Using the CLI
The Railway Command Line Interface (CLI) lets you interact with your Railway project from the command line.
Installing the CLI
The Railway CLI can be installed via Homebrew, npm, Scoop, or directly from the source.
Homebrew (macOS)
In a Terminal, enter the following command:
npm (macOS, Linux, Windows)
In a Terminal, enter the following command:
This requires version =>16 of Node.js.
Shell Script (macOS, Linux, Windows via WSL)
In a Terminal, enter the following command:
On Windows, you should use Windows Subsystem for Linux with a Bash shell.
Scoop (Windows)
In a PowerShell terminal, enter the following command:
This installs a native Windows binary (.exe
). To learn more about Scoop,
see https://scoop.sh/.
Pre-built Binaries
We publish pre-built binaries on our GitHub repository that you can download and use directly.
From Source
The Railway CLI is an open source project on GitHub. You can build a binary from source if you wish.
Authenticating with the CLI
Before you can use the Railway CLI, you must authenticate the CLI to your Railway account:
This command opens a new tab in your default browser to the https://railway.app authentication page. Follow the instructions to complete the authentication process.
Manual Login
You can also authenticate manually using a Pairing Code. This can be useful if you're authenticating the CLI inside an environment without a browser (e.g. SSH sessions).
Use the --browserless
flag to authenticate manually:
This will print a URL and a Pairing Code to the Terminal, which you can use to authenticate your CLI session. Follow the instructions to complete the authentication process.
Project Tokens
You can use Project Tokens to authenticate in cases where user input/interaction is not possible, such as in CI/CD pipelines.
Project Tokens allow the CLI to access all the environment variables associated
with a specific project and environment. Use the token by setting the
RAILWAY_TOKEN
environment variable and then running railway <command>
.
Common Examples of CLI Usage
Below are some of the most commonly used CLI commands. Find a complete list of CLI commands in the CLI API reference page.
Link to a Project
To associate a project and environment with your current directory:
This prompts you to select a team, project, and environment to associate with your current directory. Any future commands will be run against this project and environment.
Link to a Service
Associate a service in a project and environment with your current directory:
This links your current directory with the chosen service.
Create a Project
Create a new project directly from the command line.
This prompts you to name your project and select a team to create the project in.
Local Development
Run code locally with the same environment variables as your Railway project.
For example, to run your Node.js project with your remote environment variables:
Local Shell
Open a new shell with Railway environment variables. Similar to railway run
but opens a new shell.
Environments
Projects might have multiple environments, but by default the CLI links to the production
environment.
You can change the linked environment with the environment
command.
Deploy
Deploy the linked project directory (if running from a subdirectory, the project root is still deployed).
If there are multiple services within your project, the CLI will prompt you for a service to deploy to.
Add Database Service
Provision plugins (databases) for a project.
Prompts you to select one or more plugins to provision for your project.
Logout
Contributing
Our CLI is open source. Contribute to the development of the Railway CLI by opening an issue or Pull Request on our GitHub Repo.
Edit this file on GitHub