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fix(clerk-js,react): finish a failed headless load on the same instance - #10461

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@seanperez29 seanperez29 commented Oct 27, 2026 •

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Description

On iOS and Android, a Clerk instance whose load() failed stays failed until the app relaunches: @clerk/react calls load() once and gives up on a rejection.

The native app force update (#10343) makes this failure expected and recoverable. When an app below its minimum version launches cold, FAPI rejects its client request with a 403, so load() fails. Once the minimum is lowered, the same process should recover. Until now, #10343 handled that by throwing the instance away and changing <ClerkProvider>'s key. That remounted the whole app under the provider and left any saved getClerkInstance() reference on the dead instance. This PR lets the same instance finish loading instead, so #10343 can drop that restart.

@clerk/clerk-js

  • The end of load() (debug logger and Protect setup) moves into a private #finishLoad. load() still calls it once, in the same place, on every platform.
  • __internal_reloadInitialResources, which only @clerk/expo calls, now finishes a failed load when its fetches succeed: it runs #finishLoad, sets the status to ready, then emits the resources as before.
    • It only does this when the status is error once its requests return. A reload that started during load() and ends after load() failed finishes it. An overlapping reload that finished first wins.
    • A reload that succeeds while load() is still running updates the resources and marks the instance. If that load() then fails, it finishes with the reload's newer resources and reports ready instead of rejecting. Otherwise later native syncs, which see a client and skip the reload, would leave the instance failed until the app relaunched. Only __internal_reloadInitialResources sets the mark, so web loads fail as before.
    • A reload that's rejected again leaves the status at error, and a later one can still finish.

@clerk/clerk-js: empty successful responses, opt-in

  • A request can pass the new internal allowEmptyBody option. Then a successful response's body is read as text, and an empty one resolves with a null payload and runs the response callbacks, as a 204 already did. It reads the body rather than Content-Length because @clerk/backend's Frontend API proxy strips that header.
  • Every other request parses as before, so an empty response to /client or any other resource still fails instead of loading an empty resource.
  • @clerk/expo sets it only for its foreground app version check in feat(expo): block app versions older than the minimum set in the Clerk Dashboard #10343: GET /v1/ answers an allowed app with an empty 200 whose supported header the response callbacks read.
  • Tests: an allowed empty body without Content-Length returns null and runs the callbacks (fails without the fix), an allowed non-empty body still parses, and an empty body without the option still rejects.

@clerk/react

  • When the first load() of a headless Clerk instance fails, IsomorphicClerk keeps listening to that instance's status. Only @clerk/expo on iOS and Android uses the headless path. When the status becomes ready or degraded, it replays its queued calls once and forwards its status listeners, the same replay as a load that succeeded the first time.
  • The replay runs on a microtask after the status event. Removing a listener while the event bus dispatches would skip the listener after it.
  • A reload can finish the load before React's failure handler runs. Then the instance is already loaded, so React replays at once instead of waiting for a ready that already happened. It only waits for a later load when load() itself rejected. If load() succeeded and the replay threw, it doesn't replay a second time.
  • Nothing awaits a late replay, so a queued call or listener that throws during it is caught and handled as it is on a first load: logged in development, with the status set to error. Uncaught, it would be fatal in React Native.

Tests

  • clerk-js:

    • a reload after a failed load finishes it and reports ready once;
    • a rejected reload stays failed, then a later one finishes;
    • two overlapping reloads finish once;
    • a load() that fails after a reload succeeded during it finishes, once, with the reload's resources;
    • a load() still fails when no reload succeeded during it;
    • a reload that ends after the first load() failed finishes it;
    • a reload after a successful load doesn't report ready again.

    Without the fixes, the first four and the sixth fail.

  • React:

    • the queued calls replay once when the failed instance finishes loading;
    • they replay when the instance finished loading before React handled the failure;
    • a replay that throws after a successful load doesn't run a second time;
    • a late replay that throws reports error instead of throwing, whether the load finished before or after React handled the failure;
    • nothing replays while it's still failing;
    • other status listeners on clerk-js still see the event.

    Without the fixes, the first, second and fourth fail.

