ <div id="app"></div>
+ <script type="module" src="/src/client/main.ts"></script>
+ </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json
@@ -4,22 +4,20 @@
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
  "build": "vite build",
- "dev": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts",
- "lint": "eslint src --ext ts,tsx --report-unused-disable-directives --max-warnings 0",
+ "dev": "PORT=$PORT tsx src/server/main.ts",
  "preview": "vite preview --port $PORT --no-open",
- "start": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts"
+ "start": "PORT=$PORT NODE_ENV=production tsx src/server/main.ts"
  },
  "dependencies": {
- "dotenv": "^16.4.7",
- "ejs": "^3.1.6",
- "express": "^4.18.2",
- "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
- "vite-express": "^0.20.0"
+ "dotenv": "^17.2.1",
+ "express": "^5.1.0",
+ "tsx": "^4.20.3",
+ "vite-express": "^0.21.1"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
- "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
- "@types/node": "^20.9.3",
- "typescript": "^5.7.3",
- "vite": "^5.0.2"
+ "@types/express": "^5.0.3",
+ "@types/node": "^24.2.1",
+ "typescript": "^5.8.3",
+ "vite": "^6.3.3"
  }
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { Clerk } from '@clerk/clerk-js';
+
+const publishableKey = import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY;
+
+document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', async function () {
+ const clerk = new Clerk(publishableKey);
+ await clerk.load();
+
+ if (clerk.isSignedIn) {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="user-button"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const userButtonDiv = document.getElementById('user-button');
+
+ clerk.mountUserButton(userButtonDiv);
+ } else {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="sign-in"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const signInDiv = document.getElementById('sign-in');
+
+ clerk.mountSignIn(signInDiv);
+ }
+});
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+ "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+ "compilerOptions": {
+ "module": "ESNext",
+ "moduleResolution": "Bundler"
+ }
+}
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/// <reference types="vite/client" />
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts
@@ -1,63 +1,44 @@
-// Should be at the top of the file - used to load clerk secret key
 import 'dotenv/config';
 
-import { clerkMiddleware } from '@clerk/express';
+import { clerkMiddleware, getAuth } from '@clerk/express';
 import express from 'express';
 import ViteExpress from 'vite-express';
 
 const app = express();
 
-app.use(clerkMiddleware());
-app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
-app.set('views', 'src/views');
+app.use(
+ clerkMiddleware({
+ publishableKey: process.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
+ }),
+);
+
+app.get('/api/protected', (req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ const { userId } = getAuth(req);
+ if (!userId) {
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
+ return;
+ }
+
+ res.send('Protected API response');
+});
 
 const legacyRequireAuth = (req: any, _res: any, next: any) => {
  if (!req.auth.userId) {
- return next(new Error('Unauthenticated'));
+ return next(new Error('Unauthorized'));
  }
 
  next();
 };
 
-app.get('/api/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
- return res.send('Protected API response');
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-in', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-in.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('index.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-up', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-up.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/protected', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('protected.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
+app.get('/api/legacy/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ res.send('Protected API response');
 });
 
 // Handle authentication error, otherwise application will crash
 // @ts-ignore
 app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
  if (err) {
- console.error(err);
- res.status(401).end();
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
  return;
  }
 

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
  "compilerOptions": {
  "target": "ESNext",
  "useDefineForClassFields": true,
- "lib": ["DOM", "DOM.Iterable", "ESNext"],
- "allowJs": false,
- "skipLibCheck": true,
- "esModuleInterop": true,
- "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
+ "module": "NodeNext",
+ "lib": ["ESNext", "DOM"],
+ "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
  "strict": true,
- "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
- "module": "CommonJS",
- "moduleResolution": "Node",
  "resolveJsonModule": true,
  "isolatedModules": true,
- "noEmit": true
+ "esModuleInterop": true,
+ "noEmit": true,
+ "noUnusedLocals": true,
+ "noUnusedParameters": true,
+ "noImplicitReturns": true,
+ "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": ["src"]
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts
diff --git a/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md b/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@clerk/express': patch
+---
+
+Deprecates `enableHandshake` option in `clerkMiddleware`. This option is unnecessary for API requests since they don't trigger handshake flows. The option will be removed in a future version.
diff --git a/integration/presets/express.ts b/integration/presets/express.ts
@@ -6,11 +6,13 @@ import { linkPackage } from './utils';
 const vite = applicationConfig()
  .setName('express-vite')
  .useTemplate(templates['express-vite'])
+ .setEnvFormatter('public', key => `VITE_${key}`)
  .addScript('setup', 'pnpm install')
  .addScript('dev', 'pnpm dev')
  .addScript('build', 'pnpm build')
  .addScript('serve', 'pnpm start')
- .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'));
+ .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'))
+ .addDependency('@clerk/clerk-js', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('clerk-js'));
 
