chen-yu-hao Railway 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)
Modes
Detach Mode (default)
Starts deploy and returns immediately. Use for most deploys.
railway up --detach
CI Mode
Streams build logs until complete. Use when user wants to watch the build or needs to debug issues.
railway up --ci
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
Deploy to Unlinked Project
Deploy to a project without linking first:
railway up --project <project-id> --environment production --detach
Requires both --project and --environment flags.
CLI Options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
-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 railway-environment skill, then deploy normally with railway up.
After Deploy
Detach mode
Deploying to <service>...
Use railway-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 railway-deployment skill with --lines flag (never stream).
Composability
- Check status after deploy: Use railway-service skill
- View logs: Use railway-deployment skill
- Fix config issues: Use railway-environment skill
- Redeploy after config fix: Use railway-environment skill
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 railway-environment skill to fix
- Dockerfile issues → check dockerfile path