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Paul Bailey d80e787701 docs: add Clerk setup guide and improve auth error messages

- Create CLERK_SETUP.md with step-by-step instructions
- Improve error message to indicate Clerk configuration issue
- Remove debug logging from auth middleware
- Update error handling to be more helpful

The 401 error is caused by missing Clerk Secret Key in server/.env

2025-11-16 19:23:37 +00:00

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Clerk Authentication Setup

Issue

The backend server is returning 401 Unauthorized errors because the Clerk Secret Key is not configured correctly.

Error: The provided Clerk Secret Key is invalid. Make sure that your Clerk Secret Key is correct.

Solution

You need to add your real Clerk Secret Key to the backend environment configuration.

Steps to Fix

Get your Clerk Secret Key:
- Go to Clerk Dashboard
- Navigate to API Keys section
- Copy your Secret Key (starts with sk_test_... for test environment or sk_live_... for production)

Update the backend .env file:

Open server/.env
Replace the placeholder with your real secret key:

# Before (placeholder)
CLERK_SECRET_KEY="sk_test_placeholder"

# After (your real key)
CLERK_SECRET_KEY="sk_test_YOUR_ACTUAL_SECRET_KEY_HERE"

Restart the backend server:
- The server will automatically restart if you're using npm run dev
- Or manually restart it

Current Configuration

Frontend (.env.local):

VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_YWJvdmUtZmxvdW5kZXItOTEuY2xlcmsuYWNjb3VudHMuZGV2JA

✅ This is configured correctly

Backend (server/.env):

CLERK_SECRET_KEY="sk_test_placeholder"

❌ This needs to be updated with your real secret key

How to Find Your Keys

Visit: https://dashboard.clerk.com/last-active?path=api-keys
You'll see two keys:
- Publishable Key (pk_test_...) - Already configured in frontend ✅
- Secret Key (sk_test_...) - Needs to be added to backend ❌

Security Note

⚠️ Never commit your secret key to version control!

The .env file is already in .gitignore, but always double-check before committing.

Testing After Setup

Once you've added the correct secret key:

The server will restart automatically
Try uploading a photo in the report form
You should see successful uploads instead of 401 errors

Verification

You can verify the setup is working by checking the server logs:

Auth middleware - Authorization header: present
Auth middleware - Token extracted, length: XXX
Auth middleware - Session verified for user: user_XXXXX

If you see these logs, authentication is working correctly!

2.3 KiB Raw Blame History