 export const express = {
  vite,

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html b/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+ <head>
+ <meta charset="UTF-8" />
+ <link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/vite.svg" />
+ <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
+ <title>Vite + TS + Express</title>
+ </head>
+ <body>
+ <div id="app"></div>
+ <script type="module" src="/src/client/main.ts"></script>
+ </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json
@@ -4,22 +4,20 @@
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
  "build": "vite build",
- "dev": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts",
- "lint": "eslint src --ext ts,tsx --report-unused-disable-directives --max-warnings 0",
+ "dev": "PORT=$PORT tsx src/server/main.ts",
  "preview": "vite preview --port $PORT --no-open",
- "start": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts"
+ "start": "PORT=$PORT NODE_ENV=production tsx src/server/main.ts"
  },
  "dependencies": {
- "dotenv": "^16.4.7",
- "ejs": "^3.1.6",
- "express": "^4.18.2",
- "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
- "vite-express": "^0.20.0"
+ "dotenv": "^17.2.1",
+ "express": "^5.1.0",
+ "tsx": "^4.20.3",
+ "vite-express": "^0.21.1"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
- "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
- "@types/node": "^20.9.3",
- "typescript": "^5.7.3",
- "vite": "^5.0.2"
+ "@types/express": "^5.0.3",
+ "@types/node": "^24.2.1",
+ "typescript": "^5.8.3",
+ "vite": "^6.3.3"
  }
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { Clerk } from '@clerk/clerk-js';
+
+const publishableKey = import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY;
+
+document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', async function () {
+ const clerk = new Clerk(publishableKey);
+ await clerk.load();
+
+ if (clerk.isSignedIn) {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="user-button"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const userButtonDiv = document.getElementById('user-button');
+
+ clerk.mountUserButton(userButtonDiv);
+ } else {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="sign-in"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const signInDiv = document.getElementById('sign-in');
+
+ clerk.mountSignIn(signInDiv);
+ }
+});
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+ "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+ "compilerOptions": {
+ "module": "ESNext",
+ "moduleResolution": "Bundler"
+ }
+}
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/// <reference types="vite/client" />
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts
@@ -1,63 +1,44 @@
-// Should be at the top of the file - used to load clerk secret key
 import 'dotenv/config';
 
-import { clerkMiddleware } from '@clerk/express';
+import { clerkMiddleware, getAuth } from '@clerk/express';
 import express from 'express';
 import ViteExpress from 'vite-express';
 
 const app = express();
 
-app.use(clerkMiddleware());
-app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
-app.set('views', 'src/views');
+app.use(
+ clerkMiddleware({
+ publishableKey: process.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
+ }),
+);
+
+app.get('/api/protected', (req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ const { userId } = getAuth(req);
+ if (!userId) {
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
+ return;
+ }
+
+ res.send('Protected API response');
+});
 
 const legacyRequireAuth = (req: any, _res: any, next: any) => {
  if (!req.auth.userId) {
- return next(new Error('Unauthenticated'));
+ return next(new Error('Unauthorized'));
  }
 
  next();
 };
 
-app.get('/api/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
- return res.send('Protected API response');
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-in', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-in.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('index.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-up', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-up.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/protected', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('protected.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
+app.get('/api/legacy/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ res.send('Protected API response');
 });
 
 // Handle authentication error, otherwise application will crash
 // @ts-ignore
 app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
  if (err) {
- console.error(err);
- res.status(401).end();
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
  return;
  }
 

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
  "compilerOptions": {
  "target": "ESNext",
  "useDefineForClassFields": true,
- "lib": ["DOM", "DOM.Iterable", "ESNext"],
- "allowJs": false,
- "skipLibCheck": true,
- "esModuleInterop": true,
- "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
+ "module": "NodeNext",
+ "lib": ["ESNext", "DOM"],
+ "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
  "strict": true,
- "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
- "module": "CommonJS",
- "moduleResolution": "Node",
  "resolveJsonModule": true,
  "isolatedModules": true,
- "noEmit": true
+ "esModuleInterop": true,
+ "noEmit": true,
+ "noUnusedLocals": true,
+ "noUnusedParameters": true,
+ "noImplicitReturns": true,
+ "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": ["src"]
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts
diff --git a/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md b/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@clerk/express': patch
+---
+
+Deprecates `enableHandshake` option in `clerkMiddleware`. This option is unnecessary for API requests since they don't trigger handshake flows. The option will be removed in a future version.
diff --git a/integration/presets/express.ts b/integration/presets/express.ts
@@ -6,11 +6,13 @@ import { linkPackage } from './utils';
 const vite = applicationConfig()
  .setName('express-vite')
  .useTemplate(templates['express-vite'])
+ .setEnvFormatter('public', key => `VITE_${key}`)
  .addScript('setup', 'pnpm install')
  .addScript('dev', 'pnpm dev')
  .addScript('build', 'pnpm build')
  .addScript('serve', 'pnpm start')
- .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'));
+ .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'))
+ .addDependency('@clerk/clerk-js', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('clerk-js'));
 
