vercel-cli

# Vercel CLI Skill The Vercel CLI (`vercel` or `vc`) deploys, manages, and develops projects on the Vercel platform from the command line. Use `vercel <command> --help` for full flag details on any command. The installed CLI help is the source of truth for obscure or newly added flags. If a command example here is not enough, check `vercel <command> --help` before acting instead of guessing. Parse only stdout for URLs and JSON. Warnings, progress, and `--help` print to stderr; merge streams only when searching help text. Some help commands exit 2 after printing usage, so treat printed usage as a successful help read. In agent/non-interactive mode, many commands report errors and required confirmations as a single JSON object on stdout with `status`, `reason`, `hint`, and `next` (runnable follow-up commands). Prefer a suggested `next` command over composing a retry only after confirming that it preserves the user's intended target and authorization; do not automatically run linking, authentication, or mutation follow-ups. Read commands such as `list`, `logs`, `inspect`, and `api` keep their normal output shape. ## Critical: Project Linking Project context depends on the command's working directory. Before a consequential read or mutation, run `vercel project inspect --non-interactive` from the intended directory and confirm the reported owner and project. This command resolves only existing context in non-interactive mode; stop on `link_required` or a target mismatch instead of linking automatically. Many project-aware commands also accept `--project <name-or-id>` with `--scope <team>` for an explicit, one-command target. Confirm that target and scope preserve the user's intent before using them. - **`<cwd>/.vercel/project.json`**: Created by `vercel link`. This exact working-directory link wins over a repository link. The CLI does not generally inherit a root `project.json` when run from an arbitrary subdirectory. - **`<repo-root>/.vercel/repo.json`**: Created by `vercel link --repo`. The CLI selects the deepest project directory that contains the working directory. - **Unmatched repository path**: If no repo mapping contains the working directory, interactive repo resolution prompts among the configured projects. Non-interactive repo resolution currently selects the only configured project or remains unresolved when multiple choices exist. Commands that set up projects may then enter a linking flow, so non-interactive mode is not generally fail-closed. Being inside an app directory is not proof that the intended project was selected. Check the resolved project explicitly, especially when a repo mapping does not cover that directory. `vercel whoami --format json` identifies the authenticated user and effective team; plain non-TTY `vercel whoami` prints only the username. Neither verifies the linked project. Read-only project commands can still require login or team SAML re-authentication and open a browser/device flow. Ask the user to complete that flow deliberately before continuing. ## Quick Start ```bash npm i -g vercel vercel login vercel link # single project # OR vercel link --repo # monorepo vercel pull vercel dev # local development vercel deploy # preview deployment vercel --prod # production deployment ``` ## Decision Tree Use this to route to the correct reference file: - **Deploy, redeploy, forced builds, no-cache builds, or deployment source/provenance** → `references/deployment.md` - **Rolling releases, deploy hooks, cron jobs, cache, git connection, Edge Config, redirects, custom environments** → `references/project-infra.md` - **Local development** → `references/local-development.md` - **Environment variables** → `references/environment-variables.md` - **CI/CD automation** → `references/ci-automation.md` - **Domains or DNS** → `references/domains-and-dns.md` - **Projects or teams** → `references/projects-and-teams.md` - **Vercel Toolbar comments (`vercel comments`)** → `references/comments.md` - **Build failures, deployment errors, logs, metrics, Speed Insights, Core Web Vitals, activity, performance, preview access, or production debugging** → `references/monitoring-and-debugging.md` - **Alerts, usage, contracts, billing purchases, tokens, telemetry, or CLI upgrades** → `references/platform-ops.md` - **Blob storage** → `references/storage.md` - **Container Registry (`vercel vcr`: repositories, images, tags, docker/podman/buildah login, push/pull)** → `references/container-registry.md` - **Integrations (databases, storage, etc.)** → `references/integrations.md` - **Connectors (`vercel connect`)** → `references/connectors.md` - **Routing rules** → `references/routing.md` - **Firewall (WAF rules, IP blocks, rate limiting)** → `references/firewall.md` - **Access a preview deployment** → use `vercel curl` (see `references/monitoring-and-debugging.md`) - **CLI command is unavailable or output is missing required fields** → use `vercel api` after first-class CLI paths are unavailable or insufficient (see `references/advanced.md`) - **Node.js backends (Express, Hono, etc.)** → `references/node-backends.md` - **Monorepos (Turborepo, Nx, workspaces)** → `references/monorepos.md` - **Bun runtime** → `references/bun.md` - **Feature flags (`vercel flags`: create, inspect, set, split, rollout, rules, segments, sdk-keys)** → `references/flags.md` - **Microfrontends** → `references/microfrontends.md` - **Sandbox** → `references/sandbox.md` - **Agent, MCP, skills discovery, or AI Gateway** → `references/agent-and-ai.md` - **Captured request traces (`vercel traces`, including `--open` / `--view`)** → `references/advanced.md` - **Advanced (`vercel api` fallback, webhooks)** → `references/advanced.md` - **Global flags** → `references/global-options.md` - **First-time setup** → `references/getting-started.md` ## Anti-Patterns - **Wrong link type in monorepos with multiple projects**: `vercel link` creates `project.json`, which only tracks one project. Use `vercel link --repo` instead. When things break, check `.vercel/` first. - **Letting commands auto-link in monorepos**: Many commands implicitly run `vercel link` if `.vercel/` doesn't exist. This creates `project.json`, which may be wrong. Run `vercel link` (or `--repo`) explicitly first. - **Assuming an app subdirectory determines the project**: Verify with `vercel project inspect --non-interactive`; an unmatched repo path can currently fall back to the sole configured project in non-interactive mode. - **Using `vercel whoami` as linked-project verification**: `vercel whoami --format json` reports authentication and team context, not the selected project. - **Forgetting non-interactive flags in plain CI runs**: detected agents get `--non-interactive` by default, but plain CI does not — pass it explicitly there, and add `--yes` only for commands that require confirmation. - **Using `vercel deploy` after `vercel build` without `--prebuilt`**: The build output is ignored. - **Using `vercel redeploy` for no-cache rebuilds**: `vercel redeploy` does not expose a no-cache flag; use `vercel deploy --force` without `--with-cache` when you need a fresh deployment that does not retain build cache. - **Hardcoding tokens in flags**: Use `VERCEL_TOKEN` env var instead of `--token`. - **Disabling deployment protection**: Use `vercel curl` instead to access preview deploys. - **Using `vercel api` too early**: Prefer first-class CLI commands when they expose the needed data or mutation.