[@clerk/clerk-js] <SignUp/> sends 2 verification code emails per sign-up: both POST /sign_ups and POST /prepare_verification trigger email send (Flutter analog #117)

Preflight

• I have looked into the Readme, Contributing docs and existing issues
• I have reviewed the documentation

Description

The prebuilt <SignUp/> widget from @clerk/react@6.4.2 sends two verification-code emails for a single sign-up submission. The Network panel shows the widget makes two POST requests during one submit, and both server endpoints trigger a verification email send:

1. POST /v1/client/sign_ups?__clerk_api_version=2025-11-10 — signUp.create({ emailAddress, password })
2. POST /v1/client/sign_ups/<id>/prepare_verification?__clerk_api_version=2025-11-10 — signUp.prepareEmailAddressVerification({ strategy: 'email_code' })

The user receives two emails with different codes; the first one is invalidated by the second.

Why this is a real bug (not a duplicate of #887)

This is the prebuilt-widget analog of the documented behavior in #887 (closed 2023-03-03), where Clerk contributor @gkats explained:

the signIn.create() method will also prepare a verification under the hood when called with a strategy such as "email_code". That's why you get two codes. The first one comes from signIn.create() and becomes invalid as soon as the second one is generated. When you call signIn.create() with a "phone_code", "email_code" or "email_link" strategy you don't need to also prepare the verification afterwards.

That explanation applies symmetrically to signUp.create(): when the application's configured strategy is email_code (Dashboard → User & Authentication → Email, Phone, Username → Email address → ✅ Email verification code), signUp.create() auto-prepares a verification on the server side, and the widget's subsequent explicit prepareEmailAddressVerification call generates a second code.

The #887 resolution was a workaround for custom sign-in flows: omit the strategy from signIn.create(), then call prepareFirstFactor() manually. Users of the prebuilt <SignUp/> widget cannot apply this workaround — the widget controls both calls internally. Rebuilding sign-up as a custom useSignUp() flow defeats the purpose of the prebuilt component.

So either:

• (a) The prebuilt <SignUp/> widget should detect that signUp.create() already initiated verification (returned status with the right verification primed) and skip the redundant prepareEmailAddressVerification call; OR
• (b) signUp.create() should NOT auto-prepare a verification (the widget should be the sole driver of when verification preparation happens, matching what the workaround in #887 recommends for custom flows).

For comparison, the same root-cause shape was filed against the Flutter SDK and is the documented behavior there too: clerk/clerk-sdk-flutter#117 (createSignUp + follow-up triggering two emails).

Reproduction

Minimal repro is the prebuilt <SignUp/> widget with password + email_code strategy. No custom code, no useSignUp() flow.

// main.tsx
import { ClerkProvider } from "@clerk/react";
import { StrictMode } from "react";
import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";

createRoot(document.getElementById("root")!).render(
  <StrictMode>
    <ClerkProvider publishableKey={CLERK_KEY}>
      <App />
    </ClerkProvider>
  </StrictMode>
);

// sign-up.tsx
import { SignUp } from "@clerk/react";

export function SignUpPage() {
  return (
    <SignUp
      routing="path"
      path="/sign-up"
      signInUrl="/sign-in"
    />
  );
}

Clerk Dashboard → User & Authentication → Email, Phone, Username → Email address → Verification methods:

• ✅ Email verification code
• ❌ Email verification link

(Only ONE strategy enabled. Issue reproduces regardless — not a dashboard misconfig.)

Steps

1. pnpm --filter web build && pnpm --filter web preview (prod-build, no StrictMode dev-time side effects)
2. Open the preview URL, navigate to /sign-up
3. DevTools → Network tab → filter clerk. → clear log
4. Enter a fresh email + valid password, click Continue
5. Observe Network panel + inbox

Observed

Endpoint	Method	Count	Status
/v1/client/sign_ups?__clerk_api_version=2025-11-10	POST	1	200
/v1/client/sign_ups/<id>/prepare_verification?__clerk_api_version=2025-11-10	POST	1	200
/v1/client/sign_ups/<id>	PATCH	0	—
Verification emails received within 60s	—	2	first invalidated by second per #887

Expected

Exactly 1 verification email per sign-up submission from the prebuilt <SignUp/> widget — without requiring users to drop the widget and write a custom useSignUp() flow.

SDK / Environment

• @clerk/react: ^6.4.2
• @clerk/clerk-js (transitive, bundled with @clerk/react@6.4.2)
• React: 19.0.x + react-dom@19.0.x
• Build tool: Vite 5, prod build (pnpm build && pnpm preview)
• Browser: Chrome (latest stable)
• API version (from request URL): __clerk_api_version=2025-11-10
• Dashboard strategy: Email verification code enabled; Email verification link disabled

Workaround

The workaround documented in #887 — omit strategy from the create() call, then explicitly call the prepare method — requires rebuilding sign-up as a custom useSignUp() flow. This is not viable for users of the prebuilt <SignUp/> component (the widget owns those calls).

No workaround within the prebuilt widget is known.

References

• #887 — signIn.prepareFirstFactor sending two emails with different codes (closed 2023-03-03; sign-in side; documents the by-design create({strategy}) auto-prepare behavior)
• clerk/clerk-sdk-flutter#117 — auth.attemptSignUp triggers two verification code emails (Flutter SDK analog of this exact symptom shape)
• #4324 — Receiving Twice Email Verification Codes During Sign-In (possibly related, unresolved as of search; sign-in side, @clerk/nextjs ^5.7.2)

Start with the prebuilt flow and the signUp.create and prepareEmailAddressVerification calls described in the issue; reproduce it with pnpm --filter web build && pnpm --filter web preview and inspect the Network panel. Done means one sign-up submission produces exactly one verification email without requiring a custom useSignUp() flow.