 export const express = {
  vite,

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html b/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+ <head>
+ <meta charset="UTF-8" />
+ <link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/vite.svg" />
+ <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
+ <title>Vite + TS + Express</title>
+ </head>
+ <body>
+ <div id="app"></div>
+ <script type="module" src="/src/client/main.ts"></script>
+ </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json
@@ -4,22 +4,20 @@
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
  "build": "vite build",
- "dev": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts",
- "lint": "eslint src --ext ts,tsx --report-unused-disable-directives --max-warnings 0",
+ "dev": "PORT=$PORT tsx src/server/main.ts",
  "preview": "vite preview --port $PORT --no-open",
- "start": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts"
+ "start": "PORT=$PORT NODE_ENV=production tsx src/server/main.ts"
  },
  "dependencies": {
- "dotenv": "^16.4.7",
- "ejs": "^3.1.6",
- "express": "^4.18.2",
- "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
- "vite-express": "^0.20.0"
+ "dotenv": "^17.2.1",
+ "express": "^5.1.0",
+ "tsx": "^4.20.3",
+ "vite-express": "^0.21.1"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
- "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
- "@types/node": "^20.9.3",
- "typescript": "^5.7.3",
- "vite": "^5.0.2"
+ "@types/express": "^5.0.3",
+ "@types/node": "^24.2.1",
+ "typescript": "^5.8.3",
+ "vite": "^6.3.3"
  }
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { Clerk } from '@clerk/clerk-js';
+
+const publishableKey = import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY;
+
+document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', async function () {
+ const clerk = new Clerk(publishableKey);
+ await clerk.load();
+
+ if (clerk.isSignedIn) {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="user-button"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const userButtonDiv = document.getElementById('user-button');
+
+ clerk.mountUserButton(userButtonDiv);
+ } else {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="sign-in"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const signInDiv = document.getElementById('sign-in');
+
+ clerk.mountSignIn(signInDiv);
+ }
+});
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+ "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+ "compilerOptions": {
+ "module": "ESNext",
+ "moduleResolution": "Bundler"
+ }
+}
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/// <reference types="vite/client" />
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts
@@ -1,63 +1,44 @@
-// Should be at the top of the file - used to load clerk secret key
 import 'dotenv/config';
 
-import { clerkMiddleware } from '@clerk/express';
+import { clerkMiddleware, getAuth } from '@clerk/express';
 import express from 'express';
 import ViteExpress from 'vite-express';
 
 const app = express();
 
-app.use(clerkMiddleware());
-app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
-app.set('views', 'src/views');
+app.use(
+ clerkMiddleware({
+ publishableKey: process.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
+ }),
+);
+
+app.get('/api/protected', (req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ const { userId } = getAuth(req);
+ if (!userId) {
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
+ return;
+ }
+
+ res.send('Protected API response');
+});
 
 const legacyRequireAuth = (req: any, _res: any, next: any) => {
  if (!req.auth.userId) {
- return next(new Error('Unauthenticated'));
+ return next(new Error('Unauthorized'));
  }
 
  next();
 };
 
-app.get('/api/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
- return res.send('Protected API response');
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-in', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-in.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('index.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-up', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-up.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/protected', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('protected.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
+app.get('/api/legacy/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ res.send('Protected API response');
 });
 
 // Handle authentication error, otherwise application will crash
 // @ts-ignore
 app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
  if (err) {
- console.error(err);
- res.status(401).end();
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
  return;
  }
 

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
  "compilerOptions": {
  "target": "ESNext",
  "useDefineForClassFields": true,
- "lib": ["DOM", "DOM.Iterable", "ESNext"],
- "allowJs": false,
- "skipLibCheck": true,
- "esModuleInterop": true,
- "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
+ "module": "NodeNext",
+ "lib": ["ESNext", "DOM"],
+ "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
  "strict": true,
- "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
- "module": "CommonJS",
- "moduleResolution": "Node",
  "resolveJsonModule": true,
  "isolatedModules": true,
- "noEmit": true
+ "esModuleInterop": true,
+ "noEmit": true,
+ "noUnusedLocals": true,
+ "noUnusedParameters": true,
+ "noImplicitReturns": true,
+ "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": ["src"]
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts
diff --git a/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md b/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@clerk/express': patch
+---
+
+Deprecates `enableHandshake` option in `clerkMiddleware`. This option is unnecessary for API requests since they don't trigger handshake flows. The option will be removed in a future version.
diff --git a/integration/presets/express.ts b/integration/presets/express.ts
@@ -6,11 +6,13 @@ import { linkPackage } from './utils';
 const vite = applicationConfig()
  .setName('express-vite')
  .useTemplate(templates['express-vite'])
+ .setEnvFormatter('public', key => `VITE_${key}`)
  .addScript('setup', 'pnpm install')
  .addScript('dev', 'pnpm dev')
  .addScript('build', 'pnpm build')
  .addScript('serve', 'pnpm start')
- .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'));
+ .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'))
+ .addDependency('@clerk/clerk-js', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('clerk-js'));
 
