codexmachina
registry/react-router-postgres-clerk-analytics

Product analytics on React Router v8, Postgres (Neon) and Clerk

verified 2026-07-15postgres3.4.9react-router8.2.0@clerk/react-router3.5.7@neondatabase/serverless1.1.0

Type-checked against the real SDKs, migration applied to a live Postgres (Neon), connection clients load-tested, then tracked for upstream drift and re-verified when it moves. How we verify

request path
Browserrequest
fetch
React Router v8routing + proxy
verify
Clerksession
query
Postgres (Neon)pooled

session validation runs in server components and route handlers, not at the edge

What you're getting

React Router v8

React Router v8 (framework mode) — SSR, config/file routes under app/, loaders/actions, and resource routes for API endpoints.

Postgres (Neon)

Postgres on Neon via Drizzle ORM and the postgres-js driver.

Clerk

Clerk — hosted identity (sign-in UI, sessions, user management) mounted via middleware + provider.

Product analytics

Product-analytics schema — tracked apps with unique ingest keys, an append-only event stream, session windows, and saved funnels, all hung off Better Auth's user table.

Setup

bun add react-router react react-dom drizzle-orm postgres @clerk/nextjs
DATABASE_URLNeon pooled (-pooler) connection string
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
CLERK_SECRET_KEY
CLERK_WEBHOOK_SECRETsvix secret that verifies Clerk webhook signatures

Apply the schema with bunx drizzle-kit push

Initialization

Database client

app/lib/db.ts
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js";
import postgres from "postgres";

// Neon pooled endpoint = PgBouncer transaction mode → prepared statements off.
// ponytail: single module-level client; the serverless runtime + PgBouncer do
// the pooling, so no custom pool/globalThis singleton dance needed.
const client = postgres(process.env.DATABASE_URL!, { prepare: false });

export const db = drizzle({ client });

// ponytail: Clerk is hosted — set the publishable + secret keys in the env
// (React Router reads VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY client-side; CLERK_SECRET_KEY
// server-side). ClerkProvider + rootAuthLoader pick them up automatically.
// Root route for React Router v8 (framework mode). <ClerkProvider> makes
// Clerk's hooks/components available client-side; rootAuthLoader hydrates the auth
// state from the request on the server; clerkMiddleware attaches the Auth object to
// the request context so protected loaders can gate via getAuth() — the RR7 analog
// of Next's clerkMiddleware proxy + auth.protect().
import { ClerkProvider } from "@clerk/react-router";
import { clerkMiddleware, rootAuthLoader } from "@clerk/react-router/server";
import type { LoaderFunctionArgs } from "react-router";
import { Outlet, useLoaderData } from "react-router";

// RR7 route middleware: runs on every request and populates Clerk's auth context.
// Protected routes call getAuth(args) in their loader and redirect signed-out users —
// equivalent gating to the Next branch's isProtectedRoute + auth.protect().
export const middleware = [clerkMiddleware()];

export async function loader(args: LoaderFunctionArgs) {
  return rootAuthLoader(args);
}

export default function Root() {
  const loaderData = useLoaderData<typeof loader>();
  return (
    <ClerkProvider loaderData={loaderData}>
      <Outlet />
    </ClerkProvider>
  );
}

Product analytics schema: tracked apps, events, sessions & funnels

Tracked apps & ingest keys

owner-scoped app registrations, each with a unique api_key used to authenticate inbound event writes

Events (append-only)

the raw, immutable event stream keyed by app and timestamp, with freeform JSONB properties and an optional anonymous visitor id

Sessions

visitor session windows (start/end timestamps) correlated to events via anonymous_id, with nullable ended_at for open sessions

Funnels

saved multi-step funnel definitions stored as JSONB steps arrays, scoped per tracked app

src/db/schema.ts
// === file: app/db/schema.ts ===
import { relations } from "drizzle-orm";
import {
  index,
  jsonb,
  pgTable,
  text,
  timestamp,
  uuid,
} from "drizzle-orm/pg-core";
// Better Auth owns identity; we only reference its `user` table by id.
import { user } from "./auth-schema";

export const trackedApps = pgTable(
  "tracked_apps",
  {
    id: uuid("id").primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
    ownerId: text("owner_id").notNull().references(() => user.id, { onDelete: "cascade" }),
    name: text("name").notNull(),
    apiKey: text("api_key").notNull().unique(),
    createdAt: timestamp("created_at", { withTimezone: true }).notNull().defaultNow(),
  },
  (t) => [index("idx_app_owner").on(t.ownerId)],
);

