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T3 Cloud Clerk Setup

T3 Cloud uses one Clerk application for web, desktop, and mobile authentication. The relay accepts Clerk JWTs only when they are generated from the t3-relay template with the shared t3-code-relay audience.

Application Keys

T3 Cloud is disabled in a fresh clone. To enable it for source builds, add a repository-root .env or .env.local file:

T3CODE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=<publishable key>
T3CODE_CLERK_JWT_TEMPLATE=<JWT template name>
T3CODE_CLERK_CLI_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID=<public OAuth application client ID>
T3CODE_RELAY_URL=https://relay.example.com

The shared client loader projects these canonical values into framework-specific VITE_* and EXPO_PUBLIC_* aliases. Existing aliases remain accepted as overrides for compatibility, but new client configuration should use the canonical names.

Configuration precedence is:

  1. Process or CI environment variables.
  2. Repository-root .env.local.
  3. Repository-root .env.

The Clerk publishable key, JWT template name, CLI OAuth client ID, and relay URL are public identifiers, not secrets. Web, desktop, mobile, and bundled server builds statically inject the values they consume during their build step. A built artifact does not need an environment file at runtime. CI release builds should set T3CODE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY, T3CODE_CLERK_JWT_TEMPLATE, T3CODE_CLERK_CLI_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID, and T3CODE_RELAY_URL before building. EAS preview and production builds only need the Clerk publishable key, JWT template name, and relay URL in their EAS environment.

When any client-facing public value is absent, cloud UI is omitted. When the CLI public values are absent, the t3 cloud CLI command group is omitted. The bundled server still accepts runtime overrides for self-hosted or operator-managed deployments.

For a hosted relay deployment, copy infra/relay/.env.example to infra/relay/.env. The relay deployment reads RELAY_DOMAIN, RELAY_API_ZONE_NAME, RELAY_TUNNEL_ZONE_NAME, CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY, and CLERK_JWT_AUDIENCE through Effect Config. There are no checked-in deployment defaults. vp run --filter t3code-relay deploy invokes Alchemy from the relay directory, so Alchemy loads infra/relay/.env. After a successful deployment, the wrapper updates the repository-root .env with the deployed HTTPS relay URL. The relay still requires CLERK_SECRET_KEY as an Alchemy secret. Never put CLERK_SECRET_KEY in a client application environment or commit it to the repository.

The prod Alchemy stage owns the retained PlanetScale database. Non-production stages reference that database and provision isolated PlanetScale branches, so deploy prod before creating a personal developer stage.

Headless CLI OAuth Application

The t3 cloud commands authorize a headless environment with a separate Clerk OAuth application. This uses an OAuth public client with PKCE, so the CLI stores no client secret.

In Clerk Dashboard > OAuth applications:

  1. Create an OAuth application for the T3 CLI.
  2. Enable the Public option so authorization-code exchange uses PKCE.
  3. Add http://127.0.0.1:34338/callback as an allowed redirect URI.
  4. Enable the openid, profile, and email scopes.
  5. Set T3CODE_CLERK_CLI_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID in the repository-root .env file and release build environment to the generated public client ID.

The CLI derives Clerk's frontend API URL from the publishable key and calls Clerk's /oauth/authorize and /oauth/token endpoints directly. The relay is not involved in the OAuth handshake; it only validates the issued Clerk bearer token when the CLI manages an environment link.

The CLI supports these headless operations:

t3 cloud login
t3 cloud link
t3 cloud status
t3 cloud unlink
t3 cloud logout
t3 serve

t3 cloud login opens the Clerk authorization flow and stores the CLI credential without enabling cloud exposure. t3 cloud link installs the pinned managed cloudflared binary when needed, authorizes when needed, and records durable intent to expose the environment. It works without a running T3 server. The next t3 serve or t3 start reconciles the relay link and launches the managed tunnel. t3 cloud unlink records disabled intent immediately, stops a reachable running connector, and attempts to revoke the relay-side environment record. It retains the stored CLI authorization so t3 cloud link can re-enable exposure without another browser flow. t3 cloud logout performs the same cleanup and removes the stored CLI authorization.

The current OAuth callback listener binds to loopback port 34338. When running the CLI over SSH, forward that port before running t3 cloud login or t3 cloud link:

ssh -L 34338:127.0.0.1:34338 <host>

A relay-hosted callback broker can remove this port-forward requirement later without changing the stored PKCE token model.

JWT Template

In Clerk Dashboard > JWT templates, create a template with:

Setting Value
Name t3-relay
Claims { "aud": "t3-code-relay" }

Set T3CODE_CLERK_JWT_TEMPLATE=t3-relay in the repository-root .env, and set CLERK_JWT_AUDIENCE=t3-code-relay in infra/relay/.env. Define CLERK_JWT_TEMPLATE and CLERK_JWT_AUDIENCE in the production relay deployment environment as well. The stable aud value is shared by production and non-production relay stages. The client-facing T3CODE_RELAY_URL still selects the concrete relay deployment, but changing that URL does not require a JWT template change.

Desktop OAuth Redirect Allowlist

The desktop app opens OAuth in the system browser and returns to the app with a custom URL scheme. In Clerk Dashboard > Native applications, enable native application support and add these entries under the mobile SSO redirect allowlist:

t3code-dev://auth/callback
t3code://auth/callback

The first entry is for local desktop development. The second is for packaged desktop builds. The app also adds a request-scoped t3_state query parameter and validates it on callback. Initial sign-in and linked-account OAuth flows both return through this bridge. The desktop provider keeps Clerk's stock profile component, replaces its renderer-page callback with the custom-scheme callback, and opens the provider URL in the system browser. Do not add the local renderer URL as an OAuth redirect: an external browser cannot use it to reopen the packaged app.

The current mobile UI uses Clerk's native authentication view. If a future mobile browser OAuth flow uses a custom redirect URI, add that exact URI to the same allowlist.

Enable Waitlist Access

For a private beta where people should request access, use Clerk Dashboard > Waitlist:

  1. Toggle on Enable waitlist and save.
  2. Review requests on the same page and select Invite or Deny.

Signed-out web and desktop users see Clerk's waitlist enrollment as the T3 Cloud page content, while approved signed-in users see cloud settings. The browser app also uses /settings/cloud as its Clerk waitlist URL.

On mobile, signed-out users open Settings > T3 Account to reach /settings/waitlist within the Settings form sheet. It submits enrollment through Clerk's useWaitlist() flow because the prebuilt <Waitlist /> component is web-only in the Expo SDK. Approved users can use Sign in from that screen.

Alternative: Known-User Allowlist

For a closed beta where all permitted users are known in advance, use an allowlist instead of a request-and-approval waitlist:

To restrict the beta to permitted email addresses or domains:

  1. In Clerk Dashboard > Restrictions > Allowlist, add each permitted email address or email domain.
  2. Enable the allowlist and save.
  3. Alternatively, enable Restricted mode when all new users must be explicitly invited or manually created without a waitlist request flow.

Do not enable an empty allowlist: it blocks all new sign-ups.

Clerk allowlists control who can sign up. They do not revoke an existing user's active cloud access. To remove an already-created user's access, ban that user in Clerk so their active sessions are ended and future sign-ins are rejected.