railway-environment

name	railway-environment
description	Query, stage, and apply configuration changes for Railway environments. Use for ANY variable or env var operations, service configuration (source, build settings, deploy settings), lifecycle (delete service), and applying changes. Prefer over railway-status skill for any configuration or variable queries.
version	1.0.0
author	Railway
license	MIT
tags	["Railway","Environment","Configuration","Variables","Build","Deploy","Infrastructure","Settings"]
dependencies	["railway-cli"]
allowed-tools	Bash(railway:*)

Environment Configuration

Query, stage, and apply configuration changes for Railway environments.

Shell Escaping

CRITICAL: When running GraphQL queries via bash, you MUST wrap in heredoc to prevent shell escaping issues:

bash <<'SCRIPT'
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/lib/railway-api.sh 'query ...' '{"var": "value"}'
SCRIPT

Without the heredoc wrapper, multi-line commands break and exclamation marks in GraphQL non-null types get escaped, causing query failures.

When to Use

• User wants to create a new environment
• User wants to duplicate an environment (e.g., "copy production to staging")
• User wants to switch to a different environment
• User asks about current build/deploy settings, variables, replicas, health checks, domains
• User asks to change service source (Docker image, branch, commit, root directory)
• User wants to connect a service to a GitHub repo
• User wants to deploy from a GitHub repo (create empty service first via railway-new skill, then use this)
• User asks to change build or start command
• User wants to add/update/delete environment variables
• User wants to change replica count or configure health checks
• User asks to delete a service, volume, or bucket
• User says "apply changes", "commit changes", "deploy changes"
• Auto-fixing build errors detected in logs

Create Environment

Create a new environment in the linked project:

railway environment new <name>

Duplicate an existing environment:

railway environment new staging --duplicate production

With service-specific variables:

railway environment new staging --duplicate production --service-variable api PORT=3001

Switch Environment

Link a different environment to the current directory:

railway environment <name>

Or by ID:

railway environment <environment-id>

Get Context

railway status --json

Extract:

• project.id - for service lookup
• environment.id - for the mutations
• service.id - default service if user doesn't specify one

Resolve Service ID

If user specifies a service by name, query project services:

query projectServices($projectId: String!) {
  project(id: $projectId) {
    services {
      edges {
        node {
          id
          name
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Match the service name (case-insensitive) to get the service ID.

Query Configuration

Fetch current environment configuration and staged changes.

query environmentConfig($environmentId: String!) {
  environment(id: $environmentId) {
    id
    config(decryptVariables: false)
    serviceInstances {
      edges {
        node {
          id
          serviceId
        }
      }
    }
  }
  environmentStagedChanges(environmentId: $environmentId) {
    id
    patch(decryptVariables: false)
  }
}

Example:

bash <<'SCRIPT'
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/lib/railway-api.sh \
  'query envConfig($envId: String!) {
    environment(id: $envId) { id config(decryptVariables: false) }
    environmentStagedChanges(environmentId: $envId) { id patch(decryptVariables: false) }
  }' \
  '{"envId": "ENV_ID"}'
SCRIPT

Response Structure

The config field contains current configuration:

{
  "services": {
    "<serviceId>": {
      "source": { "repo": "...", "branch": "main" },
      "build": { "buildCommand": "npm run build", "builder": "NIXPACKS" },
      "deploy": {
        "startCommand": "npm start",
        "multiRegionConfig": { "us-west2": { "numReplicas": 1 } }
      },
      "variables": { "NODE_ENV": { "value": "production" } },
      "networking": { "serviceDomains": {}, "customDomains": {} }
    }
  },
  "sharedVariables": { "DATABASE_URL": { "value": "..." } }
}

The patch field in environmentStagedChanges contains pending changes. The effective configuration is the base config merged with the staged patch.

For complete field reference, see reference/environment-config.md.

For variable syntax and service wiring patterns, see reference/variables.md.

Get Rendered Variables

The GraphQL queries above return unrendered variables - template syntax like ${{shared.DOMAIN}} is preserved. This is correct for management/editing.

To see rendered (resolved) values as they appear at runtime:

# Current linked service
railway variables --json

# Specific service
railway variables --service <service-name> --json

When to use:

• Debugging connection issues (see actual URLs/ports)
• Verifying variable resolution is correct
• Viewing Railway-injected values (RAILWAY_*)

Stage Changes

Stage configuration changes via the environmentStageChanges mutation. Use merge: true to automatically merge with existing staged changes.

mutation stageEnvironmentChanges(
  $environmentId: String!
  $input: EnvironmentConfig!
  $merge: Boolean
) {
  environmentStageChanges(
    environmentId: $environmentId
    input: $input
    merge: $merge
  ) {
    id
  }
}

Important: Always use variables (not inline input) because service IDs are UUIDs which can't be used as unquoted GraphQL object keys.

