fix(expo): Make publishableKey prop required and remove env var fallb…

[chriscanin]

Description

• Make publishableKey a required prop since env vars in node_modules aren't inlined in production builds
• Fixes issue reported by Kadi regarding TestFlight/Google Play crashes

https://linear.app/clerk/issue/MOBILE-393/remove-env-var-fallback-require-publishablekey-prop

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:

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Breaking Changes
  • publishableKey prop on ClerkProvider is now required (previously optional).
  • Environment variable fallbacks are no longer used — you must provide the publishableKey explicitly at configuration time.
  • Migration: update app initialization to pass the publishableKey directly to ClerkProvider from your app configuration.

_{✏️ Tip: You can customize this high-level summary in your review settings.}

[changeset-bot]

🦋 Changeset detected

Latest commit: b23a007

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

This PR includes changesets to release 1 package

Name	Type
@clerk/expo	Major

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Project	Deployment	Review	Updated (UTC)
clerk-js-sandbox	Ready	Preview, Comment	Jan 22, 2026 10:18pm

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commit: b23a007

[coderabbitai]

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This pull request makes the publishableKey prop required on ClerkProvider and removes runtime environment-variable fallbacks. The provider and related initialization no longer read EXPO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY/CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY; instead the key must be passed explicitly. The default publishable key used during singleton initialization was changed from environment-variable fallbacks to an empty string. A changeset documents this breaking change and includes migration guidance.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 0.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly describes the main change: making publishableKey required and removing environment variable fallbacks, which aligns with the core modification across all three files.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The pull request implementation fully addresses MOBILE-393 objectives by making publishableKey required in ClerkProviderProps and removing all environment variable fallbacks from both ClerkProvider and createClerkInstance.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes are directly related to the stated objective of making publishableKey required and removing environment variable fallbacks; no unrelated modifications are present.

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[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 0

Caution

Some comments are outside the diff and can’t be posted inline due to platform limitations.

⚠️ Outside diff range comments (1)

packages/expo/src/provider/singleton/createClerkInstance.ts (1)

30-40: Add regression tests for required publishableKey behavior.

This is a breaking change removing env fallbacks; please add/adjust tests to cover missing-key errors and instance reuse to prevent regressions before merge. As per coding guidelines, add tests for this change.