# Vercel CLI > Deploy and manage Vercel projects. Use for deployments, environment variables, logs, domains, and cron jobs. - Skill: `itsnex1s/vercel-cli` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add itsnex1s/vercel-cli` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/itsnex1s/vercel-cli/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: DevOps & Infra - Author: itsnex1s (https://skillmd.com/u/itsnex1s) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/itsnex1s/vercel-cli --- # vercel-cli Deploy, manage environment variables, view logs, configure domains, and set up cron jobs with [Vercel CLI](https://vercel.com/docs/cli). ## Installation ```bash npm install -g vercel vercel login vercel link ``` ## Quick Reference ### Project Setup ```bash vercel init # Initialize new project vercel link # Link existing directory to Vercel project vercel whoami # Show current user vercel project ls # List projects ``` ### Deployment ```bash vercel # Deploy preview vercel --prod # Deploy to production vercel deploy --force # Force redeploy vercel deploy --env NODE_ENV=production -e API_KEY=secret # Build locally first vercel build vercel deploy --prebuilt # Manage deployments vercel redeploy # Rebuild + redeploy vercel promote # Promote preview to production vercel rollback # Rollback to previous # List and inspect vercel list # List all deployments vercel inspect # Get deployment info vercel remove # Delete deployment ``` ### Environment Variables **List** ```bash vercel env ls # List all env vars vercel env ls production # List for specific environment vercel env ls preview vercel env ls development ``` **Add** ```bash vercel env add MY_VAR # Add interactively vercel env add API_TOKEN production # Add to specific environment vercel env add SECRET_KEY --sensitive # Add sensitive (masked) vercel env add MY_VAR --force # Override existing vercel env add DB_URL production main # Add for specific branch ``` **Update** ```bash vercel env update MY_VAR # Update interactively vercel env update API_TOKEN production # Update specific environment echo "value" | vercel env update MY_VAR production # From stdin ``` **Remove** ```bash vercel env rm API_TOKEN # Remove from all vercel env rm SECRET_KEY production # Remove from specific vercel env rm API_TOKEN -y # Skip confirmation ``` **Pull to Local** ```bash vercel env pull # Pull to .env.local vercel env pull .env.development.local # Pull to custom file vercel env pull .env.production --environment production ``` ### Domains ```bash vercel domains ls # List domains vercel domains add example.com # Add domain vercel domains rm example.com # Remove domain vercel domains verify example.com # Verify domain vercel domains add example.com --project my-project ``` ### Logs **Runtime Logs** ```bash vercel logs # Stream runtime logs vercel logs --json # JSON output vercel logs --json | jq 'select(.level == "error")' ``` **Build Logs** ```bash vercel inspect --logs # Show build logs vercel inspect --logs --wait # Wait for build vercel inspect --logs --timeout 90s ``` ### Local Development ```bash vercel dev # Run local dev server vercel dev --listen 3001 # Specific port vercel dev --environment preview # Specific environment ``` ### Cron Jobs Configured in `vercel.json` only (no CLI commands). ```json { "crons": [ { "path": "/api/cron/daily-task", "schedule": "0 0 * * *" }, { "path": "/api/cron/every-5-min", "schedule": "*/5 * * * *" } ] } ``` **Cron Expression Format** (UTC timezone) ``` ┌───────────── minute (0-59) │ ┌───────────── hour (0-23) │ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1-31) │ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1-12) │ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0-6, Sunday=0) │ │ │ │ │ * * * * * ``` **Common Schedules** ``` */5 * * * * Every 5 minutes 0 */4 * * * Every 4 hours 0 0 * * * Daily at midnight UTC 0 9 * * 1 Every Monday at 9 AM UTC 0 0 1 * * First day of month ``` ## Common Workflows ### Deploy New Project ```bash vercel link vercel env add DATABASE_URL production vercel env add API_KEY production --sensitive vercel --prod ``` ### Fix Failed Deployment ```bash vercel inspect --logs # Check what went wrong vercel --prod # Fix and redeploy # OR vercel rollback # Rollback ``` ### Environment Variable Workflow ```bash vercel env add DATABASE_URL production vercel env add API_KEY production --sensitive vercel env pull .env.local # Pull to local vercel env update API_KEY production # Update after rotation vercel env rm OLD_TOKEN -y # Remove deprecated ``` ### Monitor Application ```bash vercel logs my-app.vercel.app vercel logs my-app.vercel.app --json | jq 'select(.level == "error")' vercel logs my-app.vercel.app --json | jq 'select(.path | startswith("/api/"))' ``` ### Debug Cron Jobs ```bash cat vercel.json | jq '.crons' # Check config vercel --prod # Deploy changes vercel logs --json | jq 'select(.path | contains("/api/cron/"))' ``` ## Environment Scopes | Scope | Description | |-------|-------------| | `production` | Production environment | | `preview` | Preview/staging deployments | | `development` | Local `.env.local` file | | Git branch | Branch-specific overrides | ## Useful Flags | Flag | Description | |------|-------------| | `--prod` | Deploy to production | | `--force` | Force redeploy | | `-y` | Skip confirmation prompts | | `--json` | JSON output | | `--debug` | Debug mode | | `--token ` | Use specific auth token | ## Requirements - Node.js 18+ - Vercel account ## Notes - Use `vercel dev` for local development with Vercel features - Environment variables in dashboard override CLI-added vars - Cron jobs only run on production deployments - User-Agent for cron: `vercel-cron/1.0` (use for authentication)