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feat(expo): block app versions older than the minimum set in the Clerk Dashboard - #10343

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Description

Important

Do not merge yet. This waits for the clerk-ios release with clerk/clerk-ios#742 and the clerk-android release with clerk/clerk-android#1160. Before merging, set clerk_ios_version in ClerkExpo.podspec and clerkAndroidApiVersion/clerkAndroidUiVersion in android/build.gradle to those releases, in place of the automatic Expo iOS SDK bump PR, which can then be closed.

Native app force update lets an instance set a minimum version for each of its apps in the Clerk Dashboard. FAPI rejects requests from an older build with a 403 unsupported_app_version until the user updates. This PR is the Expo side. The backend is in clerk/clerk_go#23226, the edge check in clerk/cloudflare-workers#3048, the Dashboard in clerk/dashboard#10502, iOS in clerk/clerk-ios#742 and Android in clerk/clerk-android#1160.

Requests

  • Requests send the app's identity, read with expo-application, a new optional peer:
    • iOS: X-Bundle-Id and X-App-Version (CFBundleShortVersionString).
    • Android: X-Package-Name and X-App-Version (versionCode).
  • Without expo-application, in Expo Go, and on the web, requests carry no identity, so FAPI never blocks them.
  • In development, a one-time warning appears when the instance sets minimum versions but expo-application is missing.

Status

  • New useAppVersionSupport() returns isSupported, currentVersion, minimumVersion and updateUrl. It reads the responses @clerk/expo already sees in its request hooks, so clerk-js doesn't change. It follows the same rules as the native SDKs:
    • A 403 unsupported_app_version blocks the app, falling back to the environment's minimum and update URL for anything its meta leaves out.
    • The X-Clerk-App-Version-Status: supported header lifts a block.
    • The environment decides only until FAPI answers. After that it only updates the minimum and update URL the screen shows, because it can be served from the edge cache.
    • The answer to the most recently sent request wins: each request takes a number in beforeRequest, and an answer to an older request that arrives late is ignored, as are answers for a replaced Clerk instance.
  • A rejected version can't sign anyone out: isUnauthenticatedError only matches 401, 422, and 403 with user_banned or user_deactivated.

Lifting a block

  • While the app is unsupported, it reloads the environment and client each time it returns to the foreground, as the native SDKs do. The client request reaches FAPI, whose supported header lifts the block. Token responses minted at the edge carry no X-Clerk-App-Version-Status, so they can't.
  • A blocked app that starts cold can't load clerk-js, because its client request is rejected, so clerk-js ends in its error state. When the block lifts, <ClerkProvider> discards that instance and creates a new one, which loads normally and restores the signed-in session from the token cache. An app whose clerk-js had loaded keeps its instance.

Screen

  • <ClerkProvider> shows an update screen in a modal over the app while it's unsupported. It shows even when clerk-js fails to load, which happens because a blocked app's client request is rejected. Android's Back button can't dismiss it.
  • The layout follows each platform's native screen. iOS shows "Your version / Required" and "Go to App Store". Android shows only "Your version" with the version name, and "Go to Google Play" ("Update app" for other stores). Both have a "Can't update? Get help" link when the instance has a support email.
  • It uses the Dashboard logo and the native SDKs' default colors, in light and dark mode.
  • updateRequiredViewEnabled={false} turns it off, for apps that build their own screen from the hook. The screen's component is internal, so @clerk/expo exports only the hook and the prop.

Native SDK screens (@clerk/expo-native-components)

  • The native SDKs' own update screens stay on by default. @clerk/expo turns them off through a new optional bridge method, setUpdateRequiredViewEnabled, which it calls just before configureNative (iOS updateRequiredViewEnabled: false, Android withUpdateRequiredViewDisabled()):
    • It turns them off when it shows its own screen, which needs expo-application to identify the app, or when the app sets updateRequiredViewEnabled={false}. Otherwise the native screen would show over this one, and the prop wouldn't turn it off.
    • Without expo-application, @clerk/expo can't identify the app and shows nothing, while native requests still identify it and get the 403. The native screen stays on there.
    • An older @clerk/expo, which has no update screen, never calls the method, so the native screen stays on. @clerk/expo skips the call on native components without the method, and configureNative keeps its signature.
    • Native Clerk reads the setting when it's configured, and only configureNative configures it, so it's in place from launch. A later change to the prop applies the next time native Clerk is configured: the next launch, or a new publishable key or proxy URL.
  • Both options only exist in the native SDK releases with force update, so until they ship:

Known gaps

  • The screen is English only, because @clerk/expo has no localization. The native screens have 15 languages.