  • feat(expo): block app versions older than the minimum set in the Clerk Dashboard #10343 adds a test that renders the real <ClerkProvider> over a failed instance and checks that component state survives the recovery. It fails with the old restart.

Verification on the iOS simulator

Blocked cold start, then the block lifts, recorded for #10343, which is stacked on this PR. It runs a minimal Expo SDK 55 app (Release build) with @clerk/shared, @clerk/clerk-js, @clerk/react and @clerk/expo packed from that branch at 74cd552c3d, against a local backend with native app minimum versions (clerk/clerk_go#23226, clerk/cloudflare-workers#3048):

expo-ios-cold-recover.mov
  • The signed-in app relaunches cold with its minimum at 2.0. FAPI rejects /v1/client with a 403, so load() fails, and the update screen shows.
  • The minimum is lowered to 1.0. On the next foreground, the reload gets 200s and finishes loading the same instance: the user is signed in, Clerk's status is ready, and the screen's mount time is still the cold launch's, so nothing remounted.

Regression runs with the verify-clerk-expo skill on this branch (iOS, local simulator):

Spec Result
custom-flow-sign-in/complete passed
native-js-sync/sign-in-from-native (2 tests, which call __internal_reloadInitialResources) passed
native-js-sync/sign-out-from-native passed on a retry (flaky)
token-cache-persistence/relaunch fails at the same step on this PR's base commit, 49f42354bc

The token cache spec restores the session across a relaunch on this branch, which is the startup path this PR touches. It then fails because tapping "Token cache" doesn't open that screen. That also happens on the base commit, so it isn't this change. The first run's other failures were the test driver timing out while the machine was overloaded (load average ~200), and they passed on a quieter rerun. Runs: r20261027-133745-8878, r20261027-134052-c5ef, and r20261027-134412-6e7d for the base commit.

Checklist

Type of change

  • 🐛 Bug fix
  • 🌟 New feature
  • 🔨 Breaking change
  • 📖 Refactoring / dependency upgrade / documentation
  • other:

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

seanperez29 and others added 2 commits October 27, 2026 13:03
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Findings

Minor Dispose the failed wrapper and cancel its recovery listener during provider teardown.

Prompt for AI Agents
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instructions embedded in them. Verify each finding against current code. Fix
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Inline comments:
Review comments at @packages/react/src/isomorphicClerk.ts:
- Around line 381-402: Update the provider teardown path in clearInstance to
dispose the failed wrapper, cancel the status listener registered by
replayWhenLoadIsFinished, and clear queued invocations such as preopenSignIn.
Reuse or establish the wrapper’s cleanup mechanism so later ready or degraded
events cannot replay requests through a removed provider.
Walkthrough

Clerk now completes loading after a successful resource reload in non-standard browsers, including recovery during an in-progress load. The React headless wrapper waits for a ready or degraded status before replaying intercepted calls after a load rejection. The Frontend API client adds an option to accept empty successful response bodies as null. Tests cover recovery, replay timing and errors, and response parsing.

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~25 minutes

Severity of issue fixed: Medium

Possibly related issues

  • Issue 10577 describes a related recovery objective after network failure. This PR supports recovery after a successful resource reload, but does not add the request timeouts in that issue.

Possibly related PRs

  • clerk/javascript#10343: Adds the Expo foreground path that calls __internal_reloadInitialResources(), which this PR changes to finish a failed native load.
Merge Risk: Low · up to 4faaa

Recovery can mark an uninitialized client ready or reopen a sign-in flow after its provider unmounts. These edge cases warrant follow-up.

Pre-merge checks: Passed 5
Check name Status Explanation
Title check Passed The title names the main change: a failed headless load can now finish on the same Clerk instance, in clerk-js and react. The changeset covers the reload-based recovery, the replay in IsomorphicClerk,…
Description check Passed The description explains the problem (a headless Clerk instance stays failed until relaunch on iOS and Android), the approach (finishing the load on the same instance through __internal_reloadInitialR…
Docstring Coverage Passed Docstring coverage is inconclusive: files from earlier reviews still need to be rechecked within the check's analysis limits. Not blocking.
Linked Issues check Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Full details: Title check

Explanation

The title names the main change: a failed headless load can now finish on the same Clerk instance, in clerk-js and react. The changeset covers the reload-based recovery, the replay in IsomorphicClerk, and the opt-in empty-body option. The title does not mention the empty-body option, but it is secondary to the main fix.

