Templates

Search and deploy services from Railway's template marketplace.

When to Use User asks to "add Postgres", "add Redis", "add a database" User asks to "add Ghost", "add Strapi", "add n8n", or any other service User wants to find templates for a use case (e.g., "CMS", "storage", "monitoring") User asks "what templates are available?" User wants to deploy a pre-configured service Common Template Codes Category Template Code Databases PostgreSQL postgres Redis redis MySQL mysql MongoDB mongodb CMS Ghost ghost Strapi strapi Storage Minio minio Automation n8n n8n Monitoring Uptime Kuma uptime-kuma

For other templates, use the search query below.

Prerequisites

Get project context:

railway status --json

Extract:

id - project ID environments.edges[0].node.id - environment ID

Get workspace ID:

bash <<'SCRIPT' scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'query getWorkspace($projectId: String!) { project(id: $projectId) { workspaceId } }' \ '{"projectId": "PROJECT_ID"}' SCRIPT

Search Templates

List available templates with optional filters:

bash <<'SCRIPT' scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'query templates($first: Int, $verified: Boolean) { templates(first: $first, verified: $verified) { edges { node { name code description category } } } }' \ '{"first": 20, "verified": true}' SCRIPT

Arguments Argument Type Description first Int Number of results (max ~100) verified Boolean Only verified templates recommended Boolean Only recommended templates Rate Limit

10 requests per minute. Don't spam searches.

Get Template Details

Fetch a specific template by code:

bash <<'SCRIPT' scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'query template($code: String!) { template(code: $code) { id name description serializedConfig } }' \ '{"code": "postgres"}' SCRIPT

Returns:

id - template ID (needed for deployment) serializedConfig - service configuration (needed for deployment) Deploy Template Step 1: Fetch Template bash <<'SCRIPT' scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'query template($code: String!) { template(code: $code) { id serializedConfig } }' \ '{"code": "postgres"}' SCRIPT

Step 2: Deploy to Project bash <<'SCRIPT' scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'mutation deployTemplate($input: TemplateDeployV2Input!) { templateDeployV2(input: $input) { projectId workflowId } }' \ '{ "input": { "templateId": "TEMPLATE_ID_FROM_STEP_1", "serializedConfig": SERIALIZED_CONFIG_FROM_STEP_1, "projectId": "PROJECT_ID", "environmentId": "ENVIRONMENT_ID", "workspaceId": "WORKSPACE_ID" } }' SCRIPT

Important: serializedConfig is the exact JSON object from the template query, not a string.

Connecting Services

After deploying a template, connect other services using reference variables.

For complete variable syntax and wiring patterns, see variables.md.

Pattern ${{ServiceName.VARIABLE_NAME}}

Common Database Variables Service Connection Variable PostgreSQL (Postgres) ${{Postgres.DATABASE_URL}} Redis ${{Redis.REDIS_URL}} MySQL ${{MySQL.MYSQL_URL}} MongoDB ${{MongoDB.MONGO_URL}} Backend vs Frontend

Backend services can use private URLs (internal network):

${{Postgres.DATABASE_URL}}

Frontend applications run in the browser and cannot access Railway's private network. Options:

Use public URL variables (e.g., ${{MongoDB.MONGO_PUBLIC_URL}}) Better: Route through a backend API Example: Add PostgreSQL bash <<'SCRIPT'

1. Get context

railway status --json

→ project.id = "proj-123", environment.id = "env-456"

2. Get workspace ID

scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'query { project(id: "proj-123") { workspaceId } }' '{}'

→ workspaceId = "ws-789"

3. Fetch Postgres template

scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'query { template(code: "postgres") { id serializedConfig } }' '{}'

→ id = "template-abc", serializedConfig =

4. Deploy

scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'mutation deploy($input: TemplateDeployV2Input!) { templateDeployV2(input: $input) { projectId workflowId } }' \ '{"input": { "templateId": "template-abc", "serializedConfig": {...}, "projectId": "proj-123", "environmentId": "env-456", "workspaceId": "ws-789" }}' SCRIPT

Example: Search for CMS Templates bash <<'SCRIPT'

Search verified templates

scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'query { templates(first: 50, verified: true) { edges { node { name code description category } } } }' '{}'

Filter results for "CMS" category or search descriptions

SCRIPT

What Gets Created

Templates typically create:

Service with pre-configured image/source Environment variables (connection strings, secrets) Volume for persistent data (databases) TCP proxy for external access (where needed) Response

Successful deployment returns:

{ "data": { "templateDeployV2": { "projectId": "proj-123", "workflowId": "deployTemplate/project/proj-123/xxx" } } }

Error Handling Error Cause Solution Template not found Invalid code Search templates or check spelling Rate limit exceeded Too many searches Wait 1 minute, then retry Permission denied User lacks access Need DEVELOPER role or higher Project not found Invalid project ID Run railway status --json Composability Connect services: Use environment skill to add variable references View deployed service: Use service skill Check logs: Use deployment skill Add domains: Use domain skill