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Create a root key with the permissions listed on this page under Root Keys in the dashboard sidebar. CLI commands can instead use a session from unkey login with the required permissions. See Permission reference for every permission.
Create an inside a . The app is created with a production and a preview . The slug is what you pass to later --app flags. It must be unique within the project, or you get a 409 conflict. Pass exactly one source:
  • --git for a GitHub repository. Pass a repository to connect it now (the Unkey GitHub App must be installed first), or pass --git='{}' and connect one later with apps update.
  • --oci for a prebuilt image, if you already build images elsewhere.

Usage

Flags

string
GitHub repository connection as a JSON object, for example {"repository":"unkeyed/api","defaultBranch":"main"}. Both fields are optional, so {} creates a Git app with no repository yet; defaultBranch requires repository. Mutually exclusive with --oci.
string
OCI image source as a JSON object with a required image field, for example {"image":"ghcr.io/acme/payments:v1.2.3"}. The reference needs an explicit tag or digest and is at most 256 characters. Mutually exclusive with --git.
string
required
Human-readable name for the app, 1 to 256 characters.
string
required
Project ID or slug. Both forms resolve to the same project.
string
required
Stable app slug, unique within the project. 3 to 255 characters matching ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$. Used in --app flags and in generated deployment hostnames.

Shared flags

Every resource command accepts these; CLI output and shared flags describes them in full.
string
A JSON document sent as the request body instead of building it from the flags above. It is mutually exclusive with the request-building flags, and unknown fields are rejected locally. See Send a raw body.
string
Root key used for the request. Falls back to UNKEY_ROOT_KEY, then stored credentials, including a CLI session. See CLI authentication for the full precedence order.
string
default:"https://api.unkey.com"
Base URL of the API. Falls back to UNKEY_API_BASE_URL. You don’t normally need to set it.
string
default:"~/.unkey/config.toml"
Path of the TOML config file. Falls back to UNKEY_CONFIG. An explicit --config takes precedence over a stored CLI session. Browser login stores a session, not a root key in this file. See CLI authentication.
enum
default:"human"
Use human (default) for name-first summary tables and single-response trees, or json for the unchanged full response envelope, including all fields and pagination. Trees wrap long values without truncation. Terminal tables use relative timestamps and may shorten display names and descriptions, but never identifiers, slugs, or credentials. Redirected human output keeps complete values and uses RFC3339 UTC timestamps. Falls back to UNKEY_OUTPUT; other values are rejected. --json also selects JSON output. Add --debug to print the request ID to stderr. See Output formats.
boolean
Print the successful response’s request ID to stderr, separate from stdout.
boolean
Print the full response as JSON. Takes precedence over a valid --output or UNKEY_OUTPUT value.

Required permissions

Your root key needs one of:
  • project.*.create_app (apps in any project)
  • project.<project_id>.create_app (apps in a specific project)
If --git includes a repository, your key also needs app.*.connect_repository. --git='{}' doesn’t. Without a matching permission the API answers 403 and the CLI prints Permission denied: followed by the detail. See Root key permissions for the full catalog.

Examples

Create an app connected to a repository:
Create a Git app now and connect the repository later:
Create an app from a prebuilt image:
Send the request body as JSON:

API endpoint

The command calls POST /v2/apps.createApp and prints its response. The request fields carry the same names as the flags in camelCase, which is the shape --body expects.

Projects, apps, and environments

How the three objects nest and how slugs and IDs are resolved.

Deploy from GitHub

Connect a repository and ship the first deployment.
Last modified on October 28, 2026