Vercel

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Operating an already-chosen Vercel project from the CLI
• Its config file — preview versus production deploys
• Debugging builds
• Pushing and pulling env vars across environments

Example prompts

• “/vercel”

Requirements

• A Bash shell
• Docker
• A credential in STRIPE_SECRET

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1A deployment is immutable and tied to one environment. git push to a branch → a preview;
2. 2Env vars are scoped, not global. A var exists in some subset of `{production, preview,
3. 3Config has two front doors with identical keys. vercel.json is static; vercel.ts runs at

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 92fde8f. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  Ships 1 file in scripts/ (Shell), which the agent can run.

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • vercel
  • git

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:

  • openapi.vercel.sh

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:

  • STRIPE_SECRET

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Vercel loads about 3.5k tokens when it runs, and up to ~5.6k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 120 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,411 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~120

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~3.5k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~5.6k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:36

  environments: `vercel env add|pull|ls`, `.env.local`, sensitive

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:72

  prod env vars locally | `vercel env pull .env.local` (see env section — pick the env) |

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:84

  etch project settings + env into .vercel/.env.* for local builds

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:99

  echo "STRIPE_SECRET=sk_live_..." >> .env && git add .env && git commit

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:103

  vercel env pull .env.local        # .env.local is gitignored by Next/Vite defaults

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:115

  vercel env pull .env.local             # writes vars for the local-linked env into .env.local

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:116

  vercel env pull .env.local --environment=preview   # pull a SPECIFIC environment

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:127

  **"`vercel env pull` doesn't update my `.env.local`"** is almost always the *environment*: pull

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:146

  2. Re-run `vercel env pull .env.local --environment=<env>` (it overwrites, doesn't merge).

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:148

  4. Dev server reads `.env.local` at boot — restart it.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from ericrisco/rsc-harness at commit 92fde8f, republished under its MIT licence (© ericrisco). 1,411 words, ~3,474 tokens.

name

vercel

description

Use when operating an already-chosen Vercel project from the CLI or its config file — preview versus production deploys, debugging builds, pushing and pulling env vars across environments, custom domains, function runtime, duration and regions, crons, rewrites and headers, and deployment protection. NOT host choice, Docker or CI (that is `deployment`), NOT Next.js app code or next.config (that is `nextjs`), NOT DNS records or registrar transfers (that is `domains-dns`).

tags

vercel, deploy, serverless, edge, env-vars

recommends

deployment, nextjs, domains-dns

origin

risco

git push branch ──────────────▶ preview deployment (unique URL, protected on Hobby)
vercel              ───────────▶ preview deployment from your machine
vercel --prod       ───────────▶ production domain
vercel dev          ───────────▶ local emulation of functions + routing
                    config:  vercel.json (static)  |  vercel.ts (generated at build time)
                    env:     scoped per environment  →  production / preview / development

vercel                 # deploy a PREVIEW from the current dir, prints a unique URL
vercel --prod          # deploy to the PRODUCTION domain
vercel dev             # run functions + routing locally (emulates the platform)
vercel link            # associate this dir with a Vercel project (.vercel/ created)
vercel pull            # fetch project settings + env into .vercel/.env.* for local builds
vercel --prod --debug  # same prod deploy with verbose build output for debugging

{ "ignoreCommand": "git diff --quiet HEAD^ HEAD -- ." }

# Bad: secrets committed so the build can read them
echo "STRIPE_SECRET=sk_live_..." >> .env && git add .env && git commit

# Good: secret lives in Vercel, never in git; pulled only for local dev
vercel env add STRIPE_SECRET production
vercel env pull .env.local        # .env.local is gitignored by Next/Vite defaults

vercel env ls                          # list which vars exist in which environments
vercel env add API_URL production      # add to production (prompts for the value)
vercel env add API_URL preview         # separate command for preview
vercel env pull .env.local             # writes vars for the local-linked env into .env.local
vercel env pull .env.local --environment=preview   # pull a SPECIFIC environment
vercel env run -- npm run seed         # run a command with the project's vars injected

const env = process.env.VERCEL_ENV        // 'production' | 'preview' | 'development'
const url = process.env.VERCEL_URL        // deployment host, no protocol
const branch = process.env.VERCEL_GIT_COMMIT_REF  // git branch that triggered the deploy

{
  "$schema": "https://openapi.vercel.sh/vercel.json",
  "functions": {
    "api/**/*.ts": {
      "maxDuration": 30,
      "regions": ["fra1"]
    }
  },
  "crons": [{ "path": "/api/digest", "schedule": "0 * * * *" }],
  "redirects": [{ "source": "/old", "destination": "/new", "permanent": true }],
  "rewrites": [{ "source": "/proxy/:path*", "destination": "https://api.example.com/:path*" }],
  "headers": [
    { "source": "/(.*)", "headers": [{ "key": "X-Frame-Options", "value": "DENY" }] }
  ],
  "cleanUrls": true
}

vercel domains add example.com         # attach a domain to the current project
vercel domains ls                      # list domains
vercel domains inspect example.com     # show config + nameserver/record status
vercel domains add example.com --force # move it off whatever project currently holds it
vercel alias set <deployment-url> staging.example.com   # point an alias at a deployment

© ericrisco, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 5 other files (scripts, references) in skills/vercel of ericrisco/rsc-harness.

• SKILL.md
• evals/README.md
• evals/cases.yaml
• references/cli-cookbook.md
• references/vercel-json.md
• scripts/verify.sh

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 92fde8f