// Append-only event stream; the analytical workhorse.
export const events = pgTable(
  "events",
  {
    id: uuid("id").primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
    appId: uuid("app_id").notNull().references(() => trackedApps.id, { onDelete: "cascade" }),
    name: text("name").notNull(),
    anonymousId: text("anonymous_id"),
    properties: jsonb("properties"),
    occurredAt: timestamp("occurred_at", { withTimezone: true }).notNull(),
  },
  (t) => [index("idx_event_app_time").on(t.appId, t.occurredAt)],
);

export const sessions = pgTable(
  "sessions",
  {
    id: uuid("id").primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
    appId: uuid("app_id").notNull().references(() => trackedApps.id, { onDelete: "cascade" }),
    anonymousId: text("anonymous_id").notNull(),
    startedAt: timestamp("started_at", { withTimezone: true }).notNull(),
    endedAt: timestamp("ended_at", { withTimezone: true }),
  },
  (t) => [index("idx_session_app").on(t.appId)],
);

export const funnels = pgTable("funnels", {
  id: uuid("id").primaryKey().defaultRandom(),
  appId: uuid("app_id").notNull().references(() => trackedApps.id, { onDelete: "cascade" }),
  name: text("name").notNull(),
  steps: jsonb("steps"),
  createdAt: timestamp("created_at", { withTimezone: true }).notNull().defaultNow(),
});

export const trackedAppsRelations = relations(trackedApps, ({ one, many }) => ({
  owner: one(user, { fields: [trackedApps.ownerId], references: [user.id] }),
  events: many(events),
  sessions: many(sessions),
  funnels: many(funnels),
}));
export const eventsRelations = relations(events, ({ one }) => ({
  app: one(trackedApps, { fields: [events.appId], references: [trackedApps.id] }),
}));
export const sessionsRelations = relations(sessions, ({ one }) => ({
  app: one(trackedApps, { fields: [sessions.appId], references: [trackedApps.id] }),
}));
export const funnelsRelations = relations(funnels, ({ one }) => ({
  app: one(trackedApps, { fields: [funnels.appId], references: [trackedApps.id] }),
}));

Verified identity sync (Clerk)

Clerk users sync into a local user table idempotently: duplicate, out-of-order, and concurrent webhooks converge to one correct row. Replayed against a live database.
src/db/auth-schema.ts
// === file: app/db/auth-schema.ts ===
import { pgTable, text, timestamp } from "drizzle-orm/pg-core";

// Local mirror of Clerk identity — the FK target app-type schemas reference as user.
// id = Clerk's user id, so existing user_id foreign keys resolve once the sync runs.
// This IS the auth-schema slot for Clerk cells: the SaaS schema's ./auth-schema FK
// target (src/db/auth-schema.ts) resolves here, same slot Better Auth's generated file fills.
export const user = pgTable("user", {
  id: text("id").primaryKey(), // = Clerk user id
  email: text("email"),
  firstName: text("first_name"),
  lastName: text("last_name"),
  imageUrl: text("image_url"),
  updatedAt: timestamp("updated_at", { withTimezone: true }), // staleness key (Clerk updated_at)
  createdAt: timestamp("created_at", { withTimezone: true }).notNull().defaultNow(),
});
import { and, eq, isNull, lt, or } from "drizzle-orm";
import { user } from "@/db/auth-schema";

export type ClerkUserEvent = {
  type: string;
  data: {
    id: string;
    email_addresses?: { email_address: string }[];
    first_name?: string | null;
    last_name?: string | null;
    image_url?: string | null;
    updated_at?: number;
  };
};

