railway config targets project, environment, and service through environment variables

Introduced 2026-03-25 · score 0.94

HOW TO USE IT

When running a Railway CLI command without persisted link state, set both project and environment IDs; the CLI then builds the linked project from those IDs. Set the service ID optionally to target a service.

WHY THIS HELPS

Run Railway CLI commands in a CI or scripting workflow that cannot persist link state on disk.

BEFORE THIS CHANGE

The CLI deployment guide instructs users to run `railway link` before `railway up` when the project is not already linked.

REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS

• Version: v4.35.0
• RAILWAY_PROJECT_ID (required): Project ID; must be set together with RAILWAY_ENVIRONMENT_ID for env-var targeting.
• RAILWAY_ENVIRONMENT_ID (required): Environment ID; must be set together with RAILWAY_PROJECT_ID for env-var targeting.
• RAILWAY_SERVICE_ID: Service ID to use; if absent, the CLI may use a service from the locally linked project configuration.
• RAILWAY_TOKEN (required): Authentication token required for this env-var project targeting path; Railway documents project tokens for project-scoped CLI actions.
• Prerequisite: Authenticate with a Railway token; the v4.35.0 targeting code errors when no Railway auth token is available. Railway documents RAILWAY_TOKEN for project-scoped operations.
• The `LinkedProject` is constructed on the fly when both project ID and environment ID environment variables are set.

FIRST-PARTY EVIDENCE

• https://github.com/railwayapp/cli/releases/tag/v4.35.0
• https://github.com/railwayapp/cli/pull/823
• https://github.com/railwayapp/cli/blob/v4.35.0/src/config.rs
• https://docs.railway.com/cli/login
• https://docs.railway.com/cli/deploying

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

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