 export const express = {
  vite,

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html b/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+ <head>
+ <meta charset="UTF-8" />
+ <link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/vite.svg" />
+ <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
+ <title>Vite + TS + Express</title>
+ </head>
+ <body>
+ <div id="app"></div>
+ <script type="module" src="/src/client/main.ts"></script>
+ </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json
@@ -4,22 +4,20 @@
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
  "build": "vite build",
- "dev": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts",
- "lint": "eslint src --ext ts,tsx --report-unused-disable-directives --max-warnings 0",
+ "dev": "PORT=$PORT tsx src/server/main.ts",
  "preview": "vite preview --port $PORT --no-open",
- "start": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts"
+ "start": "PORT=$PORT NODE_ENV=production tsx src/server/main.ts"
  },
  "dependencies": {
- "dotenv": "^16.4.7",
- "ejs": "^3.1.6",
- "express": "^4.18.2",
- "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
- "vite-express": "^0.20.0"
+ "dotenv": "^17.2.1",
+ "express": "^5.1.0",
+ "tsx": "^4.20.3",
+ "vite-express": "^0.21.1"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
- "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
- "@types/node": "^20.9.3",
- "typescript": "^5.7.3",
- "vite": "^5.0.2"
+ "@types/express": "^5.0.3",
+ "@types/node": "^24.2.1",
+ "typescript": "^5.8.3",
+ "vite": "^6.3.3"
  }
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { Clerk } from '@clerk/clerk-js';
+
+const publishableKey = import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY;
+
+document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', async function () {
+ const clerk = new Clerk(publishableKey);
+ await clerk.load();
+
+ if (clerk.isSignedIn) {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="user-button"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const userButtonDiv = document.getElementById('user-button');
+
+ clerk.mountUserButton(userButtonDiv);
+ } else {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="sign-in"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const signInDiv = document.getElementById('sign-in');
+
+ clerk.mountSignIn(signInDiv);
+ }
+});
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+ "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+ "compilerOptions": {
+ "module": "ESNext",
+ "moduleResolution": "Bundler"
+ }
+}
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/// <reference types="vite/client" />
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts
@@ -1,63 +1,44 @@
-// Should be at the top of the file - used to load clerk secret key
 import 'dotenv/config';
 
-import { clerkMiddleware } from '@clerk/express';
+import { clerkMiddleware, getAuth } from '@clerk/express';
 import express from 'express';
 import ViteExpress from 'vite-express';
 
 const app = express();
 
-app.use(clerkMiddleware());
-app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
-app.set('views', 'src/views');
+app.use(
+ clerkMiddleware({
+ publishableKey: process.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
+ }),
+);
+
+app.get('/api/protected', (req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ const { userId } = getAuth(req);
+ if (!userId) {
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
+ return;
+ }
+
+ res.send('Protected API response');
+});
 
 const legacyRequireAuth = (req: any, _res: any, next: any) => {
  if (!req.auth.userId) {
- return next(new Error('Unauthenticated'));
+ return next(new Error('Unauthorized'));
  }
 
  next();
 };
 
-app.get('/api/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
- return res.send('Protected API response');
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-in', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-in.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('index.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-up', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-up.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/protected', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('protected.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
+app.get('/api/legacy/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ res.send('Protected API response');
 });
 
 // Handle authentication error, otherwise application will crash
 // @ts-ignore
 app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
  if (err) {
- console.error(err);
- res.status(401).end();
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
  return;
  }
 

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
  "compilerOptions": {
  "target": "ESNext",
  "useDefineForClassFields": true,
- "lib": ["DOM", "DOM.Iterable", "ESNext"],
- "allowJs": false,
- "skipLibCheck": true,
- "esModuleInterop": true,
- "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
+ "module": "NodeNext",
+ "lib": ["ESNext", "DOM"],
+ "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
  "strict": true,
- "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
- "module": "CommonJS",
- "moduleResolution": "Node",
  "resolveJsonModule": true,
  "isolatedModules": true,
- "noEmit": true
+ "esModuleInterop": true,
+ "noEmit": true,
+ "noUnusedLocals": true,
+ "noUnusedParameters": true,
+ "noImplicitReturns": true,
+ "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": ["src"]
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts
diff --git a/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md b/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@clerk/express': patch
+---
+
+Deprecates `enableHandshake` option in `clerkMiddleware`. This option is unnecessary for API requests since they don't trigger handshake flows. The option will be removed in a future version.
diff --git a/integration/presets/express.ts b/integration/presets/express.ts
@@ -6,11 +6,13 @@ import { linkPackage } from './utils';
 const vite = applicationConfig()
  .setName('express-vite')
  .useTemplate(templates['express-vite'])
+ .setEnvFormatter('public', key => `VITE_${key}`)
  .addScript('setup', 'pnpm install')
  .addScript('dev', 'pnpm dev')
  .addScript('build', 'pnpm build')
  .addScript('serve', 'pnpm start')
- .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'));
+ .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'))
+ .addDependency('@clerk/clerk-js', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('clerk-js'));
 
