render-oss/render-cli

Render CLI

The Render CLI manages services, databases, and deployments from the terminal. Supports interactive use, non-interactive scripting, and CI/CD automation.

When to Use

• Deploying a service from the terminal or CI/CD
• Tailing logs in real time
• Opening psql to a Render Postgres database
• SSHing into a running service or launching an ephemeral shell
• Validating a render.yaml Blueprint
• Scripting Render operations in CI/CD pipelines
• Installing agent skills for AI coding tools

Installation

| Method | Command | |--------|---------| | Homebrew | brew update && brew install render | | Linux/macOS | curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/render-oss/cli/refs/heads/main/bin/install.sh \| sh | | Direct download | GitHub releases | | Build from source | git clone [email protected]:render-oss/cli.git && cd cli && go build -o render |

After install, run render with no arguments to confirm.

Authentication

Interactive (local dev)

render login

Opens the browser to generate a CLI token. Token is saved to ~/.render/cli.yaml. Tokens expire periodically—re-run render login when prompted.

Non-interactive (CI/CD)

export RENDER_API_KEY=rnd_...

API keys do not expire. Generate one from Account Settings > API Keys in the Dashboard. The API key takes precedence over CLI tokens when set.

Set the active workspace:

render workspace set

Command Reference

Core commands

| Command | Purpose | Key flags | |---------|---------|-----------| | render login | Authenticate via browser | — | | render workspace set | Set active workspace | — | | render services | List all services and datastores | -o json for scripting | | render deploys create [SVC] | Trigger a deploy | --wait, --commit SHA, --image URL | | render deploys list [SVC] | List deploys for a service | -o json | | render logs -r [SVC] | View logs | --tail for streaming | | render psql [DB] | Open psql session | -c "SQL", -o json, -- --csv | | render ssh [SVC] | SSH into running instance | --ephemeral / -e for isolated shell | | render blueprints validate | Validate render.yaml | Defaults to ./render.yaml | | render skills [install\|update\|list] | Manage agent skills | — | | render workspaces | List workspaces | -o json |

Non-interactive mode

For CI/CD and scripts, always set:

| Flag | Purpose | |------|---------| | -o json (or yaml, text) | Machine-readable output | | --confirm | Skip confirmation prompts |

Output format precedence: --output flag > RENDER_OUTPUT env var > auto-detect (TTY → interactive, pipe → text).

export RENDER_OUTPUT=json
render services --confirm

Deploy patterns

# Deploy and wait for completion (exits non-zero on failure)
render deploys create srv-xxx --wait --confirm -o json

# Deploy a specific commit
render deploys create srv-xxx --commit abc123 --wait --confirm

# Deploy a specific Docker image
render deploys create srv-xxx --image ghcr.io/org/app:v1.2.3 --wait --confirm

Database queries

# Single query, JSON output
render psql db-xxx -c "SELECT NOW();" -o json

# CSV output via psql passthrough
render psql db-xxx -c "SELECT id, email FROM users;" -o text -- --csv

CI/CD Example (GitHub Actions)

name: Deploy to Render
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Install Render CLI
        run: |
          curl -L https://github.com/render-oss/cli/releases/download/v1.1.0/cli_1.1.0_linux_amd64.zip -o render.zip
          unzip render.zip
          sudo mv cli_v1.1.0 /usr/local/bin/render
      - name: Deploy
        env:
          RENDER_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.RENDER_API_KEY }}
        run: render deploys create ${{ secrets.RENDER_SERVICE_ID }} --wait --confirm -o json

Pin to a specific CLI version in CI to avoid breaking changes.

Local Config

Config file: ~/.render/cli.yaml

Override with RENDER_CLI_CONFIG_PATH env var.

Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Fix | |---------|-----| | Token expired | Re-run render login | | Wrong workspace | Run render workspace set to switch | | Missing --confirm in CI | Add --confirm to skip interactive prompts | | Using --output interactive in CI | Use -o json or -o text in non-TTY environments | | Deploying without --wait in CI | Add --wait so the job fails on deploy failure |

References

| Document | Contents | |----------|----------| | references/command-cheatsheet.md | Full command list with flags, output examples, and scripting patterns |

Related Skills

• render-deploy — End-to-end deploy flows, MCP operations, Dashboard deeplinks
• render-blueprints — render.yaml authoring and validation
• render-postgres — Database connections, render psql usage
• render-debug — Using render logs and render ssh for troubleshooting