This skill should be used when the user says "setup", "deploy to railway", "initialize", "create project", "create service", or wants to deploy from GitHub. Handles initial setup AND adding services to existing projects. For databases, use the database skill instead.
/plugin marketplace add railwayapp/railway-skills/plugin install railway@railway-claude-pluginThis skill is limited to using the following tools:
Create Railway projects, services, and databases with proper configuration.
Check CLI installed:
command -v railway
If not installed:
Install Railway CLI:
npm install -g @railway/clior
brew install railway
Check authenticated:
railway whoami --json
If not authenticated:
Run
railway loginto authenticate.
railway status --json (in current dir)
│
┌────┴────┐
Linked Not Linked
│ │
│ Check parent: cd .. && railway status --json
│ │
│ ┌────┴────┐
│ Parent Not linked
│ Linked anywhere
│ │ │
│ Add service railway list
│ Set rootDir │
│ Deploy ┌───┴───┐
│ │ Match? No match
│ │ │ │
│ │ Link Init new
└───────┴────────┴────────┘
│
User wants service?
│
┌─────┴─────┐
Yes No
│ │
Scaffold code Done
│
railway add --service
│
Configure if needed
│
Ready to deploy
railway status --json
Default behavior: "deploy to railway" = add a service to the linked project.
Do NOT create a new project unless user EXPLICITLY says:
App names like "flappy-bird" or "my-api" are SERVICE names, not project names.
User: "create a vite app called foo and deploy to railway"
Project: Already linked to "my-project"
WRONG: railway init -n foo
RIGHT: railway add --service foo
Railway CLI walks up the directory tree to find a linked project. If you're in a subdirectory:
cd .. && railway status --json
If parent is linked, you don't need to init/link the subdirectory. Instead:
railway add --service <name>rootDirectory to subdirectory path via environment skillrailway upIf no parent is linked, proceed with init or link flow.
Skip this section if already linked - just add a service instead.
Only use this section when NO project is linked (directly or via parent).
The output can be large. Run in a subagent and extract only:
id and nameid and namerailway list --json
railway initrailway linkrailway initrailway init -n <name>
Options:
-n, --name - Project name (auto-generated if omitted in non-interactive mode)-w, --workspace - Workspace name or ID (required if multiple workspaces exist)If the user has multiple workspaces, railway init requires the --workspace flag.
Get workspace IDs from:
railway whoami --json
The workspaces array contains { id, name } for each workspace.
Inferring workspace from user input: If user says "deploy into xxx workspace" or "create project in my-team", match the name against the workspaces array and use the corresponding ID:
# User says: "create a project in my personal workspace"
railway whoami --json | jq '.workspaces[] | select(.name | test("personal"; "i"))'
# Use the matched ID: railway init -n myapp --workspace <matched-id>
railway link -p <project>
Options:
-p, --project - Project name or ID-e, --environment - Environment (default: production)-s, --service - Service to link-t, --team - Team/workspaceAfter project is linked, create a service:
railway add --service <name>
For GitHub repo sources: Create an empty service, then invoke the environment skill to configure the source via staged changes API. Do NOT use railway add --repo - it requires GitHub app integration which often fails.
Flow:
railway add --service my-apienvironment skill to set source.repo and source.branchReference railpack.md for build configuration. Reference monorepo.md for monorepo patterns.
Static site (Vite, CRA, Astro static):
environment skill to set RAILPACK_STATIC_FILE_ROOTrailway variables CLI - always use the environment skillNode.js SSR (Next.js, Nuxt, Express):
start script exists in package.jsonenvironment skill to set startCommandPython (FastAPI, Django, Flask):
requirements.txt or pyproject.toml existsGo:
go.mod existsCritical decision: Root directory vs custom commands.
Isolated monorepo (apps don't share code):
/frontend)Shared monorepo (TypeScript workspaces, shared packages):
pnpm --filter <package> buildnpm run build --workspace=packages/<package>yarn workspace <package> buildturbo run build --filter=<package>See monorepo.md for detailed patterns.
