Deploy and manage projects on Vercel using token-based authentication. Use when working with Vercel CLI using access tokens rather than interactive login — e.g. "deploy to vercel", "set up vercel", "add environment variables to vercel".

Vercel CLI with Tokens Deploy and manage projects on Vercel using the CLI with token based authentication, without relying on vercel login . Step 1: Locate the Vercel Token Before running any Vercel CLI commands, identify where the token is coming from. Work through these scenarios in order: A) VERCEL TOKEN is already set in the environment If this returns a value, you're ready. Skip to Step 2. B) Token is in a .env file under VERCEL TOKEN If found, export it: C) Token is in a .env file under a different name Look for any variable that looks like a Vercel token (Vercel tokens typically start with vca ): Inspect the output to identify which variable holds the token, then export it as VERCEL TOKEN : D) No token found — ask the user If none of the above yield a token, ask the user to provide one. They can create a Vercel access token at vercel.com/account/tokens. Important: Once VERCEL TOKEN is exported as an environment variable, the Vercel CLI reads it natively — do not pass it as a token flag . Putting secrets in command line arguments exposes them in shell history and process listings. Step 2: Locate the Project and Team Similarly, check for the project ID and team scope. These let the CLI target the right project without needing vercel link . If you have a project URL (e.g. https://vercel.com/my team/my project ), extract the team slug: If you have both VERCEL ORG ID and VERCEL PROJECT ID in your environment , export them — the CLI will use these automatically and skip any .vercel/ directory: Note: VERCEL ORG ID and VERCEL PROJECT ID must be set together — setting only one causes an error. CLI Setup Ensure the Vercel CLI is installed and up to date: Deploying a Project Always deploy as preview unless the user explicitly requests production. Choose a method based on what you have available. Quick Deploy (have project ID — no linking needed) When VERCEL TOKEN and VERCEL PROJECT ID are set in the environment, deploy directly: With a team scope (either via VERCEL ORG ID or scope ): Production (only when explicitly requested): Check status: Full Deploy Flow (no project ID — need to link) Use this when you have a token and team but no pre existing project ID. Check project state first Link the project With git remote (preferred): Reads the git remote and connects to the matching Vercel project. Creates .vercel/repo.json . More reliable than plain vercel link , which matches by directory name. Without git remote: Creates .vercel/project.json . Link to a specific project by name: If the project is already linked, check orgId in .vercel/project.json or .vercel/repo.json to verify it matches the intended team. Deploy after linking A) Git Push Deploy — has git remote (preferred) Git pushes trigger automatic Vercel deployments. 1. Ask the user before pushing. Never push without explicit approval. 2. Commit and push: 3. Vercel builds automatically. Non production branches get preview deployments. 4. Retrieve the deployment URL: Find the latest entry in the deployments array. B) CLI Deploy — no git remote Check status: Deploying from a Remote Repository (code not cloned locally) 1. Clone the repository: 2. Link to Vercel: 3. Deploy via git push (if you have push access) or CLI deploy. About .vercel/ Directory A linked project has either: .vercel/project.json — from vercel link . Contains projectId and orgId . .vercel/repo.json — from vercel link repo . Contains orgId , remoteName , and a projects map. Not needed when VERCEL ORG ID + VERCEL PROJECT ID are both set in the environment. Do NOT run vercel project inspect or vercel link in an unlinked directory to detect state — they will interactively prompt or silently link as a side effect. vercel ls is safe (in an unlinked directory it defaults to showing all deployments for the scope). vercel whoami is safe anywhere. Managing Environment Variables Inspecting Deployments Managing Domains Stripe Projects Plan Changes If this project is managed by Stripe Projects. Ask the user before running any paid or destructive plan change — upgrades bill a real card, downgrades remove seats. First run stripe projects status json to confirm the Vercel resource's local name. The examples below assume the default ( vercel plan ); substitute the actual name if it was renamed at stripe projects add time. Upgrade to Pro: stripe projects add vercel/pro (or stripe projects upgrade vercel plan pro ) Downgrade to Hobby: stripe projects downgrade vercel plan hobby What Pro gives you $20/month platform fee, includes $20/month of usage credit. Turbo build machines (30 vCPUs, 60 GB memory) by default for new projects — significantly faster builds than Hobby. 1 deploying seat + unlimited free Viewer seats (read only collaborators, preview comments). Higher included allocations (1 TB Fast Data Transfer, 10M Edge Requests per month). Paid add ons available: SAML SSO, HIPAA BAA, Flags Explorer, Observability Plus, Speed Insights, Web Analytics Plus. Full details: https://vercel.com/docs/plans/pro plan Working Agreement Never pass VERCEL TOKEN as a token flag. Export it as an environment variable and let the CLI read it natively. Check the environment for tokens before asking the user. Look in the current env and .env files first. Default to preview deployments. Only deploy to production when explicitly asked. Ask before pushing to git. Never push commits without the user's approval. Do not modify .vercel/ files directly. The CLI manages this directory. Reading them (e.g. to verify orgId ) is fine. Do not curl/fetch deployed URLs to verify. Just return the link to the user. Use format json when structured output will help with follow up steps. Use y on commands that prompt for confirmation to avoid interactive blocking. Troubleshooting Token not found Check the environment and any .env files present: Authentication error If the CLI fails with Authentication required : The token may be expired or invalid. Verify: vercel whoami (uses VERCEL TOKEN from environment). Ask the user for a fresh token. Wrong team Verify the scope is correct: Build failure Check the build logs: Common causes: Missing dependencies — ensure package.json is complete and committed. Missing environment variables — add with vercel env add . Framework misconfiguration — check vercel.json . Vercel auto detects frameworks (Next.js, Remix, Vite, etc.) from package.json ; override with vercel.json if detection is wrong. CLI not installed

vercel-cli-with-tokens