railway ca ssh auto-creates an agent when none exist

Introduced 2026-08-11 · score 0.93

HOW TO USE IT

When the account has no cloud agents and a default project is configured, run `railway ca ssh` to create an agent and open a shell. Use `--environment <environment>` to scope the command; if no default project is configured, set one up with `ca create` or `ca setup`.

WHY THIS HELPS

Start a cloud agent session with Railway CLI when the account has no agents and a default project is configured.

BEFORE THIS CHANGE

The release note says `railway ca ssh` previously errored and told users to create an agent with `railway ca create`.

REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS

• Version: v5.37.0
• <agent>: Agent selector; names or IDs are accepted. The guide documents this selector for opening a shell.
• --environment <environment>: The release note says it scopes first-agent auto-creation. The CLI guide does not document this flag for `ca ssh`.
• Prerequisite: Cloud Agents access is required.
• Auto-creation applies only when the account has no agents; a mistyped agent name still fails.
• A default project must be configured unless `--environment` scopes the command.

FIRST-PARTY EVIDENCE

• https://github.com/railwayapp/cli/releases/tag/v5.37.0
• https://github.com/railwayapp/cli/pull/1078
• https://github.com/railwayapp/cli/blob/master/docs/cloud-agents.md

Check the installed version and the source before using it. Entry JSON

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