 export const express = {
  vite,

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html b/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+ <head>
+ <meta charset="UTF-8" />
+ <link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/vite.svg" />
+ <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
+ <title>Vite + TS + Express</title>
+ </head>
+ <body>
+ <div id="app"></div>
+ <script type="module" src="/src/client/main.ts"></script>
+ </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json
@@ -4,22 +4,20 @@
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
  "build": "vite build",
- "dev": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts",
- "lint": "eslint src --ext ts,tsx --report-unused-disable-directives --max-warnings 0",
+ "dev": "PORT=$PORT tsx src/server/main.ts",
  "preview": "vite preview --port $PORT --no-open",
- "start": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts"
+ "start": "PORT=$PORT NODE_ENV=production tsx src/server/main.ts"
  },
  "dependencies": {
- "dotenv": "^16.4.7",
- "ejs": "^3.1.6",
- "express": "^4.18.2",
- "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
- "vite-express": "^0.20.0"
+ "dotenv": "^17.2.1",
+ "express": "^5.1.0",
+ "tsx": "^4.20.3",
+ "vite-express": "^0.21.1"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
- "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
- "@types/node": "^20.9.3",
- "typescript": "^5.7.3",
- "vite": "^5.0.2"
+ "@types/express": "^5.0.3",
+ "@types/node": "^24.2.1",
+ "typescript": "^5.8.3",
+ "vite": "^6.3.3"
  }
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { Clerk } from '@clerk/clerk-js';
+
+const publishableKey = import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY;
+
+document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', async function () {
+ const clerk = new Clerk(publishableKey);
+ await clerk.load();
+
+ if (clerk.isSignedIn) {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="user-button"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const userButtonDiv = document.getElementById('user-button');
+
+ clerk.mountUserButton(userButtonDiv);
+ } else {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="sign-in"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const signInDiv = document.getElementById('sign-in');
+
+ clerk.mountSignIn(signInDiv);
+ }
+});
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+ "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+ "compilerOptions": {
+ "module": "ESNext",
+ "moduleResolution": "Bundler"
+ }
+}
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/// <reference types="vite/client" />
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts
@@ -1,63 +1,44 @@
-// Should be at the top of the file - used to load clerk secret key
 import 'dotenv/config';
 
-import { clerkMiddleware } from '@clerk/express';
+import { clerkMiddleware, getAuth } from '@clerk/express';
 import express from 'express';
 import ViteExpress from 'vite-express';
 
 const app = express();
 
-app.use(clerkMiddleware());
-app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
-app.set('views', 'src/views');
+app.use(
+ clerkMiddleware({
+ publishableKey: process.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
+ }),
+);
+
+app.get('/api/protected', (req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ const { userId } = getAuth(req);
+ if (!userId) {
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
+ return;
+ }
+
+ res.send('Protected API response');
+});
 
 const legacyRequireAuth = (req: any, _res: any, next: any) => {
  if (!req.auth.userId) {
- return next(new Error('Unauthenticated'));
+ return next(new Error('Unauthorized'));
  }
 
  next();
 };
 
-app.get('/api/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
- return res.send('Protected API response');
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-in', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-in.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('index.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-up', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-up.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/protected', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('protected.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
+app.get('/api/legacy/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ res.send('Protected API response');
 });
 
 // Handle authentication error, otherwise application will crash
 // @ts-ignore
 app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
  if (err) {
- console.error(err);
- res.status(401).end();
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
  return;
  }
 

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
  "compilerOptions": {
  "target": "ESNext",
  "useDefineForClassFields": true,
- "lib": ["DOM", "DOM.Iterable", "ESNext"],
- "allowJs": false,
- "skipLibCheck": true,
- "esModuleInterop": true,
- "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
+ "module": "NodeNext",
+ "lib": ["ESNext", "DOM"],
+ "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
  "strict": true,
- "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
- "module": "CommonJS",
- "moduleResolution": "Node",
  "resolveJsonModule": true,
  "isolatedModules": true,
- "noEmit": true
+ "esModuleInterop": true,
+ "noEmit": true,
+ "noUnusedLocals": true,
+ "noUnusedParameters": true,
+ "noImplicitReturns": true,
+ "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": ["src"]
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts
diff --git a/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md b/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@clerk/express': patch
+---
+
+Deprecates `enableHandshake` option in `clerkMiddleware`. This option is unnecessary for API requests since they don't trigger handshake flows. The option will be removed in a future version.
diff --git a/integration/presets/express.ts b/integration/presets/express.ts
@@ -6,11 +6,13 @@ import { linkPackage } from './utils';
 const vite = applicationConfig()
  .setName('express-vite')
  .useTemplate(templates['express-vite'])
+ .setEnvFormatter('public', key => `VITE_${key}`)
  .addScript('setup', 'pnpm install')
  .addScript('dev', 'pnpm dev')
  .addScript('build', 'pnpm build')
  .addScript('serve', 'pnpm start')
- .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'));
+ .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'))
+ .addDependency('@clerk/clerk-js', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('clerk-js'));
 
