Skip to main content
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 a deployment for an in one of its . With no source flag, the app deploys its usual source: a Git app builds its default branch, and an image app deploys its default image. That’s what you want in CI for a routine redeploy. To deploy something else, pass one source flag:
  • --oci deploys a prebuilt image, with no build. A tag like latest is pinned to the exact image it points to when you deploy.
  • --git builds a branch, commit, or fork commit from the app’s connected repository.
  • --deployment redeploys an existing deployment. A Git deployment rebuilds from its commit, and an image deployment reuses its image.
You can pass only one of them. The command returns a deploymentId right away, while the build and rollout keep running. Poll deployments get to follow the status. Deploying needs an active Compute plan. Without one the API answers 412 with The workspace has no active Compute plan. A workspace over its Compute spend cap gets The workspace is suspended by its Compute spend cap. Raise the spend limit to resume. See Compute plans.

Usage

Flags

string
required
App ID or slug.
string
Existing deployment to re-run, as a JSON object with a deploymentId field. It must be in the same app and environment. Any other ID returns The specified deployment does not exist.
string
required
Environment ID or slug the deployment lands in.
string
Git source as a JSON object with branch, commitSha, or a fork’s repository plus commitSha, for example {"branch":"main"}. Requires the app to have a repository connected.
string
OCI image source as a JSON object with a required image field. A tag is pinned to the exact image it points to when you deploy.
string
required
ID or slug. Both forms resolve to the same project.

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 write on the target environment’s deployment collection:
  • unkey:v1:<workspace_id>:projects/<project_id>/apps/<app_id>/environments/<environment_id>/deployments/*#write
Wildcards can replace resource IDs to grant access across a wider scope. Use resource IDs in permissions, even when you pass slugs to the command. Without write permission, the API returns 403 if your key can read the environment or its deployment collection. Otherwise, it returns 404 to hide the environment. See Root key permissions for the full catalog.

Examples

Deploy the app’s configured source:
Build and deploy a specific branch:
Deploy a prebuilt image:
Send the request body as JSON and capture the ID:

API endpoint

The command calls POST /v3/deployments.createDeployment and prints its response. The request fields carry the same names as the flags in camelCase, which is the shape --body expects.

Deployments

Statuses, the build queue, and why a deployment fails.

unkey deploy

The one-shot command that deploys an image and waits for it.
Last modified on November 11, 2026