Protected Vercel Deployments

Protected Vercel deployments

Use the caller's existing Vercel identity and a short-lived OIDC token. Do not disable Deployment Protection, make the deployment public, or ask for a static bypass secret first.

Same-project preview

A local development token for the target project can access that project's protected Preview deployments through the default Trusted Sources self-access rule. No Trusted Sources configuration is normally required.

Confirm the local identity and Vercel CLI version:

vc whoami
vc --version

Require Vercel CLI 53.3.0 or newer before running vc project token. Versions 50.25.0 through 53.2.x write the token to stderr, so command substitution captures nothing and the credential can appear in logs. If the installed version is older, stop and ask the user to upgrade it. Do not attempt to capture or recover the token from stderr.

Set the target project and scope explicitly. If they cannot be inferred safely, ask the user. In a directory whose existing .vercel/project.json link has been verified against the target, vc project token without a project name is also valid. Do not run vc link merely to get an OIDC token: current Vercel CLI versions also pull development variables into .env.local when linking.

Create a named browser session, mint a development OIDC token with the Vercel CLI, then inject it without printing or persisting it:

export AGENT_BROWSER_SESSION="$(agent-browser session id --scope worktree --prefix vercel-preview)"
export VERCEL_PREVIEW_URL="https://my-app.vercel.app"
export VERCEL_PROJECT="my-app"
export VERCEL_SCOPE="my-team"

(
  TOKEN="$(vc project token "$VERCEL_PROJECT" --scope "$VERCEL_SCOPE")"
  test -n "$TOKEN"
  agent-browser open "$VERCEL_PREVIEW_URL" --headers \
    "{\"x-vercel-trusted-oidc-idp-token\":\"$TOKEN\"}"
)

agent-browser snapshot -i

Continue the normal workflow in that same session. The header is scoped to the target origin and applies to the document, scripts, styles, fonts, and in-page requests. If the browser session is closed or restarted, repeat the authenticated open command.

Never print the token, paste it into source, or save it in an environment file.

Other environments and callers

Trusted Sources configuration is needed when:

• a local development token must reach a protected Production deployment;
• the caller belongs to another Vercel project or team;
• the target project's self-access rules were customized; or
• Vercel returns TRUSTED_SOURCES_ENVIRONMENT_MISMATCH.

There is no supported Vercel CLI or public REST API for editing Trusted Sources rules. An authorized human must open the target project's Settings → Deployment Protection → Trusted Sources and add only the required caller and environment mapping. A local token has the development environment, so protected Production access requires development to production.

Stop and hand off the exact rule to the human. Do not use browser automation to change access control, and do not broaden unrelated environment mappings. Retry the authenticated open after the human confirms the rule is saved.

Human intervention boundaries

The same-project development to Preview path should run without human intervention when the Vercel CLI is already authenticated and the target project and scope are known. A human is needed only when:

• the Vercel CLI has no authenticated identity and no existing VERCEL_TOKEN; interactive vc login requires the user;
• the installed Vercel CLI is older than 53.3.0 and must be upgraded before token minting;
• the correct target project or scope cannot be inferred safely for token minting;
• a Trusted Sources rule must be added or changed; the dashboard is the only supported management surface, and this changes access control;
• Secure Backend Access with OIDC Federation was disabled on the calling project and must be re-enabled in Settings → Security; or
• the static-secret fallback must be enabled or rotated and the agent needs explicit authorization for that access-control change. After approval, the agent can use vc project protection instead of requiring dashboard interaction.

The agent can diagnose each case and state the exact action required, then continue after the user confirms completion.

Use the correct header

Send the Vercel-issued token as:

x-vercel-trusted-oidc-idp-token: <VERCEL_OIDC_TOKEN>

Do not substitute x-vercel-oidc-token. That header carries workload identity into a Vercel Function; it does not authenticate an inbound request through Deployment Protection.

Diagnose failures

• Redirect to vercel.com/login: Deployment Protection did not accept the request.
• TRUSTED_SOURCES_ENVIRONMENT_MISMATCH: the token is valid, but its caller environment cannot reach the target environment.
• Application 401 or 403 after protection passes: debug the application's own authentication separately.
• Application 404 on a deliberately missing route: the request passed Deployment Protection and reached the application.

Static-secret fallback

Use Protection Bypass for Automation only when OIDC is not viable or the tool cannot send the Trusted Sources header. Enabling or rotating it changes access control, so obtain explicit authorization first. Create a dedicated secret so it can be rotated independently, keep it in an environment variable, and pass it as a header:

vc project protection enable <project> --protection-bypass \
  --protection-bypass-secret "$VERCEL_AUTOMATION_BYPASS_SECRET"

agent-browser open "$VERCEL_PREVIEW_URL" --headers \
  "{\"x-vercel-protection-bypass\":\"$VERCEL_AUTOMATION_BYPASS_SECRET\",\"x-vercel-set-bypass-cookie\":\"true\"}"

The cookie directive creates a reusable _vercel_jwt cookie. Treat saved browser state containing that cookie as a credential.

Avoid dead ends

• There is no vercel share CLI command. Shareable Links are intended for people and are not the automation path.
• vercel curl is useful for HTTP requests, but it cannot render and interact with a page.
• Deployment Protection Exceptions make the domain public. Do not use them merely to unblock an agent.
• Do not expose OIDC tokens, bypass secrets, authenticated URLs, or saved state in logs, screenshots, source files, or user-facing output.