refactor(shared,clerk-js,react): move QueryClient ownership into @clerk/shared

[jacekradko]

Summary

• Moves the clerk-rq QueryClient from @clerk/clerk-js into @clerk/shared. Both the QueryObserver and the Query objects it observes now resolve to a single @tanstack/query-core instance.
• Removes the undocumented clerk.__internal_queryClient getter from both @clerk/clerk-js and @clerk/react's IsomorphicClerk, plus the dynamic query-core import and queryClientStatus event.
• Drops @tanstack/query-core from @clerk/clerk-js's dependencies (still a dep of @clerk/shared).

Why

#8432 patched the symptom of #8428 by republishing the CDN bundle so its embedded query-core matches what consumers' @clerk/shared resolves to. That fix is correct but structural — every future query-core release that adds an Observer → Query method call could re-trigger the same crash class until both sides are forced to share one resolution.

This PR removes the cross-bundle contract entirely. The QueryClient is owned by an internal singleton in @clerk/shared, lazily instantiated on the browser only. Both the QueryObserver (constructor lives in @clerk/shared) and the Query objects (created via client.getQueryCache().build(...)) now come from one resolution — the gap #8428 exploited can no longer exist.

Key insight: clerk-js never mutated the QueryClient — every setQueryData / invalidateQueries / removeQueries call already lives in @clerk/shared hooks. So no push API back into clerk-js is needed; clerk-js simply stops creating the client.

Behavior changes

• clerk.__internal_queryClient removed. Undocumented (leading underscore + @ts-expect-error at every call site), but technically observable. No code in this monorepo reaches for it outside the call sites I removed; possible external consumers should now construct their own QueryClient if they need one.
• SSR safety preserved. getClerkQueryClient() returns undefined server-side, so per-request renders never share a cache across requests. Hooks fall back to the same proxy mock + synthetic pending state that existed before.
• queryClientStatus event removed. It was emitted once when clerk-js's lazy query-core import resolved; with the singleton synchronously available on the browser there's nothing to signal. No code outside the removed listeners consumed it.

Test plan

• pnpm --filter @clerk/shared test — 1069/1069
• pnpm --filter @clerk/clerk-js test — 688/688
• pnpm --filter @clerk/ui test — 1681/1681 (incl. SubscriptionDetails / Checkout, the regression-prone billing UI tests)
• pnpm --filter @clerk/clerk-js build — clean, no query-core-vendors_*.js chunk in dist (confirms the dep was actually dropped)
• pnpm --filter @clerk/shared build

Stacked on #8432 — base will be main once #8432 lands.

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
clerk-js-sandbox	Ready	Preview, Comment	May 2, 2026 4:29pm

[changeset-bot]

🦋 Changeset detected

Latest commit: 626d5f5

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

This PR includes changesets to release 20 packages

Name	Type
@clerk/shared	Patch
@clerk/clerk-js	Patch
@clerk/react	Patch
@clerk/astro	Patch
@clerk/backend	Patch
@clerk/chrome-extension	Patch
@clerk/expo-passkeys	Patch
@clerk/expo	Patch
@clerk/express	Patch
@clerk/fastify	Patch
@clerk/hono	Patch
@clerk/localizations	Patch
@clerk/msw	Patch
@clerk/nextjs	Patch
@clerk/nuxt	Patch
@clerk/react-router	Patch
@clerk/tanstack-react-start	Patch
@clerk/testing	Patch
@clerk/ui	Patch
@clerk/vue	Patch

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

QueryClient ownership for clerk-rq is moved out of @clerk/clerk-js into a new singleton manager in @clerk/shared that lazily creates a browser-only QueryClient and exposes test helpers and a public accessor. The undocumented __internal_queryClient getters were removed from clerk-js and IsomorphicClerk in react. Tests and mock helpers across clerk-js, shared, react, and ui were updated to use the shared helpers. @tanstack/query-core was removed from clerk-js runtime deps and its forced vendor chunk/specific bundlewatch entry were removed; some UI bundle size thresholds were adjusted. New re-exports added from @clerk/shared/react.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 4 (Complex) | ⏱️ ~45 minutes

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 66.67% 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
Title check	✅ Passed	The title accurately summarizes the main refactoring: moving QueryClient ownership from @clerk/clerk-js to @clerk/shared, which is the central architectural change in this PR.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description is directly related to the changeset, clearly explaining the motivation (eliminating cross-bundle API mismatch), implementation approach (singleton in @clerk/shared), and behavioral changes including preserved SSR safety.
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.

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commit: 626d5f5