 export const express = {
  vite,

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html b/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+ <head>
+ <meta charset="UTF-8" />
+ <link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/vite.svg" />
+ <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
+ <title>Vite + TS + Express</title>
+ </head>
+ <body>
+ <div id="app"></div>
+ <script type="module" src="/src/client/main.ts"></script>
+ </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json
@@ -4,22 +4,20 @@
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
  "build": "vite build",
- "dev": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts",
- "lint": "eslint src --ext ts,tsx --report-unused-disable-directives --max-warnings 0",
+ "dev": "PORT=$PORT tsx src/server/main.ts",
  "preview": "vite preview --port $PORT --no-open",
- "start": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts"
+ "start": "PORT=$PORT NODE_ENV=production tsx src/server/main.ts"
  },
  "dependencies": {
- "dotenv": "^16.4.7",
- "ejs": "^3.1.6",
- "express": "^4.18.2",
- "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
- "vite-express": "^0.20.0"
+ "dotenv": "^17.2.1",
+ "express": "^5.1.0",
+ "tsx": "^4.20.3",
+ "vite-express": "^0.21.1"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
- "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
- "@types/node": "^20.9.3",
- "typescript": "^5.7.3",
- "vite": "^5.0.2"
+ "@types/express": "^5.0.3",
+ "@types/node": "^24.2.1",
+ "typescript": "^5.8.3",
+ "vite": "^6.3.3"
  }
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { Clerk } from '@clerk/clerk-js';
+
+const publishableKey = import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY;
+
+document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', async function () {
+ const clerk = new Clerk(publishableKey);
+ await clerk.load();
+
+ if (clerk.isSignedIn) {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="user-button"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const userButtonDiv = document.getElementById('user-button');
+
+ clerk.mountUserButton(userButtonDiv);
+ } else {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="sign-in"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const signInDiv = document.getElementById('sign-in');
+
+ clerk.mountSignIn(signInDiv);
+ }
+});
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+ "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+ "compilerOptions": {
+ "module": "ESNext",
+ "moduleResolution": "Bundler"
+ }
+}
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/// <reference types="vite/client" />
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts
@@ -1,63 +1,44 @@
-// Should be at the top of the file - used to load clerk secret key
 import 'dotenv/config';
 
-import { clerkMiddleware } from '@clerk/express';
+import { clerkMiddleware, getAuth } from '@clerk/express';
 import express from 'express';
 import ViteExpress from 'vite-express';
 
 const app = express();
 
-app.use(clerkMiddleware());
-app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
-app.set('views', 'src/views');
+app.use(
+ clerkMiddleware({
+ publishableKey: process.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
+ }),
+);
+
+app.get('/api/protected', (req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ const { userId } = getAuth(req);
+ if (!userId) {
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
+ return;
+ }
+
+ res.send('Protected API response');
+});
 
 const legacyRequireAuth = (req: any, _res: any, next: any) => {
  if (!req.auth.userId) {
- return next(new Error('Unauthenticated'));
+ return next(new Error('Unauthorized'));
  }
 
  next();
 };
 
-app.get('/api/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
- return res.send('Protected API response');
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-in', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-in.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('index.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-up', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-up.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/protected', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('protected.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
+app.get('/api/legacy/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ res.send('Protected API response');
 });
 
 // Handle authentication error, otherwise application will crash
 // @ts-ignore
 app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
  if (err) {
- console.error(err);
- res.status(401).end();
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
  return;
  }
 

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
  "compilerOptions": {
  "target": "ESNext",
  "useDefineForClassFields": true,
- "lib": ["DOM", "DOM.Iterable", "ESNext"],
- "allowJs": false,
- "skipLibCheck": true,
- "esModuleInterop": true,
- "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
+ "module": "NodeNext",
+ "lib": ["ESNext", "DOM"],
+ "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
  "strict": true,
- "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
- "module": "CommonJS",
- "moduleResolution": "Node",
  "resolveJsonModule": true,
  "isolatedModules": true,
- "noEmit": true
+ "esModuleInterop": true,
+ "noEmit": true,
+ "noUnusedLocals": true,
+ "noUnusedParameters": true,
+ "noImplicitReturns": true,
+ "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": ["src"]
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts
diff --git a/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md b/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@clerk/express': patch
+---
+
+Deprecates `enableHandshake` option in `clerkMiddleware`. This option is unnecessary for API requests since they don't trigger handshake flows. The option will be removed in a future version.
diff --git a/integration/presets/express.ts b/integration/presets/express.ts
@@ -6,11 +6,13 @@ import { linkPackage } from './utils';
 const vite = applicationConfig()
  .setName('express-vite')
  .useTemplate(templates['express-vite'])
+ .setEnvFormatter('public', key => `VITE_${key}`)
  .addScript('setup', 'pnpm install')
  .addScript('dev', 'pnpm dev')
  .addScript('build', 'pnpm build')
  .addScript('serve', 'pnpm start')
- .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'));
+ .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'))
+ .addDependency('@clerk/clerk-js', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('clerk-js'));
 
