From 3b12cb4d7668747dd7b6e2822b4a1a3badc3dcb8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: nednella <19449811+nednella@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2025 17:54:55 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Add note to highlight the default dummy clerk webhook signing
 secret

---
 apps/api/.env.dev.template | 42 +++++++++++++++++++-------------------
 docs/clerk-setup.md        |  5 ++++-
 2 files changed, 25 insertions(+), 22 deletions(-)

diff --git a/apps/api/.env.dev.template b/apps/api/.env.dev.template
index aea37565..577a48a5 100644
--- a/apps/api/.env.dev.template
+++ b/apps/api/.env.dev.template
@@ -1,21 +1,21 @@
-# ==============================
-# LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ENV TEMPLATE
-# ==============================
-
-# Database
-DB_HOST=localhost
-DB_PORT=5432
-DB_NAME=echo
-DB_USERNAME=admin
-DB_PASSWORD=pw123
-
-# Authentication
-CLERK_ISSUER_URI=
-CLERK_JWK_SET_URI=
-
-# Clerk
-CLERK_SECRET_KEY=
-CLERK_WEBHOOK_SIGNING_SECRET=whsec_DUMMYKEY
-
-# CORS (comma-separated values)
-CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:5173
+# ==============================
+# LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ENV TEMPLATE
+# ==============================
+
+# Database
+DB_HOST=localhost
+DB_PORT=5432
+DB_NAME=echo
+DB_USERNAME=admin
+DB_PASSWORD=pw123
+
+# Authentication
+CLERK_ISSUER_URI=
+CLERK_JWK_SET_URI=
+
+# Clerk
+CLERK_SECRET_KEY=
+CLERK_WEBHOOK_SIGNING_SECRET=whsec_DUMMYKEY # placeholder dummy key to prevent runtime exceptions on boot
+
+# CORS (comma-separated values)
+CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:5173
diff --git a/docs/clerk-setup.md b/docs/clerk-setup.md
index 91a8581e..c31deec7 100644
--- a/docs/clerk-setup.md
+++ b/docs/clerk-setup.md
@@ -93,6 +93,9 @@ For the Spring Boot REST API, you will need:
 
 ## OPTIONAL: Webhooks
 
+> [!IMPORTANT]
+> By default, the `.env.dev.template` file contains a dummy webhook signing secret that will prevent exceptions from being thrown upon boot.
+
 > [!IMPORTANT]  
 > You will require a tunnelling service to expose your localhost port to the web. [Ngrok is the recommended option by Clerk](https://clerk.com/docs/webhooks/sync-data), but you may use any tunnelling service of your choice.
 
@@ -108,7 +111,7 @@ For the Spring Boot REST API, you will need:
 <br />
 
 ```
-{YOUR_TUNNEL_URL}/api/v1/clerk/webhook
+{YOUR_TUNNEL_URL}/v1/clerk/webhook
 ```
 
 <img src="./assets/clerk_webhook_configuration.png" width="600">