Netlify Deploy

Netlify Deployment

Deploy web projects to Netlify using the CLI with automatic project detection.

Prerequisites

• Netlify CLI: via npx (no global install required)
• Authentication: active Netlify login session
• Project: valid web project in current directory

Workflow

1. Verify Authentication

npx netlify status

If not authenticated:

npx netlify login          # browser-based OAuth (primary)
# OR
export NETLIFY_AUTH_TOKEN=your_token_here  # API key alternative
# Tokens: https://app.netlify.com/user/applications#personal-access-tokens

2. Link Site

From netlify status, check if a site is already linked.

If not linked:

# Try Git-based linking first
git remote show origin
npx netlify link --git-remote-url <REMOTE_URL>

# If no site exists on Netlify:
npx netlify init

# Or create a new site directly (without linking)
npx netlify create --name my-site-name

netlify init guides through team selection, site naming, build settings, and netlify.toml creation.

3. Install Dependencies

npm install  # or yarn/pnpm as appropriate

4. Deploy

# Preview deploy (unique URL for testing)
npx netlify deploy

# Production deploy
npx netlify deploy --prod

# Stream deploy and function logs
npx netlify logs             # All logs
npx netlify logs:function     # Function logs only

5. Report Results

After deployment, report:

• Deploy URL (preview) or Site URL (production)
• Link to deploy logs in Netlify dashboard
• Suggest netlify open to view site

netlify.toml

If present, the CLI uses it automatically. If absent, the CLI prompts for:

• Build command: e.g., npm run build, next build
• Publish directory: e.g., dist, build, .next

Common framework defaults:

Detect framework from package.json and suggest appropriate settings.

Error Handling

Environment Variables

Set secrets in Netlify dashboard (Site Settings → Environment Variables), not in Git.

Reference

• Netlify CLI Docs
• netlify.toml Reference
• CLI commands
• Deployment patterns
• netlify.toml guide

Netlify Database

Netlify offers a managed serverless PostgreSQL database (built on Neon).

# Create a database for the linked site
npx netlify db:init

# Open database shell
npx netlify db:shell

# Connection string available as environment variable
# DATABASE_URL is auto-injected into Netlify Functions at runtime

• Serverless Postgres (Neon-backed), auto-scales to zero
• Connection string auto-provisioned as DATABASE_URL
• Use with Prisma, Drizzle, or raw pg client in Netlify Functions
• Docs: https://docs.netlify.com/database/overview/

Build Plugin Compatibility

Node 18 and Node 20 are no longer supported for Netlify Build Plugins (as of 2026). Build Plugins must target Node 22+. Update your plugin's engines field in package.json accordingly.