deploy vercel

Deploy applications to Vercel using the Vercel CLI with environment-specific configuration and automatic build orchestration.

Overview

carlin deploy vercel wraps the Vercel CLI to:

• Pull environment variables and project settings
• Build the project locally
• Deploy prebuilt output to Vercel

This command is useful for integrating Vercel deployments into existing carlin-based CI/CD workflows.

Prerequisites

• Vercel account and project configured
• Vercel token (obtained from Vercel account settings)
• vercel CLI installed (automatically used by carlin)

Usage

carlin deploy vercel --token <VERCEL_TOKEN>

Or set token via environment variable:

export VERCEL_TOKEN=your_token_here
carlin deploy vercel

Options

Option	Type	Description
--token	string	Vercel authorization token (can also use VERCEL_TOKEN env var)

Execution Flow

Environment Mapping

carlin environment detection maps to Vercel environments:

carlin Environment	Vercel Environment	Production Flag
Production	production	--prod
Others	preview	(none)

Examples

Basic Deployment

carlin deploy vercel --token abc123xyz

CI/CD Integration

# GitHub Actions example
- name: Deploy to Vercel
  env:
    VERCEL_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_TOKEN }}
  run: carlin deploy vercel

Multi-Environment Setup

# Preview environment
export ENVIRONMENT=staging
carlin deploy vercel --token $VERCEL_TOKEN

# Production environment
export ENVIRONMENT=Production
carlin deploy vercel --token $VERCEL_TOKEN

Vercel CLI Steps Executed

1. Pull: vercel pull --yes --environment=<env> --token=<token>

   • Downloads project settings and environment variables

2. Build: vercel build [--prod] --token=<token>

   • Builds project locally using Vercel build pipeline

3. Deploy: vercel deploy --prebuilt [--prod] --token=<token>

   • Deploys prebuilt output to Vercel

Project Configuration

Ensure vercel.json or project settings define:

{
  "buildCommand": "pnpm build",
  "outputDirectory": "dist",
  "framework": "vite"
}

Environment Variables

Vercel environment variables are pulled automatically. Define them in:

• Vercel dashboard → Project Settings → Environment Variables
• .env files (for local development)

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Solution
Missing token error	No --token or VERCEL_TOKEN	Set token via CLI or env var
Build fails	Missing dependencies or incorrect build command	Check vercel.json buildCommand
Deployment hangs	Network issues or large bundle	Retry; consider optimizing bundle size
Wrong environment deployed	Environment detection mismatch	Explicitly set ENVIRONMENT variable

Best Practices

• Store tokens securely: Use GitHub Secrets or AWS Parameter Store
• Separate environments: Use Vercel preview deployments for non-production
• Optimize builds: Enable caching in Vercel project settings
• Monitor deployments: Check Vercel dashboard for deployment logs

Limitations

• Destroy operation not yet implemented
• Relies on Vercel CLI availability
• Token must have project access permissions

Related

• deploy cicd Command
• Static Websites Guide
• Multi-Environment Setup
• Vercel CLI Documentation