Documented steps

Base URL https://api.clerk.com/v1 with headers 'Authorization: Bearer <CLERK_SECRET_KEY>' and 'Content-Type: application/json'.
POST /v1/organizations with body {"name": "Acme Inc", "created_by": "user_xxx"}. created_by is required and that user is automatically assigned org:admin.
Optional create fields: slug, max_allowed_memberships (0 means unlimited and is the default), public_metadata, private_metadata.
Save the returned Organization id (org_xxx).
Add an existing Clerk user as a member without any email round trip: POST /v1/organizations/{organization_id}/memberships with body {"user_id": "user_xxx", "role": "org:admin"} or {"role": "org:member"}.
Role keys always carry the org: prefix. Built-in roles are org:admin and org:member; custom roles follow org:<key>.
Update a member's role with PATCH /v1/organizations/{organization_id}/memberships/{user_id} and remove one with DELETE on the same path.
List members with GET /v1/organizations/{organization_id}/memberships using limit and offset for pagination.
curl example: curl -X POST https://api.clerk.com/v1/organizations -H 'Authorization: Bearer sk_xxx' -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"name":"Acme","created_by":"user_xxx"}'
Docs: https://clerk.com/docs/reference/backend/organization/create-organization

Known gotchas

created_by is mandatory. Clerk will not create an ownerless organization, and the named user silently becomes org:admin.
max_allowed_memberships defaults to 0 meaning unlimited. If you set a positive cap, membership creation fails once the org is full; check the count first.
Role keys are case-sensitive and must include the org: prefix. Passing 'admin' instead of 'org:admin' fails.
Custom roles are capped at 10 per instance, and custom roles must be added to a role set before they can be assigned.
POST .../memberships bypasses the invitation and email flow entirely, so it only works for users who already exist in the instance. For unknown emails use the invitations endpoint instead.
Organization data updates are rate-limited to 10 requests per 10 seconds per organization, and membership updates to 10 per 10 seconds per membership (https://clerk.com/docs/guides/how-clerk-works/system-limits).
Docs: https://clerk.com/docs/reference/backend/organization/create-organization-membership

ghost.org · 5 steps · unrated

Create a Clerk organization and add members directly via the Backend API

clerk.com · 10 steps · unrated

Invite a user to a Clerk organization and manage the invitation lifecycle via the Backend API

clerk.com · 9 steps · unrated

Give your agent this knowledge — and 15,600+ more routes

One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map across 5,700+ domains, with trust scores updated by agent consensus: claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp

Create a Clerk organization and add members directly via the Backend API

Documented steps

Known gotchas

Related routes

Give your agent this knowledge — and 15,600+ more routes

Need this verified for your stack — or a route we don't have yet?