Netlify Deployment Skill

Deploy web projects to Netlify using the Netlify CLI with intelligent detection of project configuration and deployment context.

Overview

This skill automates Netlify deployments by:

• Verifying Netlify CLI authentication
• Detecting project configuration and framework
• Linking to existing sites or creating new ones
• Deploying to production or preview environments

Prerequisites

• Netlify CLI: Installed via npx (no global install required)
• Authentication: Netlify account with active login session
• Project: Valid web project in current directory
• When sandboxing blocks the deployment network calls, rerun with sandbox_permissions=require_escalated.
• The deployment might take a few minutes. Use appropriate timeout values.

Authentication Pattern

The skill uses the pre-authenticated Netlify CLI approach:

1. Check authentication status with npx netlify status
2. If not authenticated, guide user through npx netlify login
3. Fail gracefully if authentication cannot be established

Authentication uses either:

• Browser-based OAuth (primary): netlify login opens browser for authentication
• API Key (alternative): Set NETLIFY_AUTH_TOKEN environment variable

Workflow

1. Verify Netlify CLI Authentication

Check if the user is logged into Netlify:

npx netlify status

Expected output patterns:

• ✅ Authenticated: Shows logged-in user email and site link status
• ❌ Not authenticated: "Not logged into any site" or authentication error

If not authenticated, guide the user:

npx netlify login

This opens a browser window for OAuth authentication. Wait for user to complete login, then verify with netlify status again.

Alternative: API Key authentication

If browser authentication isn't available, users can set:

export NETLIFY_AUTH_TOKEN=your_token_here

Tokens can be generated at: https://app.netlify.com/user/applications#personal-access-tokens

2. Detect Site Link Status

From netlify status output, determine:

• Linked: Site already connected to Netlify (shows site name/URL)
• Not linked: Need to link or create site

3. Link to Existing Site or Create New

If already linked → Skip to step 4

If not linked, attempt to link by Git remote:

# Check if project is Git-based
git remote show origin

# If Git-based, extract remote URL
# Format: https://github.com/username/repo or [email protected]:username/repo.git

# Try to link by Git remote
npx netlify link --git-remote-url <REMOTE_URL>

If link fails (site doesn't exist on Netlify):

# Create new site interactively
npx netlify init

This guides user through:

1. Choosing team/account
2. Setting site name
3. Configuring build settings
4. Creating netlify.toml if needed

4. Verify Dependencies

Before deploying, ensure project dependencies are installed:

# For npm projects
npm install

# For other package managers, detect and use appropriate command
# yarn install, pnpm install, etc.

5. Deploy to Netlify

Choose deployment type based on context:

Preview/Draft Deploy (default for existing sites):

npx netlify deploy

This creates a deploy preview with a unique URL for testing.

Production Deploy (for new sites or explicit production deployments):

npx netlify deploy --prod

This deploys to the live production URL.

Deployment process:

1. CLI detects build settings (from netlify.toml or prompts user)
2. Builds the project locally
3. Uploads built assets to Netlify
4. Returns deployment URL

6. Report Results

After deployment, report to user:

• Deploy URL: Unique URL for this deployment
• Site URL: Production URL (if production deploy)
• Deploy logs: Link to Netlify dashboard for logs
• Next steps: Suggest netlify open to view site or dashboard

Handling netlify.toml

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