Railway CLI Guide

Railway is a deployment platform that simplifies deploying and managing web applications, databases, and services. This guide provides essential workflows and quick references for common Railway operations.

Quick Start

# Check Railway CLI installation
railway --version

# Authenticate with Railway
railway login

# Create and initialize new project
railway init my-app

# Add a database
railway add --database postgres

# Deploy application
railway up

# View logs in real-time
railway logs --follow

Common Workflows

Workflow 1: Deploy New Application

# Initialize project
railway init my-project

# Configure environment variables
railway variables set NODE_ENV=production
railway variables set PORT=3000

# Add database if needed
railway add --database postgres

# Deploy
railway up

# Verify deployment
railway logs --follow
railway status

Workflow 2: Link Existing Project & Deploy

# Link to existing Railway project
railway link

# Review current status
railway status

# Update environment variables
railway variables set API_KEY=new-value

# Redeploy with changes
railway redeploy

# Follow logs
railway logs --follow

Workflow 3: Multi-Environment Setup

# Create staging environment
railway environment new staging

# Switch to staging
railway environment use staging

# Configure staging-specific variables
railway variables set LOG_LEVEL=debug

# Deploy to staging
railway deploy

# Switch to production
railway environment use production

# Deploy to production
railway deploy

Workflow 4: Database Management

# Add PostgreSQL
railway add --database postgres

# Connect to database
railway connect postgres

# Set database variables in application
railway variables set DATABASE_URL=$(railway variables get DATABASE_URL)

# Run migrations
railway run npm run migrate

# Verify connection
railway ssh --command "psql $DATABASE_URL -c 'SELECT 1'"

Workflow 5: Debugging Deployment Issues

# Check deployment status
railway status

# View all logs
railway logs --tail 100

# SSH into service for inspection
railway ssh

# Run diagnostic commands
railway ssh --command "ps aux"
railway ssh --command "df -h"

# Check resource usage
railway open  # View in dashboard

Decision Tree

When to use which command:

• To create new project: Use railway init
• To link to existing project: Use railway link
• To deploy changes: Use railway up or railway deploy
• To add database/service: Use railway add
• To check status: Use railway status
• To view logs: Use railway logs --follow
• To access service shell: Use railway ssh
• To manage environments: Use railway environment
• For detailed command syntax: See Commands Reference
• For complex scenarios: See Common Patterns
• For troubleshooting: See Troubleshooting Guide

Common Patterns

Project Setup and Deployment

# New project workflow
railway login
railway init my-app
railway add --database postgres
railway variables set NODE_ENV=production
railway up

Environment Variables Management

# Set variables
railway variables set KEY1=value1 KEY2=value2

# Get specific variable
railway variables get DATABASE_URL

# Import from .env
railway variables set --from-file .env

# Use variables in commands
railway run npm start

Database Operations

# Add database
railway add --database postgres

# Connect interactively
railway connect postgres

# Run SQL commands
railway ssh --command "psql $DATABASE_URL -c 'CREATE TABLE users (...)'"

# Run migrations
railway run npm run migrate

Service Communication

# Services on same environment communicate by name
railway variables set API_URL=http://api-service:3000

# Within application, use service name as hostname
fetch('http://api-service:3000/endpoint')

Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

1. Deployment fails to start

   • Solution: Check logs with railway logs --tail 50
   • See: Deployment Issues

2. Cannot connect to database

   • Quick fix: Verify database URL with railway variables get DATABASE_URL
   • See: Service Connection Issues

3. Environment variables not loading

   • Quick fix: Redeploy with railway redeploy after setting variables
   • See: Variable Issues

4. Service unreachable after deployment

   • Quick fix: Verify with railway ssh --command "curl http://localhost:3000"
   • See: Connection Issues

5. SSH or access failing

   • Quick fix: Ensure service is healthy with railway status
   • See: SSH Issues

For detailed troubleshooting steps, see the Troubleshooting Guide.

Reference Files

Load as needed for detailed information:

• Commands Reference - Complete CLI command documentation with all flags and options. Use when you need exact syntax or flag details for any Railway command.

• Common Patterns - Real-world patterns and workflows for development, multi-environment setups, database management, CI/CD integration, monitoring, and backup strategies. Use for implementing specific workflows or deployments.

• Troubleshooting Guide - Detailed error messages, diagnosis steps, and resolution strategies for deployments, databases, environments, domains, resources, and access issues. Use when encountering errors or unexpected behavior.

When to use each reference:

• Use Commands Reference when you need exact syntax, flag combinations, or comprehensive command documentation
• Use Common Patterns for implementing multi-environment setups, CI/CD pipelines, or database workflows
• Use Troubleshooting when deployments fail, services are unreachable, or you encounter connection/resource issues

Resources

• Official Docs: https://docs.railway.app
• Dashboard: https://railway.app/dashboard
• GitHub: https://github.com/railwayapp
• Community: https://railway.app/community