// Idempotent + concurrency-safe sync of a Clerk user into the local user table.
// Keyed on id (= Clerk id, the PK); the staleness guard lives in the UPDATE WHERE so
// a late/older event cannot clobber newer state. user.deleted removes the row.
export async function recordClerkEvent(
  // ponytail: loosely typed Drizzle client so the emitted core stays portable.
  db: any,
  event: ClerkUserEvent,
): Promise<{ changed: boolean }> {
  const d = event.data;
  if (event.type === "user.deleted") {
    const deleted = await db.delete(user).where(eq(user.id, d.id)).returning({ id: user.id });
    return { changed: deleted.length > 0 };
  }

  const email = d.email_addresses?.[0]?.email_address ?? null;
  const eventAt = new Date(d.updated_at ?? 0);
  const fields = {
    email,
    firstName: d.first_name ?? null,
    lastName: d.last_name ?? null,
    imageUrl: d.image_url ?? null,
    updatedAt: eventAt,
  };

  const updated = await db
    .update(user)
    .set(fields)
    .where(and(eq(user.id, d.id), or(isNull(user.updatedAt), lt(user.updatedAt, eventAt))))
    .returning({ id: user.id });
  if (updated.length > 0) return { changed: true };

  const [existing] = await db.select({ id: user.id }).from(user).where(eq(user.id, d.id)).limit(1);
  if (existing) return { changed: false };

  const inserted = await db
    .insert(user)
    .values({ id: d.id, ...fields })
    .onConflictDoNothing({ target: user.id })
    .returning({ id: user.id });
  return { changed: inserted.length > 0 };
}
// Clerk identity webhook for React Router v8 (framework mode). A resource
// route (no default component) — React Router invokes `action` for the POST. Clerk
// webhooks are svix: verify the signature, then hand the event to recordClerkEvent.
import type { ActionFunctionArgs } from "react-router";
import { Webhook } from "svix";
import { db } from "@/lib/db";
import { recordClerkEvent, type ClerkUserEvent } from "@/lib/identity/record";

const USER_EVENTS = new Set(["user.created", "user.updated", "user.deleted"]);

export async function action({ request }: ActionFunctionArgs) {
  const secret = process.env.CLERK_WEBHOOK_SECRET;
  if (!secret) return Response.json({ error: "Server misconfigured" }, { status: 500 });

  const raw = await request.text();
  const headers = Object.fromEntries(request.headers.entries());

  let event: ClerkUserEvent;
  try {
    event = new Webhook(secret).verify(raw, headers) as ClerkUserEvent;
  } catch {
    return Response.json({ error: "Invalid signature" }, { status: 403 });
  }

  if (USER_EVENTS.has(event.type)) await recordClerkEvent(db, event);
  return Response.json({ ok: true });
}

Deploy targets

✓ The right DB client for where you deploy: load-tested with concurrent queries against a live database. Edge needs the HTTP driver (no TCP); serverless needs a tiny pool.
src/lib/db.ts
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js";
import postgres from "postgres";

// Serverless: one connection per (short-lived) instance; Neon's pooler multiplexes.
export const sql = postgres(process.env.DATABASE_URL!, { prepare: false, max: 1 });
export const db = drizzle(sql);
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js";
import postgres from "postgres";

// Long-running process: a real, reused pool. Still prepare:false on the pooled endpoint.
export const sql = postgres(process.env.DATABASE_URL!, { prepare: false, max: 10, idle_timeout: 20 });
export const db = drizzle(sql);
import { neon } from "@neondatabase/serverless";
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/neon-http";

// Edge/Workers have NO TCP sockets, so postgres-js cannot run here. Neon's HTTP
// driver speaks Postgres over fetch — the only client that works on Workers.
export const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
export const db = drizzle(sql);

Decisions and compatibility

note

Framework mode (not data/library mode): routes live under app/, declared in app/routes.ts. API endpoints are resource routes (a route module exporting loader/action but no default component).

note

prepare: false is mandatory — Neon's pooled endpoint is PgBouncer in transaction mode, where server-side prepared statements break across the pool.

note

Drizzle is paired here (not Prisma): Prisma's prepared-statement reliance is incompatible with transaction-mode pooling.

note

Hosted: Clerk owns identity and does NOT create a local `user` table. Store `clerk_user_id` as text without a foreign key, or sync Clerk users into a local table via webhook before relying on FKs to `user`.

note

api_key on tracked_apps carries a unique constraint: each app gets exactly one ingest key, and the key is the authentication surface for the event ingestion endpoint.

note

events is append-only (no update path, no status column) — the composite index on (app_id, occurred_at) is the only query handle; roll-up queries must scan that index, not mutate rows.

caveat

Clerk is a hosted identity provider and does not create a local `user` table. This schema's foreign keys to `user` assume a local identity table (as Better Auth provides). With Clerk, store `clerk_user_id` as a text column without a foreign key, or sync Clerk users into a local `users` table via webhook before relying on these FKs.