Deploy
Deploy code from the current directory to Railway using railway up.
When to Use
- User asks to "deploy", "ship", "push code"
- User says "railway up" or "deploy to Railway"
- User wants to deploy local code changes
- User says "deploy and fix any issues" (use --ci mode)
Commit Message
Always use the -m flag with a descriptive commit message summarizing what's being deployed:
railway up --detach -m "Add user authentication endpoint"Good commit messages:
- Describe what changed: "Fix memory leak in worker process"
- Reference tickets/issues: "Implement feature #123"
- Be concise but meaningful: "Update deps and fix build warnings"
Modes
Detach Mode (default)
Starts deploy and returns immediately. Use for most deploys.
railway up --detach -m "Deploy description here"CI Mode
Streams build logs until complete. Use when user wants to watch the build or needs to debug issues.
railway up --ci -m "Deploy description here"When to use CI mode:
- User says "deploy and watch", "deploy and fix issues"
- User is debugging build failures
- User wants to see build output
Deploy Specific Service
Default is linked service. To deploy to a different service:
railway up --detach --service backend -m "Deploy description here"Deploy to Unlinked Project
Deploy to a project without linking first:
railway up --project <project-id> --environment production --detach -m "Deploy description here"Requires both --project and --environment flags.
CLI Options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
-m, --message <MSG> | Commit message describing the deploy (always use this) |
-d, --detach | Don't attach to logs (default) |
-c, --ci | Stream build logs, exit when done |
-s, --service <NAME> | Target service (defaults to linked) |
-e, --environment <NAME> | Target environment (defaults to linked) |
-p, --project <ID> | Target project (requires --environment) |
[PATH] | Path to deploy (defaults to current directory) |
Directory Linking
Railway CLI walks UP the directory tree to find a linked project. If you're in a subdirectory of a linked project, you don't need to relink.
For subdirectory deployments, prefer setting rootDirectory via the environment skill, then deploy normally with railway up.
After Deploy
Detach mode
Deploying to <service>...Use deployment skill to check build status (with --lines flag).
CI mode
Build logs stream inline. If build fails, the error will be in the output.
Do NOT run railway logs --build after CI mode - the logs already streamed. If you need more context, use deployment skill with --lines flag (never stream).
Composability
- Check status after deploy: Use
serviceskill - View logs: Use
deploymentskill - Fix config issues: Use
environmentskill - Redeploy after config fix: Use
environmentskill
Error Handling
No Project Linked
No Railway project linked. Run `railway link` first.No Service Linked
No service linked. Use --service flag or run `railway service` to select one.Build Failure (CI mode)
The build logs already streamed - analyze them directly from the railway up --ci output. Do NOT run railway logs after CI mode (it streams forever without --lines).
Common issues:
- Missing dependencies → check package.json/requirements.txt
- Build command wrong → use environment skill to fix
- Dockerfile issues → check dockerfile path