> This page location: APIs & SDKs > CLI > Configuration commands > config
> Full Neon documentation index: https://neon.com/docs/llms.txt

> Summary: The Neon CLI `neon config` command manages a branch declaratively with a neon.ts policy file. Use `neon config init` to scaffold a starter neon.ts and install the config packages, `neon config status` to show the branch's live Neon state (`neon status --current-branch` prints the pinned branch offline for shell prompts), `neon config plan` for a dry run of what an apply would change, and `neon config apply` (or its top-level alias `neon deploy`) to apply the policy to the branch. Supports --config to point at a neon.ts file, --env to load environment variables before evaluating it, and --allow-protected and --update-existing confirmation flags for non-interactive use.

# Neon CLI command: config

Manage a branch with a neon.ts policy: init, status, plan, and apply

The `config` command manages a branch declaratively with a `neon.ts` policy file: scaffold a starter config, inspect the branch's live state, preview what an apply would change, and apply the policy. For the `neon.ts` file format, see the [neon.ts reference](https://neon.com/docs/reference/neon-ts).

Subcommands: [apply](https://neon.com/docs/cli/config#apply), [init](https://neon.com/docs/cli/config#init), [plan](https://neon.com/docs/cli/config#plan), [status](https://neon.com/docs/cli/config#status)

The top-level [`neon deploy`](https://neon.com/docs/cli/deploy) command is an alias for `config apply`, and [`neon status`](https://neon.com/docs/cli/status) is an alias for `config status`.

## neon config init

Scaffolds a starter `neon.ts` policy file in the current project and installs the `@neon/config` and `@neon/env` packages, so you can start managing a branch declaratively. The generated file uses the standard named `defineConfig` import from `@neon/config/v1` and exports the result as the module default, for example:

```ts filename="neon.ts"
import { defineConfig } from "@neon/config/v1";

export default defineConfig({
  // Declare your Neon services here
  auth: false,
  // Branch policy: per-branch tuning
  branch: (branch) => {
    if (branch.isDefault) {
      // Default branch: no overrides, uses project defaults
      return {};
    }
    if (!branch.exists) {
      // New non-default branches: auto-expire
      // Run `neon checkout <name>` to create a new branch with these settings
      return { ttl: "7d" };
    }
    // Existing branch: no changes
    return {};
  },
});
```

If a `neon.ts`, `neon.mts`, `neon.js`, or `neon.mjs` file already exists, `config init` is idempotent: it leaves that file untouched instead of overwriting hand-written policy.

`config init` runs entirely locally and does not call the Neon API. It detects your package manager (npm, pnpm, yarn, or bun) from how the command was invoked. Pass `--no-install` to skip installation and just print the command to run.

```bash
neon config init [options]
```

| Option         | Description                                                                                                       | Type    | Default | Required |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------- | :------: |
| `--install`    | Install @neon/config and @neon/env if they're missing. On by default; use --no-install to just print the command. | boolean | `true`  |    No    |
| `--branch`     | Branch ID or name                                                                                                 | string  | —       |    No    |
| `--project-id` | Project ID                                                                                                        | string  | —       |    No    |

```bash
neon config init
```

For non-interactive setup, run it with package installation disabled, then install the printed dependencies yourself (or add them to your lockfile in a separate step):

```bash
neon config init --no-install
npm install @neon/config @neon/env
```

Use `config init` when you want a trusted starter artifact and package list. Hand-write `neon.ts` instead when you need a different filename/module format or want to avoid modifying files in the current directory.

**Tip:** After running an interactive [`neon link`](https://neon.com/docs/cli/link), the CLI offers to run `config init` as its final step, unless the project already has a `neon.ts` file.