Analyze the codebase to ensure Railway compatibility.
Check for existing project files:
package.json → Node.js projectrequirements.txt, pyproject.toml → Python projectgo.mod → Go projectCargo.toml → Rust projectindex.html → Static siteMonorepo detection:
pnpm-workspace.yaml → pnpm workspace (shared monorepo)package.json with workspaces field → npm/yarn workspace (shared monorepo)turbo.json → Turborepo (shared monorepo)package.json but no workspace config → isolated monorepoIf no code exists, suggest minimal patterns from railpack.md:
Static site:
Create an
index.htmlfile in the root directory.
Vite React:
npm create vite@latest . -- --template react
Astro:
npm create astro@latest
Python FastAPI:
Create
main.pywith FastAPI app andrequirements.txtwith dependencies.
Go:
Create
main.gowith HTTP server listening onPORTenv var.
For adding databases (Postgres, Redis, MySQL, MongoDB), use the database skill.
The database skill handles:
deploy skill to push codeenvironment skill (buildCommand, startCommand)domain skillstatus skillservice skillRailway CLI not installed. Install with:
npm install -g @railway/cli
or
brew install railway
Not logged in to Railway. Run: railway login
No workspaces found. Create one at railway.com or verify authentication.
Project name already exists. Either:
- Link to existing: railway link -p <name>
- Use different name: railway init -n <other-name>
Service name already exists in this project. Use a different name:
railway add --service <other-name>
User: "create a simple html site and deploy to railway"
1. Check status → not linked
2. railway init -n my-site
3. Guide: create index.html
4. railway add --service my-site
5. No config needed (index.html in root auto-detected)
6. Use deploy skill: railway up
7. Use domain skill for public URL
User: "create a vite react service"
1. Check status → linked (or init/link first)
2. Scaffold: npm create vite@latest frontend -- --template react
3. railway add --service frontend
4. No config needed (Vite dist output auto-detected)
5. Use deploy skill: railway up
User: "add a python api to my project"
1. Check status → linked
2. Guide: create main.py with FastAPI, requirements.txt
3. railway add --service api
4. No config needed (FastAPI auto-detected)
5. Use deploy skill
User: "connect to my backend project and add a worker service"
1. railway list --json → find "backend"
2. railway link -p backend
3. railway add --service worker
4. Guide setup based on worker type
User: "deploy to railway"
1. railway status → not linked
2. railway list → has projects
3. Directory is "my-app", found project "my-app"
4. Ask: "Found existing project 'my-app'. Link to it or create new?"
5. User: "link"
6. railway link -p my-app
7. Ask: "Create a service for this code?"
User: "create a static site in the frontend directory"
1. Check: /frontend has its own package.json, no workspace config
2. This is isolated monorepo → use root directory
3. railway add --service frontend
4. Invoke environment skill to set rootDirectory: /frontend
5. Set watch paths: /frontend/**
User: "add a new api package to this turborepo"
1. Check: turbo.json exists, pnpm-workspace.yaml exists
2. This is shared monorepo → use custom commands, NOT root directory
3. Guide: create packages/api with package.json
4. railway add --service api
5. Invoke environment skill to set buildCommand and startCommand (do NOT set rootDirectory)
6. Set watch paths: /packages/api/**, /packages/shared/**
User: "deploy the backend package to railway"
1. Check: pnpm-workspace.yaml exists → shared monorepo
2. railway add --service backend
3. Invoke environment skill to set buildCommand and startCommand
4. Set watch paths for backend + any shared deps
User: "create a vite app in my-app directory and deploy to railway"
CWD: ~/projects/my-project/my-app (parent already linked to "my-project")
1. Check status in my-app → not linked
2. Check parent: cd .. && railway status → IS linked to "my-project"
3. DON'T init/link the subdirectory
4. Scaffold: bun create vite my-app --template react-ts
5. cd my-app && bun install
6. railway add --service my-app
7. Invoke environment skill to set rootDirectory: /my-app
8. Deploy from root: railway up
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