Vercel CLI Global Options

Global options are commonly available to use with multiple Vercel CLI commands.

The --cwd option can be used to provide a working directory (that can be different from the current directory) when running Vercel CLI commands.

This option can be a relative or absolute path.

vercel --cwd ~/path-to/project

The --debug option, shorthand -d, can be used to provide a more verbose output when running Vercel CLI commands.

vercel --debug

The --global-config option, shorthand -Q, can be used to set the path to the global configuration directory.

vercel --global-config /path-to/global-config-directory

The --help option, shorthand -h, can be used to display more information about Vercel CLI commands.

vercel --help

vercel alias --help

The --local-config option, shorthand -A, can be used to set the path to a local vercel.json file.

vercel --local-config /path-to/vercel.json

The --scope option, shorthand -S, can be used to execute Vercel CLI commands from a scope that’s not currently active.

vercel --scope my-team-slug

You can specify which Vercel Project to use for a CLI command in three ways:

1. --project flag: Pass a project name or ID directly to the command
2. VERCEL_PROJECT_ID environment variable: Set the project ID as an environment variable
3. Project linking: Use the .vercel directory created by vercel link

If you provide multiple options, the CLI uses this precedence order (highest to lowest):

1. --project flag
2. VERCEL_PROJECT_ID environment variable
3. .vercel/project.json from project linking

# Using the --project flag with a project name
vercel deploy --project my-project
 
# Using the --project flag with a project ID
vercel deploy --project prj_abc123
 
# Using the environment variable
VERCEL_PROJECT_ID=prj_abc123 vercel deploy

The --project flag and VERCEL_PROJECT_ID both accept a project name or project ID. When using CI/CD pipelines or non-interactive environments, set VERCEL_ORG_ID and VERCEL_PROJECT_ID as environment variables to skip project linking. See using Vercel CLI for custom workflows for more details.

You can authenticate Vercel CLI commands with an authorization token in two ways:

1. --token flag (shorthand -t): Pass the token directly to the command
2. VERCEL_TOKEN environment variable: Set the token as an environment variable

If both are provided, the --token flag takes precedence over the environment variable.

Using the VERCEL_TOKEN environment variable is recommended for CI/CD pipelines because it avoids exposing the token in command-line arguments, which can be visible in process lists and logs.

vercel --token vcp_7ceTtedqEf96eTe7Mw32n9gjfSo23kHBHAbTrchMINrvUMZv0EXAMPLE

export VERCEL_TOKEN=vcp_7ceTtedqEf96eTe7Mw32n9gjfSo23kHBHAbTrchMINrvUMZv0EXAMPLE
vercel deploy

The --no-color option, or NO_COLOR=1 environment variable, can be used to execute Vercel CLI commands with no color or emoji output. This respects the NO_COLOR standard.

vercel login --no-color

The --team option, shorthand -T, can be used to specify a team slug or ID for the command. This is useful when you need to run a command against a specific team without switching scope.

vercel list --team my-team-slug

vercel deploy -T team_abc123def

The --version option, shorthand -v, outputs the current version number of Vercel CLI.

vercel --version