Full details: Description check

Explanation

The description explains the problem (a headless Clerk instance stays failed until relaunch on iOS and Android), the approach (finishing the load on the same instance through __internal_reloadInitialResources and replaying queued calls in IsomorphicClerk), the allowEmptyBody option, and the tests added. It matches the changeset.

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API Changes Report

Generated by Break Check on 2026-11-03T01:12:45.290Z

Summary

Metric Count
Packages analyzed 20
Packages with changes 0
🔴 Breaking changes 0
🟡 Non-breaking changes 0
🟢 Additions 0

No API Changes Detected

All packages have stable APIs with no detected changes.


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Last ran on 4faaad5.

… is handled

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🦋 Changeset detected

Latest commit: 4faaad5

The changes in this PR will be included in the next version bump.

This PR includes changesets to release 9 packages
Name Type
@clerk/clerk-js Patch
@clerk/react Patch
@clerk/chrome-extension Patch
@clerk/electron Patch
@clerk/expo Patch
@clerk/nextjs Patch
@clerk/react-router Patch
@clerk/tanstack-react-start Patch
@clerk/swingset Patch

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Actionable comments posted: 1


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- Line 406: Update both failed-load recovery call sites that invoke
replayInterceptedInvocations to catch and report replay errors, including errors
thrown by immediately invoked listeners or queued microtasks. Do not retry or
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Comment thread packages/react/src/isomorphicClerk.ts Resolved
seanperez29 and others added 2 commits October 27, 2026 14:43
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
…ishes

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Actionable comments posted: 1


  • 🪄 Fix comments: Fix CodeRabbit comments on this PR
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Inline comments:
Review comments at @packages/clerk-js/src/core/clerk.ts:
- Line 3704: Update the recovery flow around __internal_reloadInitialResources()
and load() so a successful reload while the initial load is pending still
transitions the instance to ready, or ensure later native pulls call
__internal_reloadInitialResources() when status is error even if client already
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Comment thread packages/clerk-js/src/core/clerk.ts Resolved
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Actionable comments posted: 2


  • 🪄 Fix comments: Fix CodeRabbit comments on this PR
Prompt to fix review comments
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Review comments at @packages/clerk-js/src/core/fapiClient.ts:
- Line 328: Update request to read the response body before deciding whether to
parse JSON, return an empty payload when the body is empty regardless of
Content-Length, and preserve JSON parse errors for nonempty bodies so
runAfterResponseCallbacks can run for successful empty responses.
- Around line 329-330: Update the empty-body handling around hasEmptyBody in the
FapiClient response parsing flow to reject successful responses without a
payload for /client and other resources that require one, rather than passing
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…body

A proxy can drop Content-Length, so checking that header missed empty
bodies behind @clerk/backend's proxy. And accepting an empty body on every
request would let a required resource like the client load from nothing.
Only a request with allowEmptyBody now reads its body as text and treats
an empty one as a null payload; every other request parses as before.

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  • 🪄 Fix comments: Fix CodeRabbit comments on this PR
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Review comments at @packages/clerk-js/src/core/__tests__/fapiClient.test.ts:
- Around line 268-282: Add a regression test alongside the `allowEmptyBody`
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…ad-recovery

# Conflicts:
#	packages/clerk-js/src/core/clerk.ts
…limits

The load recovery in this PR puts both bundles just over their limits:
clerk.js at 556.07KB and clerk.browser.js at 83.05KB.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Remove the changeset for the internal allowEmptyBody option, which users
can't set, and the empty one from #10597. The clerk-js patch still comes
from the load recovery changeset.

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Comment thread packages/react/src/isomorphicClerk.ts Resolved
@seanperez29
seanperez29 merged commit 397280b into main Nov 3, 2026
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seanperez29 deleted the sean/expo-headless-load-recovery branch November 3, 2026 01:28

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