 export const express = {
  vite,

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html b/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+ <head>
+ <meta charset="UTF-8" />
+ <link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/vite.svg" />
+ <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
+ <title>Vite + TS + Express</title>
+ </head>
+ <body>
+ <div id="app"></div>
+ <script type="module" src="/src/client/main.ts"></script>
+ </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json
@@ -4,22 +4,20 @@
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
  "build": "vite build",
- "dev": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts",
- "lint": "eslint src --ext ts,tsx --report-unused-disable-directives --max-warnings 0",
+ "dev": "PORT=$PORT tsx src/server/main.ts",
  "preview": "vite preview --port $PORT --no-open",
- "start": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts"
+ "start": "PORT=$PORT NODE_ENV=production tsx src/server/main.ts"
  },
  "dependencies": {
- "dotenv": "^16.4.7",
- "ejs": "^3.1.6",
- "express": "^4.18.2",
- "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
- "vite-express": "^0.20.0"
+ "dotenv": "^17.2.1",
+ "express": "^5.1.0",
+ "tsx": "^4.20.3",
+ "vite-express": "^0.21.1"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
- "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
- "@types/node": "^20.9.3",
- "typescript": "^5.7.3",
- "vite": "^5.0.2"
+ "@types/express": "^5.0.3",
+ "@types/node": "^24.2.1",
+ "typescript": "^5.8.3",
+ "vite": "^6.3.3"
  }
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { Clerk } from '@clerk/clerk-js';
+
+const publishableKey = import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY;
+
+document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', async function () {
+ const clerk = new Clerk(publishableKey);
+ await clerk.load();
+
+ if (clerk.isSignedIn) {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="user-button"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const userButtonDiv = document.getElementById('user-button');
+
+ clerk.mountUserButton(userButtonDiv);
+ } else {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="sign-in"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const signInDiv = document.getElementById('sign-in');
+
+ clerk.mountSignIn(signInDiv);
+ }
+});
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+ "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+ "compilerOptions": {
+ "module": "ESNext",
+ "moduleResolution": "Bundler"
+ }
+}
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/// <reference types="vite/client" />
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts
@@ -1,63 +1,44 @@
-// Should be at the top of the file - used to load clerk secret key
 import 'dotenv/config';
 
-import { clerkMiddleware } from '@clerk/express';
+import { clerkMiddleware, getAuth } from '@clerk/express';
 import express from 'express';
 import ViteExpress from 'vite-express';
 
 const app = express();
 
-app.use(clerkMiddleware());
-app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
-app.set('views', 'src/views');
+app.use(
+ clerkMiddleware({
+ publishableKey: process.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
+ }),
+);
+
+app.get('/api/protected', (req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ const { userId } = getAuth(req);
+ if (!userId) {
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
+ return;
+ }
+
+ res.send('Protected API response');
+});
 
 const legacyRequireAuth = (req: any, _res: any, next: any) => {
  if (!req.auth.userId) {
- return next(new Error('Unauthenticated'));
+ return next(new Error('Unauthorized'));
  }
 
  next();
 };
 
-app.get('/api/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
- return res.send('Protected API response');
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-in', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-in.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('index.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-up', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-up.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/protected', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('protected.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
+app.get('/api/legacy/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ res.send('Protected API response');
 });
 
 // Handle authentication error, otherwise application will crash
 // @ts-ignore
 app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
  if (err) {
- console.error(err);
- res.status(401).end();
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
  return;
  }
 

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
  "compilerOptions": {
  "target": "ESNext",
  "useDefineForClassFields": true,
- "lib": ["DOM", "DOM.Iterable", "ESNext"],
- "allowJs": false,
- "skipLibCheck": true,
- "esModuleInterop": true,
- "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
+ "module": "NodeNext",
+ "lib": ["ESNext", "DOM"],
+ "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
  "strict": true,
- "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
- "module": "CommonJS",
- "moduleResolution": "Node",
  "resolveJsonModule": true,
  "isolatedModules": true,
- "noEmit": true
+ "esModuleInterop": true,
+ "noEmit": true,
+ "noUnusedLocals": true,
+ "noUnusedParameters": true,
+ "noImplicitReturns": true,
+ "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": ["src"]
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts
diff --git a/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md b/.changeset/eight-walls-flash.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@clerk/express': patch
+---
+
+Deprecates `enableHandshake` option in `clerkMiddleware`. This option is unnecessary for API requests since they don't trigger handshake flows. The option will be removed in a future version.
diff --git a/integration/presets/express.ts b/integration/presets/express.ts
@@ -6,11 +6,13 @@ import { linkPackage } from './utils';
 const vite = applicationConfig()
  .setName('express-vite')
  .useTemplate(templates['express-vite'])
+ .setEnvFormatter('public', key => `VITE_${key}`)
  .addScript('setup', 'pnpm install')
  .addScript('dev', 'pnpm dev')
  .addScript('build', 'pnpm build')
  .addScript('serve', 'pnpm start')
- .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'));
+ .addDependency('@clerk/express', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('express'))
+ .addDependency('@clerk/clerk-js', constants.E2E_CLERK_VERSION || linkPackage('clerk-js'));
 
