Deploy and Manage Your Vercel Deployments (with examples)

Vercel is a cloud platform for deploying static front-end applications and serverless functions. The Vercel CLI allows developers to seamlessly deploy and manage their projects with ease. In this article, we will explore various use cases of the vercel command along with code examples.

1: Deploy the current directory

vercel

Motivation: This command deploys the current directory to Vercel. It is useful when you want to quickly deploy your project without specifying a specific directory path.

Explanation: The vercel command without any arguments deploys the current directory to Vercel. It automatically detects the project type and deploys it accordingly.

Example Output:

🌟  Linked to <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
🔍  Inspect: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
✅  Production: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>

2: Deploy the current directory to production

vercel --prod

Motivation: This command deploys the current directory to the production environment, providing a safe and stable deployment for your project.

Explanation: The --prod flag tells Vercel to create a deployment in the production environment. This ensures that your project is live and accessible by users.

Example Output:

🌟  Linked to <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
🔍  Inspect: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
✅  Production: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>

3: Deploy a directory

vercel path/to/project

Motivation: This command allows you to deploy a specific directory instead of the current directory. It is useful when your project resides in a subdirectory.

Explanation: By providing a directory path as an argument to the vercel command, you can deploy that specific directory to Vercel. This is helpful when you have multiple projects in different directories within your repository.

Example Output:

🌟  Linked to <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
🔍  Inspect: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
✅  Production: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>

4: Initialize an example project

vercel init

Motivation: This command initializes an example project for you to get started quickly with Vercel. It is useful when you want to explore different project templates or learn how to structure your projects.

Explanation: The init command initializes an example project in the current directory using one of the templates provided by Vercel. It sets up a basic project structure and configuration files to help you kickstart your development process.

Example Output:

Initialized project in <YOUR_PROJECT_DIRECTORY>

5: Deploy with Environment Variables

vercel --env ENV=var

Motivation: This command allows you to deploy your project with custom environment variables, making it easier to configure and customize your application for different environments.

Explanation: By providing environment variables using the --env flag, you can pass key-value pairs to your Vercel deployment. These environment variables can then be accessed within your application as needed.

Example Output:

🌟  Linked to <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
🔍  Inspect: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
✅  Production: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>

6: Build with Environment Variables

vercel --build-env ENV=var

Motivation: This command allows you to define environment variables during the build process of your project, ensuring that these variables are accessible during the build phase.

Explanation: The --build-env flag allows you to pass environment variables to be used specifically during the build process of your project. These variables can be used to customize the build behavior or provide necessary information required during the build phase.

Example Output:

🌟  Linked to <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
🔍  Inspect: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
✅  Production: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>

7: Set default regions to enable the deployment on

vercel --regions region_id

Motivation: This command allows you to set the default regions where your project will be deployed, helping you optimize the deployment for specific geographical locations.

Explanation: By specifying the --regions flag followed by the region ID, you can set the default deployment regions for your project. This ensures that your project is deployed in the specified regions, resulting in improved performance and reduced latency for users in those regions.

Example Output:

🌟  Linked to <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
🔍  Inspect: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>
✅  Production: <YOUR_VERCEL_PROJECT_URL>

8: Remove a deployment

vercel remove project_name

Motivation: This command allows you to remove a deployment from Vercel, ensuring that your project is no longer accessible through the provided URL.

Explanation: The remove command followed by the project name allows you to remove a deployment from Vercel. This is useful when you want to delete an existing deployment or clean up unused deployments to optimize your Vercel account usage.

Example Output:

✅  Project <PROJECT_NAME> has been removed

In this article, we have explored various use cases of the vercel command by providing code examples, motivations, explanations, and example outputs. These examples demonstrate the flexibility and power of the Vercel CLI in deploying and managing your Vercel deployments effectively.