> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://unkey.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> Unkey is two separate products. Compute builds, deploys, and runs apps behind a gateway. API Management issues API keys, enforces rate limits, manages identities and permissions, and reports usage. Say which product a page belongs to; a reader can use either without the other.
> Every Unkey API endpoint is an HTTP POST to https://api.unkey.com/v2/{service}.{procedure} with a root key in the Authorization: Bearer header. Root keys are workspace scoped.
> Error codes have the form err:{system}:{category}:{specific} and each has a page at /errors/{system}/{category}/{specific}.
> The word environment means production or preview in Compute. Rate limiting has four meanings on this site; the glossary lists them.

# unkey api projects create-project

> Create a project to hold apps and their deployments.

<Note>
  You need a root key with the permissions listed on this page. Create one in the dashboard under **Settings > Root Keys**. See [Permission reference](/docs/platform/root-keys/permissions-legacy) for every permission.
</Note>

Create a project, the top-level Compute container that groups <Tooltip tip="Compute apps: deployable services inside a project. Not your applications in general.">apps</Tooltip> and their deployments under a slug that is unique in your workspace.

The slug is what you pass to later `--project` flags. It must be unique in the workspace, or you get a 409 conflict. Projects are described in [Projects, apps, and environments](/docs/compute/concepts/projects-apps-environments).

Creating a project needs an active Compute plan. Without one the API answers 412 with `The workspace has no active Compute plan.` See [Compute plans](/docs/compute/get-started/plans).

## Usage

```bash theme={"system"}
unkey api projects create-project --name=<name> --slug=<slug>
```

## Flags

<ParamField body="--name" type="string" required>
  Human-readable name for the project, shown in the dashboard. 1 to 256 characters.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="--slug" type="string" required>
  Stable project slug, unique within the workspace. 3 to 255 characters matching `^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$`. Used in `--project` flags and in generated deployment hostnames.
</ParamField>

### Shared flags

Every `unkey api` command accepts these; [CLI output and shared flags](/docs/platform/cli/output-and-flags) describes them in full.

<ParamField body="--body" type="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](/docs/platform/cli/output-and-flags#send-a-raw-body).
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="--root-key" type="string">
  Root key for the request. Falls back to `UNKEY_ROOT_KEY`, then to the config file written by `unkey auth login`. See [CLI authentication](/docs/platform/cli/authentication).
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="--api-url" type="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.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="--config" type="string" default="~/.unkey/config.toml">
  Path of the TOML file that `unkey auth login` writes. Falls back to `UNKEY_CONFIG`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="--output" type="string">
  Output format. Falls back to `UNKEY_OUTPUT`. Set `json` to print the full response envelope (`meta` and `data`) for piping; any other value prints the request ID followed by `data`.
</ParamField>

## Required permissions

Your root key needs `project.*.create_project`.

Without a matching permission the API answers 403 and the CLI prints `Permission denied:` followed by the detail. See [Root key permissions](/docs/platform/root-keys/permissions) for the full catalog.

## Examples

Create a project:

```bash theme={"system"}
unkey api projects create-project --name='Payments Service' --slug=payments-service
```

Send the request body as JSON:

```bash theme={"system"}
unkey api projects create-project --body='{"name":"Payments Service","slug":"payments-service"}' --output=json
```

## API endpoint

The command calls [`POST /v2/projects.createProject`](/docs/compute/api-reference/projects/create-project) and prints its response. The request fields carry the same names as the flags in camelCase, which is the shape `--body` expects.