 export const express = {
  vite,

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html b/integration/templates/express-vite/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+ <head>
+ <meta charset="UTF-8" />
+ <link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/vite.svg" />
+ <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
+ <title>Vite + TS + Express</title>
+ </head>
+ <body>
+ <div id="app"></div>
+ <script type="module" src="/src/client/main.ts"></script>
+ </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/package.json
@@ -4,22 +4,20 @@
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
  "build": "vite build",
- "dev": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts",
- "lint": "eslint src --ext ts,tsx --report-unused-disable-directives --max-warnings 0",
+ "dev": "PORT=$PORT tsx src/server/main.ts",
  "preview": "vite preview --port $PORT --no-open",
- "start": "PORT=$PORT ts-node src/server/main.ts"
+ "start": "PORT=$PORT NODE_ENV=production tsx src/server/main.ts"
  },
  "dependencies": {
- "dotenv": "^16.4.7",
- "ejs": "^3.1.6",
- "express": "^4.18.2",
- "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
- "vite-express": "^0.20.0"
+ "dotenv": "^17.2.1",
+ "express": "^5.1.0",
+ "tsx": "^4.20.3",
+ "vite-express": "^0.21.1"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
- "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
- "@types/node": "^20.9.3",
- "typescript": "^5.7.3",
- "vite": "^5.0.2"
+ "@types/express": "^5.0.3",
+ "@types/node": "^24.2.1",
+ "typescript": "^5.8.3",
+ "vite": "^6.3.3"
  }
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/main.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { Clerk } from '@clerk/clerk-js';
+
+const publishableKey = import.meta.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY;
+
+document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', async function () {
+ const clerk = new Clerk(publishableKey);
+ await clerk.load();
+
+ if (clerk.isSignedIn) {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="user-button"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const userButtonDiv = document.getElementById('user-button');
+
+ clerk.mountUserButton(userButtonDiv);
+ } else {
+ document.getElementById('app')!.innerHTML = `
+ <div id="sign-in"></div>
+ `;
+
+ const signInDiv = document.getElementById('sign-in');
+
+ clerk.mountSignIn(signInDiv);
+ }
+});
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+ "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+ "compilerOptions": {
+ "module": "ESNext",
+ "moduleResolution": "Bundler"
+ }
+}
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/client/vite-env.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/// <reference types="vite/client" />
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/server/main.ts
@@ -1,63 +1,44 @@
-// Should be at the top of the file - used to load clerk secret key
 import 'dotenv/config';
 
-import { clerkMiddleware } from '@clerk/express';
+import { clerkMiddleware, getAuth } from '@clerk/express';
 import express from 'express';
 import ViteExpress from 'vite-express';
 
 const app = express();
 
-app.use(clerkMiddleware());
-app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
-app.set('views', 'src/views');
+app.use(
+ clerkMiddleware({
+ publishableKey: process.env.VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
+ }),
+);
+
+app.get('/api/protected', (req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ const { userId } = getAuth(req);
+ if (!userId) {
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
+ return;
+ }
+
+ res.send('Protected API response');
+});
 
 const legacyRequireAuth = (req: any, _res: any, next: any) => {
  if (!req.auth.userId) {
- return next(new Error('Unauthenticated'));
+ return next(new Error('Unauthorized'));
  }
 
  next();
 };
 
-app.get('/api/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
- return res.send('Protected API response');
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-in', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-in.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('index.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/sign-up', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('sign-up.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
-});
-
-app.get('/protected', (_req: any, res: any) => {
- return res.render('protected.ejs', {
- publishableKey: process.env.CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY,
- signInUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_IN_URL,
- signUpUrl: process.env.CLERK_SIGN_UP_URL,
- });
+app.get('/api/legacy/protected', legacyRequireAuth, (_req: any, res: any, _next: any) => {
+ res.send('Protected API response');
 });
 
 // Handle authentication error, otherwise application will crash
 // @ts-ignore
 app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
  if (err) {
- console.error(err);
- res.status(401).end();
+ res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
  return;
  }
 

diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/index.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/protected.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-in.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs b/integration/templates/express-vite/src/views/sign-up.ejs
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json b/integration/templates/express-vite/tsconfig.json
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
  "compilerOptions": {
  "target": "ESNext",
  "useDefineForClassFields": true,
- "lib": ["DOM", "DOM.Iterable", "ESNext"],
- "allowJs": false,
- "skipLibCheck": true,
- "esModuleInterop": true,
- "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
+ "module": "NodeNext",
+ "lib": ["ESNext", "DOM"],
+ "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
  "strict": true,
- "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
- "module": "CommonJS",
- "moduleResolution": "Node",
  "resolveJsonModule": true,
  "isolatedModules": true,
- "noEmit": true
+ "esModuleInterop": true,
+ "noEmit": true,
+ "noUnusedLocals": true,
+ "noUnusedParameters": true,
+ "noImplicitReturns": true,
+ "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": ["src"]
 }
diff --git a/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts b/integration/templates/express-vite/vite.config.ts