Vercel Install & Auth

Overview

Install the Vercel CLI, create a scoped access token, and link your local project to a Vercel project. This skill covers both interactive login and headless CI token authentication via the REST API.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ installed
• npm, pnpm, or yarn available
• A Vercel account (hobby, pro, or enterprise)

Instructions

Step 1: Install Vercel CLI

set -euo pipefail
# Global install (recommended)
npm install -g vercel@latest

# Or project-local
npm install --save-dev vercel@latest

# Verify installation
vercel --version

Step 2: Authenticate — Interactive Login

# Opens browser for OAuth login, stores token in ~/.config/com.vercel.cli
vercel login

# Or login with a specific email
vercel login your@email.com

# Login with GitHub
vercel login --github

# Login with GitLab
vercel login --gitlab

Step 3: Authenticate — Headless Token (CI/CD)

Create a token in the Vercel dashboard at Settings > Tokens or via the API:

# Use a pre-created token — set as environment variable
export VERCEL_TOKEN="your-access-token-here"

# The CLI reads VERCEL_TOKEN automatically — no login needed
vercel whoami
# Output: your-username

# Scope the token to a specific team
export VERCEL_ORG_ID="team_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
export VERCEL_PROJECT_ID="prj_xxxxxxxxxxxx"

Step 4: Link Local Project

# Interactive — walks you through project selection
vercel link

# Or link to a specific project by name
vercel link --project my-project-name

# Verify the link — pulls .vercel/project.json
cat .vercel/project.json
# {"orgId":"team_xxx","projectId":"prj_xxx"}

Step 5: Verify Connection via REST API

# Test token against the REST API directly
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $VERCEL_TOKEN" \
  https://api.vercel.com/v9/projects | jq '.projects[].name'

# List teams
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $VERCEL_TOKEN" \
  https://api.vercel.com/v2/teams | jq '.teams[].name'

Step 6: Pull Environment Variables

# Pull remote env vars to local .env.development.local
vercel env pull .env.development.local

# Pull for a specific environment
vercel env pull --environment=preview

Token Scopes Reference

Tokens support optional expiration dates. Set short-lived tokens (90 days) for CI and rotate them on a schedule.

Output

• Vercel CLI installed and on PATH
• Authentication token stored or environment variable set
• Local project linked to Vercel project via .vercel/project.json
• Environment variables pulled to local .env.development.local

Error Handling

.gitignore Setup

# Vercel
.vercel/
.env*.local

Resources

• Vercel CLI Overview
• Access Tokens
• CLI Project Linking
• Vercel REST API Reference

Next Steps

After successful auth, proceed to vercel-hello-world for your first deployment.