Templates

Search and deploy services from Railway's template marketplace.

When to Use

• User asks to "add Postgres", "add Redis", "add a database"
• User asks to "add Ghost", "add Strapi", "add n8n", or any other service
• User wants to find templates for a use case (e.g., "CMS", "storage", "monitoring")
• User asks "what templates are available?"
• User wants to deploy a pre-configured service

Common Template Codes

Category	Template	Code
Databases	PostgreSQL	postgres
	Redis	redis
	MySQL	mysql
	MongoDB	mongodb
CMS	Ghost	ghost
	Strapi	strapi
Storage	Minio	minio
Automation	n8n	n8n
Monitoring	Uptime Kuma	uptime-kuma

For other templates, use the search query below.

Prerequisites

Get project context:

railway status --json

Extract:

• id - project ID
• environments.edges[0].node.id - environment ID

Get workspace ID:

bash <<'SCRIPT'
scripts/railway-api.sh \
  'query getWorkspace($projectId: String!) {
    project(id: $projectId) { workspaceId }
  }' \
  '{"projectId": "PROJECT_ID"}'
SCRIPT

Search Templates

List available templates with optional filters:

bash <<'SCRIPT'
scripts/railway-api.sh \
  'query templates($first: Int, $verified: Boolean) {
    templates(first: $first, verified: $verified) {
      edges {
        node {
          name
          code
          description
          category
        }
      }
    }
  }' \
  '{"first": 20, "verified": true}'
SCRIPT

Arguments

Argument	Type	Description
first	Int	Number of results (max ~100)
verified	Boolean	Only verified templates
recommended	Boolean	Only recommended templates

Rate Limit

10 requests per minute. Don't spam searches.

Get Template Details

Fetch a specific template by code:

bash <<'SCRIPT'
scripts/railway-api.sh \
  'query template($code: String!) {
    template(code: $code) {
      id
      name
      description
      serializedConfig
    }
  }' \
  '{"code": "postgres"}'
SCRIPT

Returns:

• id - template ID (needed for deployment)
• serializedConfig - service configuration (needed for deployment)

Deploy Template

Step 1: Fetch Template

bash <<'SCRIPT'
scripts/railway-api.sh \
  'query template($code: String!) {
    template(code: $code) {
      id
      serializedConfig
    }
  }' \
  '{"code": "postgres"}'
SCRIPT

Step 2: Deploy to Project

bash <<'SCRIPT'
scripts/railway-api.sh \
  'mutation deployTemplate($input: TemplateDeployV2Input!) {
    templateDeployV2(input: $input) {
      projectId
      workflowId
    }
  }' \
  '{
    "input": {
      "templateId": "TEMPLATE_ID_FROM_STEP_1",
      "serializedConfig": SERIALIZED_CONFIG_FROM_STEP_1,
      "projectId": "PROJECT_ID",
      "environmentId": "ENVIRONMENT_ID",
      "workspaceId": "WORKSPACE_ID"
    }
  }'
SCRIPT

Important: serializedConfig is the exact JSON object from the template query, not a string.

Connecting Services

After deploying a template, connect other services using reference variables.

For complete variable syntax and wiring patterns, see variables.md.

Pattern

${{ServiceName.VARIABLE_NAME}}

Common Database Variables

Service	Connection Variable
PostgreSQL (Postgres)	${{Postgres.DATABASE_URL}}
Redis	${{Redis.REDIS_URL}}
MySQL	${{MySQL.MYSQL_URL}}
MongoDB	${{MongoDB.MONGO_URL}}

Backend vs Frontend

Backend services can use private URLs (internal network):

${{Postgres.DATABASE_URL}}

Frontend applications run in the browser and cannot access Railway's private network. Options:

1. Use public URL variables (e.g., ${{MongoDB.MONGO_PUBLIC_URL}})
2. Better: Route through a backend API

Example: Add PostgreSQL

bash <<'SCRIPT'
# 1. Get context
railway status --json
# → project.id = "proj-123", environment.id = "env-456"

# 2. Get workspace ID
scripts/railway-api.sh \
  'query { project(id: "proj-123") { workspaceId } }' '{}'
# → workspaceId = "ws-789"

# 3. Fetch Postgres template
scripts/railway-api.sh \
  'query { template(code: "postgres") { id serializedConfig } }' '{}'
# → id = "template-abc", serializedConfig = {...}

# 4. Deploy
scripts/railway-api.sh \
  'mutation deploy($input: TemplateDeployV2Input!) {
    templateDeployV2(input: $input) { projectId workflowId }
  }' \
  '{"input": {
    "templateId": "template-abc",
    "serializedConfig": {...},
    "projectId": "proj-123",
    "environmentId": "env-456",
    "workspaceId": "ws-789"
  }}'
SCRIPT

Example: Search for CMS Templates

bash <<'SCRIPT'
# Search verified templates
scripts/railway-api.sh \
  'query {
    templates(first: 50, verified: true) {
      edges {
        node { name code description category }
      }
    }
  }' '{}'
# Filter results for "CMS" category or search descriptions
SCRIPT

What Gets Created

Templates typically create:

• Service with pre-configured image/source
• Environment variables (connection strings, secrets)
• Volume for persistent data (databases)
• TCP proxy for external access (where needed)

Response

Successful deployment returns:

{
  "data": {
    "templateDeployV2": {
      "projectId": "proj-123",
      "workflowId": "deployTemplate/project/proj-123/xxx"
    }
  }
}

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Template not found	Invalid code	Search templates or check spelling
Rate limit exceeded	Too many searches	Wait 1 minute, then retry
Permission denied	User lacks access	Need DEVELOPER role or higher
Project not found	Invalid project ID	Run railway status --json

Composability

• Connect services: Use environment skill to add variable references
• View deployed service: Use service skill
• Check logs: Use deployment skill
• Add domains: Use domain skill