Vercel Multi Env Setup

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Setting up per-environment configuration
• Managing environment-specific variables
• Implementing environment isolation on Vercel
• With phrases like vercel environments

Example prompts

• “vercel environments”
• “vercel staging”
• “vercel dev prod”
• “/vercel-multi-env-setup”

Requirements

• A credential in VERCEL_TOKEN
• Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Designed for Claude Code
• Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Read, Write, Edit, Bash(vercel:*)

Workflow steps

7 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

1. 1Understand Vercel's Environment Model
2. 2Scope Environment Variables
3. 3Via REST API (Automation)
4. 4Custom Environments (Beyond Dev/Preview/Prod)
5. 5Branch-Specific Preview Domains
6. 6Environment Detection in Code
7. 7Pull Env Vars for Local Development

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 80f86df. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:

  • Read
  • Write
  • Edit
  • Bash(vercel:*)

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • vercel
  • curl
  • jq

  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:

  • api.vercel.com

  Also links to:

  • vercel.com

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

• Credentials

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

  • VERCEL_TOKEN

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

• Compatibility

  Designed for Claude Code

  From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

Vercel Multi Env Setup loads about 1.9k tokens when it runs, and up to ~2.4k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 99 tokens; SKILL.md has 419 words of instructions outside code blocks.

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

~99

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

~1.9k

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

~2.4k

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:180

  vercel env pull .env.development.local

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:183

  vercel env pull --environment=preview .env.preview.local

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:186

  echo '.env*.local' >> .gitignore

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); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from jeremylongshore/tons-of-skills-marketplace at commit 80f86df, republished under its MIT licence (© jeremylongshore). 419 words, ~1,945 tokens.

name

vercel-multi-env-setup

description

Configure Vercel across development, preview, and production environments with scoped secrets. Use when setting up per-environment configuration, managing environment-specific variables, or implementing environment isolation on Vercel. Trigger with phrases like "vercel environments", "vercel staging", "vercel dev prod", "vercel environment setup", "vercel env scoping".

allowed-tools

Read, Write, Edit, Bash(vercel:*)

compatibility

Designed for Claude Code

version

1.18.0

license

MIT

author

Jeremy Longshore <jeremy@intentsolutions.io>

tags

saas, vercel, deployment, environments, configuration

# Add a variable scoped to Production only
vercel env add DATABASE_URL production
# Enter: postgres://prod-host:5432/myapp

# Add a variable scoped to Preview only
vercel env add DATABASE_URL preview
# Enter: postgres://staging-host:5432/myapp_staging

# Add a variable scoped to Development only
vercel env add DATABASE_URL development
# Enter: postgres://localhost:5432/myapp_dev

# Add a variable available in ALL environments
vercel env add NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_NAME production preview development
# Enter: My App

# List all env vars with their scopes
vercel env ls

# Create env vars with specific scoping
curl -X POST "https://api.vercel.com/v9/projects/my-app/env" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VERCEL_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "key": "DATABASE_URL",
    "value": "postgres://prod-host:5432/myapp",
    "type": "encrypted",
    "target": ["production"]
  }'

# Upsert — update if exists, create if not
curl -X POST "https://api.vercel.com/v9/projects/my-app/env?upsert=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VERCEL_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "key": "DATABASE_URL",
    "value": "postgres://staging-host:5432/myapp_staging",
    "type": "encrypted",
    "target": ["preview"]
  }'

# List all env vars for a project
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $VERCEL_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v9/projects/my-app/env" \
  | jq '.envs[] | {key, target, type}'

# Create a custom environment via API
curl -X POST "https://api.vercel.com/v1/projects/my-app/custom-environments" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VERCEL_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Staging",
    "slug": "staging",
    "branchPattern": "staging"
  }'

# Assign a custom domain to a specific branch
# In dashboard: Settings > Domains > Add
# Set Git Branch: "staging"
# Domain: staging.yourdomain.com

# Via API — add domain to project with branch targeting
curl -X POST "https://api.vercel.com/v9/projects/my-app/domains" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VERCEL_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "staging.yourdomain.com",
    "gitBranch": "staging"
  }'

// src/lib/env.ts — detect environment at runtime
export function getEnvironment(): 'production' | 'preview' | 'development' {
  return (process.env.VERCEL_ENV as any) ?? 'development';
}

// Environment-specific behavior
export function getApiBaseUrl(): string {
  switch (getEnvironment()) {
    case 'production':
      return 'https://api.yourdomain.com';
    case 'preview':
      return `https://${process.env.VERCEL_URL}`;
    case 'development':
      return 'http://localhost:3000';
  }
}

// Production safeguards
export function assertNotProduction(operation: string): void {
  if (getEnvironment() === 'production') {
    throw new Error(`Dangerous operation "${operation}" blocked in production`);
  }
}

# Pull Development-scoped vars to local file
vercel env pull .env.development.local

# Pull Preview-scoped vars (for testing preview behavior locally)
vercel env pull --environment=preview .env.preview.local

# .gitignore these files
echo '.env*.local' >> .gitignore

© jeremylongshore, 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 3 other files (references) in skills/.curated/vercel-multi-env-setup of jeremylongshore/tons-of-skills-marketplace.

• SKILL.md
• references/configuration-structure.md
• references/errors.md
• references/examples.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 80f86df