Deploy with inline env vars

vercel deploy --env NODE_ENV=production -e API_KEY=secret

Build locally first, then deploy

vercel build vercel deploy --prebuilt

Rebuild + redeploy previous deployment

vercel redeploy

Promote preview deployment to production

vercel promote

Rollback to previous deployment

vercel rollback

List all deployments

vercel list

Get deployment info

vercel inspect

Delete deployment(s)

vercel remove


### Environment Variables

**List**
```bash
# List all env vars (development by default)
vercel env list

# List for specific environment
vercel env list production
vercel env list preview
vercel env list development

# List for specific git branch
vercel env list production main

Add

# Add to all environments (interactive)
vercel env add MY_VAR
# Enter value when prompted

# Add to specific environment
vercel env add API_TOKEN production

# Add sensitive variable (masked in dashboard)
vercel env add SECRET_KEY --sensitive

# Override existing
vercel env add MY_VAR --force

# Add for specific git branch
vercel env add DB_URL production main

Update

# Update in all environments (interactive)
vercel env update MY_VAR

# Update specific environment
vercel env update API_TOKEN production

# Update from stdin
cat ~/.npmrc | vercel env update NPM_RC production
vercel env update CONFIG production < config.json

# Mark as sensitive
vercel env update SECRET_KEY --sensitive

Remove

# Remove from all environments
vercel env remove API_TOKEN

# Remove from specific environment
vercel env remove SECRET_KEY production

# Skip confirmation
vercel env remove API_TOKEN -y

# Remove for specific branch
vercel env remove DB_URL production main

Pull to Local

# Pull development vars to .env.local
vercel env pull

# Pull to custom file
vercel env pull .env.development.local

# Pull specific environment
vercel env pull .env.production --environment production

Logs

Runtime Logs (live application logs)

# Stream runtime logs for 5 minutes
vercel logs <deployment-url-or-id>

# Example with Jupiter deployment
vercel logs jupiter-qhb0ke91n-captaincrouton89s-projects.vercel.app

# Output as JSON (for piping to jq)
vercel logs <deployment-url-or-id> --json

# Filter with jq
vercel logs <deployment-url-or-id> --json | jq 'select(.level == "error")'

Build Logs (compilation + deployment)

# Show build logs for a deployment
vercel inspect <deployment-url-or-id> --logs

# Wait for build to complete and show logs
vercel inspect <deployment-url-or-id> --logs --wait

# Timeout after X seconds
vercel inspect <deployment-url-or-id> --logs --timeout 90s

Cron Jobs

Cron jobs are configured in vercel.json only—there are no CLI commands for management.

Configuration (vercel.json)

{
  "crons": [
    {
      "path": "/api/cron/email-sync",
      "schedule": "*/5 * * * *"
    },
    {
      "path": "/api/cron/weekly-digest",
      "schedule": "0 0 * * 1"
    },
    {
      "path": "/api/cron/cleanup",
      "schedule": "0 2 * * *"
    }
  ]
}

Cron Expression Format (standard cron syntax, UTC timezone)

minute (0-59) hour (0-23) day-of-month (1-31) month (1-12) day-of-week (0-6)

Examples

*/5 * * * *      Every 5 minutes
0 */4 * * *      Every 4 hours
0 0 * * *        Daily at midnight UTC
0 9 * * 1        Every Monday at 9 AM UTC
0 0 1 * *        First day of month
0 0 * * 0        Every Sunday

Important Constraints

Cannot use both day-of-month AND day-of-week; one must be *
No text alternatives (MON, SUN, JAN, DEC not supported)
All times in UTC
Cron jobs make GET requests to your deployment with vercel-cron/1.0 user agent

Verify Crons

Modify vercel.json and redeploy: vercel deploy --prod
View status in dashboard: Project → Settings → Cron Jobs
Monitor logs: vercel logs <deployment-url>

Common Workflows

Deploy with Environment Variables

Interactive

# Deploy and set vars interactively
vercel env add NODE_ENV
vercel env add LOG_LEVEL
vercel deploy --prod

Command Line

# Single deploy with env vars
vercel deploy --prod -e NODE_ENV=production -e LOG_LEVEL=debug

Fix Failed Deployment

# Check what went wrong
vercel inspect <deployment-id> --logs

# Fix code or config, then redeploy
# Option 1: Build and deploy changed code
vercel deploy --prod

# Option 2: Rebuild previous deployment with fixes
vercel redeploy <deployment-id> --target production

# Option 3: Rollback to last known good
vercel rollback <deployment-id>

Monitor Live Application

# View recent runtime logs (5-minute window, live stream)
vercel logs my-app-xyz.vercel.app

# Filter for errors only
vercel logs my-app-xyz.vercel.app --json | jq 'select(.level == "error")'

# Follow specific cron job execution
vercel logs my-app-xyz.vercel.app --json | jq 'select(.path == "/api/cron/email-sync")'

Environment Variable Workflow

# Add secrets for production
vercel env add DATABASE_URL production
vercel env add API_KEY production --sensitive

# Pull development vars locally
vercel env pull .env.local

# Update after rotation
vercel env update API_KEY production

# Remove deprecated vars
vercel env remove OLD_TOKEN -y

Debug Cron Jobs

# 1. Verify config in vercel.json
cat vercel.json

# 2. Deploy with changes
vercel deploy --prod

# 3. Monitor execution in logs
vercel logs <deployment-url> --json | jq 'select(.path == "/api/cron/your-route")'

# 4. Check cron logs in dashboard
# Project → Settings → Cron Jobs → View Logs button

Important Notes

Deployment Targets

Production: Assigned to project domains, no live preview
Preview: Auto-generated URL, live preview before promoting
Development: Local testing with vercel dev

Environment Scopes

production - Production environment
preview - Preview/staging deployments
development - Local .env.local file
Git branches - Specific branch overrides

API Rate Limits

Check dashboard for per-team limits
Redeploys and promotions may have separate limits

User Agent Detection for Crons

Vercel cron requests include: User-Agent: vercel-cron/1.0
Use for authentication: if (req.headers['user-agent'] === 'vercel-cron/1.0')

Examples from Real Projects

Jupiter Mail Project

{
  "crons": [
    {
      "path": "/api/cron/email-sync",
      "schedule": "*/5 * * * *"
    },
    {
      "path": "/api/cron/weekly-digest",
      "schedule": "0 0 * * 1"
    },
    {
      "path": "/api/cron/delete-old-emails",
      "schedule": "0 0 * * *"
    }
  ]
}

Deploy with: vercel deploy --prod

Vercel CLI Management

Vercel CLI Management

Quick Reference

Deployment