Example:

bash <<'SCRIPT'
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/lib/railway-api.sh \
  'mutation stageChanges($environmentId: String!, $input: EnvironmentConfig!, $merge: Boolean) {
    environmentStageChanges(environmentId: $environmentId, input: $input, merge: $merge) { id }
  }' \
  '{"environmentId": "ENV_ID", "input": {"services": {"SERVICE_ID": {"build": {"buildCommand": "npm run build"}}}}, "merge": true}'
SCRIPT

Delete Service

Use isDeleted: true:

bash <<'SCRIPT'
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/lib/railway-api.sh \
  'mutation stageChanges($environmentId: String!, $input: EnvironmentConfig!, $merge: Boolean) {
    environmentStageChanges(environmentId: $environmentId, input: $input, merge: $merge) { id }
  }' \
  '{"environmentId": "ENV_ID", "input": {"services": {"SERVICE_ID": {"isDeleted": true}}}, "merge": true}'
SCRIPT

Stage and Apply Immediately

For single changes that should deploy right away, use environmentPatchCommit to stage and apply in one call.

mutation environmentPatchCommit(
  $environmentId: String!
  $patch: EnvironmentConfig
  $commitMessage: String
) {
  environmentPatchCommit(
    environmentId: $environmentId
    patch: $patch
    commitMessage: $commitMessage
  )
}

Example:

bash <<'SCRIPT'
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/lib/railway-api.sh \
  'mutation patchCommit($environmentId: String!, $patch: EnvironmentConfig, $commitMessage: String) {
    environmentPatchCommit(environmentId: $environmentId, patch: $patch, commitMessage: $commitMessage)
  }' \
  '{"environmentId": "ENV_ID", "patch": {"services": {"SERVICE_ID": {"variables": {"API_KEY": {"value": "secret"}}}}}, "commitMessage": "add API_KEY"}'
SCRIPT

When to use: Single change, no need to batch, user wants immediate deployment.

When NOT to use: Multiple related changes to batch, or user says "stage only" / "don't deploy yet".

Apply Staged Changes

Commit staged changes and trigger deployments.

Note: There is no railway apply CLI command. Use the mutation below or direct users to the web UI.

Apply Mutation

Mutation name: environmentPatchCommitStaged

mutation environmentPatchCommitStaged(
  $environmentId: String!
  $message: String
  $skipDeploys: Boolean
) {
  environmentPatchCommitStaged(
    environmentId: $environmentId
    commitMessage: $message
    skipDeploys: $skipDeploys
  )
}

Example:

bash <<'SCRIPT'
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/lib/railway-api.sh \
  'mutation commitStaged($environmentId: String!, $message: String) {
    environmentPatchCommitStaged(environmentId: $environmentId, commitMessage: $message)
  }' \
  '{"environmentId": "ENV_ID", "message": "add API_KEY variable"}'
SCRIPT

Parameters

Field	Type	Default	Description
environmentId	String!	-	Environment ID from status
message	String	null	Short description of changes
skipDeploys	Boolean	false	Skip deploys (only if user explicitly asks)

Commit Message

Keep very short - one sentence max. Examples:

• "set build command to fix npm error"
• "add API_KEY variable"
• "increase replicas to 3"

Leave empty if no meaningful description.

Default Behavior

Always deploy unless user explicitly asks to skip. Only set skipDeploys: true if user says "apply without deploying", "commit but don't deploy", or "skip deploys".

Returns a workflow ID (string) on success.

Auto-Apply Behavior

By default, apply changes immediately.

Flow

Single change: Use environmentPatchCommit to stage and apply in one call.

Multiple changes or batching: Use environmentStageChanges with merge: true for each change, then environmentPatchCommitStaged to apply.

When NOT to Auto-Apply

• User explicitly says "stage only", "don't deploy yet", or similar
• User is making multiple related changes that should deploy together

When you don't auto-apply, tell the user:

Changes staged. Apply them at: https://railway.com/project/{projectId} Or ask me to apply them.

Get projectId from railway status --json → project.id

Error Handling

Service Not Found

Service "foo" not found in project. Available services: api, web, worker

No Staged Changes

No patch to apply

There are no staged changes to commit. Stage changes first.

Invalid Configuration

Common issues:

• buildCommand and startCommand cannot be identical
• buildCommand only valid with NIXPACKS builder
• dockerfilePath only valid with DOCKERFILE builder

No Permission

You don't have permission to modify this environment. Check your Railway role.

No Linked Project

No project linked. Run `railway link` to link a project.

Composability

• Create service: Use railway-service skill
• View logs: Use railway-deployment skill
• Add domains: Use railway-domain skill
• Deploy local code: Use railway-deploy skill