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

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

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

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

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