  • Without a Dashboard logo, the screen shows none, because React Native can't read the app icon without native code.

  • If a global Clerk instance from getClerkInstance() is held outside React, it is still the discarded instance after a restart (see Lifting a block), so it stays in its error state until the app reads getClerkInstance() again.

Screen recordings

Recorded on the iOS simulator (iPhone 17 Pro, Release build) against a local backend running clerk/clerk_go#23226, clerk/cloudflare-workers#3048 and clerk/dashboard#10502. The app is a minimal Expo SDK 55 app (version 1.0.0) that signs in a +clerk_test user through signIn.emailCode. "Before" is @clerk/expo@4.14.0 from npm; "after" is this branch, packed. In both, the app's minimum is raised to 2.0 in the Dashboard.

Before (@clerk/expo@4.14.0) After (this PR)
expo-ios-before.mov
expo-ios-after.mov
  • Before: the app sends no identity, so nothing blocks it. It stays signed in after a trip to the background and a cold relaunch.
  • After:
    • The update screen covers the app within seconds, on the next session token refresh, which the edge sends to origin because the app is below its minimum.
    • Lowering the minimum to 1.0 lifts the block on the next foreground, and the user is still signed in.
    • Raising it again and relaunching the app cold shows the screen at launch, even though clerk-js can't load.

Blocked cold start, then the block lifts (this PR)

expo-ios-cold-restart.mov
  • The app launches cold with the minimum at 2.0, so clerk-js can't load and the update screen shows.
  • The minimum is lowered to 1.0 in the Dashboard. When the app returns to the foreground, in the same process, Clerk restarts and the user is signed in.

The Android emulator recording is still to come.

Simulator verification

Adds a launch recording at the current head (43eb2fd7f5), with the update screen's new wording ("Please update to continue", without the account-security reason). Before, the app opens to its signed-out screen; after, the update screen covers it as soon as the launch finishes, with the version comparison and Go to App Store.

Before c4fcf43deb (the PR's base; its @clerk/expo source is identical to the published 4.14.0, which the build uses), after 43eb2fd7f5 (this PR, through pkglab). Both are Release builds of the Expo playground (com.clerk.testing, version 1.0.0) on an iPhone 17 Pro simulator, iOS 26.5, in dark mode. Mocked backend: clerk/clerk_go#23226 isn't deployed, so both builds pass proxyUrl to <ClerkProvider> pointing at a local mock in front of the real dev instance. It serves the instance's real environment with an iOS minimum of 2.0 for com.clerk.testing, answers requests that identify as that bundle ID below 2.0 with the backend's 403 unsupported_app_version, and forwards everything else to the real instance. The base sends no identity headers, so all of its requests were forwarded. Both builds also patch one line of expo-modules-jsi 56.0.10 that Xcode 27's Swift compiler rejects; it doesn't touch Clerk. The instance has no logo or support email.

Before

before.mp4

After

after.mp4

Checklist

  • pnpm test runs as expected.
  • pnpm build runs as expected.
  • (If applicable) JSDoc comments have been added or updated for any package exports
  • (If applicable) Documentation has been updated

Type of change

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

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

…k Dashboard

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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🦋 Changeset detected

Latest commit: ffbc117

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

This PR includes changesets to release 2 packages
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@clerk/expo Minor
@clerk/expo-native-components Patch

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Walkthrough

The Expo package adds native iOS and Android app identity detection and minimum-version policy evaluation. Native requests send app identity and update support state from server responses and environment data. The provider can display an update-required modal, and apps can use the public status hook or render the exported view. The changes also add optional expo-application support, Expo Go detection, and tests for support evaluation, request handling, provider behavior, and UI.

Priority: Normal

Estimated code review effort: 4 (Complex) | ~45 minutes

Suggested reviewers: mikepitre, wobsoriano

Merge Risk: High · up to 7c125

Android builds remain blocked until the native dependency is updated. Changing the update-screen setting can also leave the native screen out of sync. Resolve these issues before merging; the blocked-screen link behavior still depends on an unverified server payload contract.

Pre-merge checks: Passed 4 · Failed 1

Failed Failed checks: 1 warning

Check name Status Explanation Resolution
Docstring Coverage Warning Docstring coverage is 6.67% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 60 functions across 35 files. (1 skipped: … Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.
Passed Passed checks: 4 passed
Check name Status Explanation
Title check Passed The title clearly and concisely describes the primary change: blocking Expo app versions below the minimum configured in the Clerk Dashboard.
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.
Description check Passed The pull request description directly explains the native app-version enforcement feature, its Expo implementation, update screen behavior, native integration, dependencies, validation status, and kno…
Full details: Description check

Explanation

The pull request description directly explains the native app-version enforcement feature, its Expo implementation, update screen behavior, native integration, dependencies, validation status, and known merge prerequisites.

