SKILL.md

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

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:

Use public URL variables (e.g., ${{MongoDB.MONGO_PUBLIC_URL}})

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

templates