service

Service Management

Check status, update properties, and advanced service creation.

When to Use User asks about service status, health, or deployments User asks "is my service deployed?" User wants to rename a service or change service icon User wants to link a different service User wants to deploy a Docker image as a new service (advanced)

Note: For creating services with local code (the common case), prefer the new skill which handles project setup, scaffolding, and service creation together.

For GitHub repo sources: Use new skill to create empty service, then environment skill to configure source.repo via staged changes API.

Create Service

Create a new service via GraphQL API. There is no CLI command for this.

Get Context railway status --json

Extract:

project.id - for creating the service environment.id - for staging the instance config Create Service Mutation mutation serviceCreate($input: ServiceCreateInput!) { serviceCreate(input: $input) { id name } }

ServiceCreateInput Fields Field Type Description projectId String! Project ID (required) name String Service name (auto-generated if omitted) source.image String Docker image (e.g., nginx:latest) source.repo String GitHub repo (e.g., user/repo) branch String Git branch for repo source environmentId String If set and is a fork, only creates in that env Example: Create empty service bash <<'SCRIPT' scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'mutation createService($input: ServiceCreateInput!) { serviceCreate(input: $input) { id name } }' \ '{"input": {"projectId": "PROJECT_ID"}}' SCRIPT

Example: Create service with image bash <<'SCRIPT' scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'mutation createService($input: ServiceCreateInput!) { serviceCreate(input: $input) { id name } }' \ '{"input": {"projectId": "PROJECT_ID", "name": "my-service", "source": {"image": "nginx:latest"}}}' SCRIPT

Connecting a GitHub Repo

Do NOT use serviceCreate with source.repo - use staged changes API instead.

Flow:

Create empty service: serviceCreate(input: {projectId: "...", name: "my-service"}) Use environment skill to configure source via staged changes API Apply to trigger deployment After Creating: Configure Instance

Use environment skill to configure the service instance:

{ "services": { "": { "isCreated": true, "source": { "image": "nginx:latest" }, "variables": { "PORT": { "value": "8080" } } } } }

Critical: Always include isCreated: true for new service instances.

Then use environment skill to apply and deploy.

For variable references, see reference/variables.md.

Check Service Status railway service status --json

Returns current deployment status for the linked service.

Deployment History railway deployment list --json --limit 5

Present Status

Show:

Service: name and current status Latest Deployment: status (SUCCESS, FAILED, DEPLOYING, CRASHED, etc.) Deployed At: when the current deployment went live Recent Deployments: last 3-5 with status and timestamps Deployment Statuses Status Meaning SUCCESS Deployed and running FAILED Build or deploy failed DEPLOYING Currently deploying BUILDING Build in progress CRASHED Runtime crash REMOVED Deployment removed Update Service

Update service name or icon via GraphQL API.

Get Service ID railway status --json

Extract service.id from the response.

Update Name bash <<'SCRIPT' scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'mutation updateService($id: String!, $input: ServiceUpdateInput!) { serviceUpdate(id: $id, input: $input) { id name } }' \ '{"id": "SERVICE_ID", "input": {"name": "new-name"}}' SCRIPT

Update Icon

Icons can be image URLs or animated GIFs.

Type Example Image URL "icon": "https://example.com/logo.png" Animated GIF "icon": "https://example.com/animated.gif" Devicons "icon": "https://devicons.railway.app/github"

Railway Devicons: Query https://devicons.railway.app/{query} for common developer icons (e.g., github, postgres, redis, nodejs). Browse all at https://devicons.railway.app

bash <<'SCRIPT' scripts/railway-api.sh \ 'mutation updateService($id: String!, $input: ServiceUpdateInput!) { serviceUpdate(id: $id, input: $input) { id icon } }' \ '{"id": "SERVICE_ID", "input": {"icon": "https://devicons.railway.app/github"}}' SCRIPT

ServiceUpdateInput Fields Field Type Description name String Service name icon String Emoji or image URL (including animated GIFs) Link Service

Switch the linked service for the current directory:

railway service link

Or specify directly:

railway service link

Composability Create service with local code: Use new skill (handles scaffolding + creation) Configure service: Use environment skill (variables, commands, image, etc.) Delete service: Use environment skill with isDeleted: true Apply changes: Use environment skill View logs: Use deployment skill Deploy local code: Use deploy skill Error Handling No Service Linked No service linked. Run railway service link to link a service.

No Deployments Service exists but has no deployments yet. Deploy with railway up.

Service Not Found Service "foo" not found. Check available services with railway status.

Project Not Found

User may not be in a linked project. Check railway status.

Permission Denied

User needs at least DEVELOPER role to create services.

Invalid Image

Docker image must be accessible (public or with registry credentials).