Full details: Docstring Coverage

Explanation

Docstring coverage is 6.67% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 60 functions across 35 files. (1 skipped: 1 unsupported.)

Resolution

Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

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Actionable comments posted: 1


  • 🪄 Fix comments: Fix CodeRabbit comments on this PR
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Review comments at @packages/expo/src/app-version/appVersionRequestHooks.ts:
- Line 27: Add the named AppVersionRequestHooks type with beforeRequest and
afterResponse signatures, then annotate createAppVersionRequestHooks with
AppVersionRequestHooks. Ensure the createClerkInstance caller and test mocks use
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  • .changeset/expo-native-app-minimum-versions.md
  • packages/expo/package.json
  • packages/expo/src/app-version/__tests__/appVersionRequestHooks.test.ts
  • packages/expo/src/app-version/__tests__/appVersionSupport.test.ts
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  • packages/expo/src/hooks/__tests__/useAppVersionSupport.test.ts
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  • packages/expo/src/hooks/useAppVersionSupport.ts
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  • packages/expo/src/index.ts
  • packages/expo/src/provider/ClerkProvider.tsx
  • packages/expo/src/provider/__tests__/nativeClientSyncBehavior/nativeClientSync.behavior.test.tsx
  • packages/expo/src/provider/singleton/__tests__/createClerkInstance.test.ts
  • packages/expo/src/provider/singleton/createClerkInstance.ts
  • packages/expo/src/update-required/UpdateRequiredModal.tsx
  • packages/expo/src/update-required/UpdateRequiredView.tsx
  • packages/expo/src/update-required/__tests__/UpdateRequiredView.test.tsx
  • packages/expo/src/update-required/colors.ts
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Comment thread packages/expo/src/app-version/appVersionRequestHooks.ts Outdated
Token responses minted at the edge carry no app version status, so a blocked
app only learns that it's supported again from a fresh environment, as the
native SDKs do on foreground.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
…led load

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
… on every version

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
…pp supported

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- The update screen, its modal and the restart hook read the status
  through useAppVersionSupport() instead of repeating its store
  subscription.
- isRecord is shared between the version support files.
- The version comparison returns whether the app meets its minimum, the
  one thing callers check.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
seanperez29 and others added 2 commits October 23, 2026 15:10
<ClerkProvider> creates its Clerk instance while it renders, and that
resets the app version store. Notifying subscribers synchronously
updated other components mid-render once a minimum had been published,
so React warned on every restart after a block lifted. The store still
updates immediately, so components that render afterwards read the new
status; subscribers are told on a microtask.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The bridge turned the native SDKs' update screens off unconditionally.
An app on an older @clerk/expo, which has no update screen, or without
expo-application, which @clerk/expo needs to identify the app, then
showed none while native requests were rejected.

The native screen now stays on by default. @clerk/expo turns it off
through a new optional setUpdateRequiredViewEnabled bridge method, called
before configureNative, when it shows its own screen or the app sets
updateRequiredViewEnabled={false}. configureNative keeps its signature,
and @clerk/expo skips the call on native components without the method.
The setting applies when native Clerk is configured.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

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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/expo/src/provider/nativeClientSync.ts:
- Line 175: Update the `configureOnce` invalidation path used by `ready` to
account for changes to `nativeUpdateRequiredViewEnabled`, and ensure those
changes are applied to the native SDK options even when the publishable key and
proxy URL are unchanged.

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  • packages/expo-native-components/ios/ClerkNativeBridge.swift
  • packages/expo/src/app-version/__tests__/appVersionSupport.test.ts
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Comment thread packages/expo/src/provider/nativeClientSync.ts Outdated
…figures

Passing the computed setting as a useMemo dependency recreated the
native client sync object whenever the prop changed, dropping its state
for nothing: the native SDKs only read the option when they're
configured. Read it through a ref instead, like the token cache, when
configureNative runs.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
ClerkProvider shows the update screen itself, and apps that want their own UI build it from useAppVersionSupport().

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
seanperez29 and others added 2 commits October 26, 2026 11:20
…t one applied

A slow 403 could arrive after a newer supported answer and block the app again, or a late supported answer could briefly lift a newer block. Each request now takes a number when it's sent, an answer to an older request is ignored, and a reset ignores every request sent before it, which replaces the reset generation.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
A rejection that left out the minimum or update URL took them from the environment once, so a refreshed environment never changed them and the update screen could keep an old store link. The rejection's meta is now kept and resolved against the current environment whenever the status is published.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

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