## neon config status

Shows the branch's live Neon state.

```bash
neon config status [options]
```

| Option             | Description                                                                                                                                                 | Type    | Default | Required |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------- | :------: |
| `--config-json`    | Print only the branch's live config as neon.ts-shaped JSON (services + branch tuning + preview), to stdout. Useful for scripting or copying into a neon.ts. | boolean | `false` |    No    |
| `--current-branch` | Print only the linked branch name from the local .neon file (no network). Exits non-zero when no branch is pinned.                                          | boolean | `false` |    No    |
| `--branch`         | Branch ID or name                                                                                                                                           | string  | —       |    No    |
| `--project-id`     | Project ID                                                                                                                                                  | string  | —       |    No    |

```bash
neon config status
```

The top-level `neon status` command is an alias for `config status` and accepts the same options.

### Print the current branch offline

Pass `--current-branch` to print _only_ the branch pinned in the local `.neon` file. This variant makes no network request and requires no login or analytics, so it is cheap enough to drive a shell prompt.

It prints the branch name to stdout and exits `0`. When no branch is pinned, it prints nothing to stdout, writes a `neon checkout <branch>` hint to stderr, and exits with a non-zero status, so a prompt can guard on the command directly.

```bash
neon status --current-branch
```

For example, add your current Neon branch to a [starship](https://starship.rs) prompt. Append this `[custom.neon]` module to `~/.config/starship.toml`. The `command` prints the pinned branch, and `when` hides the segment (exits non-zero) whenever you are not in a Neon project:

```toml
# ~/.config/starship.toml
[custom.neon]
description = "Current Neon branch"
command = "neon status --current-branch"   # prints the branch pinned in .neon (no network)
when = "neon status --current-branch"       # exits non-zero when no branch -> segment is hidden
symbol = "🌿 "
style = "bold green"
format = "[$symbol$output]($style) "
```

**Tip: Faster outside Neon projects**

The `when` above runs the CLI on every prompt everywhere. To skip it unless a `.neon` file exists somewhere up the tree, replace `when` with a pure-shell walk-up and add `shell = ["sh"]` so it runs under `sh` even if your interactive shell is fish or PowerShell:

```toml
shell = ["sh"]
when = '''
d="$PWD"
while [ "$d" != "$HOME" ] && [ "$d" != / ]; do
  if [ -e "$d/.neon" ]; then
    neon status --current-branch >/dev/null 2>&1
    exit $?
  fi
  d=$(dirname "$d")
done
exit 1
'''
```

For a full copy-paste (and agent-ready) walkthrough, including prerequisites and troubleshooting, see this [Starship + Neon branch setup gist](https://gist.github.com/thisistonydang/0b6c03ec9aa9b619ffecd48f58fd40c7).

## neon config plan

Shows what `config apply` would change, as a dry run. Nothing is modified.

```bash
neon config plan [options]
```

| Option         | Description                                                                                                                                                | Type   | Default | Required |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------ | ------- | :------: |
| `--config`     | Path to a neon.ts policy (defaults to walking up from cwd)                                                                                                 | string | —       |    No    |
| `--env`        | Path to a .env file to load into the environment before evaluating neon.ts (so function env values resolve from it). Existing env vars are not overridden. | string | —       |    No    |
| `--branch`     | Branch ID or name                                                                                                                                          | string | —       |    No    |
| `--project-id` | Project ID                                                                                                                                                 | string | —       |    No    |

```bash
neon config plan --config ./neon.ts --env .env.local
```

## neon config apply

Applies a `neon.ts` policy to the branch.

```bash
neon config apply [options]
```

| Option              | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Type    | Default | Required |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------- | :------: |
| `--allow-protected` | Auto-confirm applying to a branch marked protected on Neon                                                                                                                                                     | boolean | `false` |    No    |
| `--config`          | Path to a neon.ts policy (defaults to walking up from cwd)                                                                                                                                                     | string  | —       |    No    |
| `--env`             | Path to a .env file to load into the environment before evaluating neon.ts (so function env values resolve from it). Existing env vars are not overridden.                                                     | string  | —       |    No    |
| `--env-pull`        | Pull the branch's Neon env vars (DATABASE\_URL, …) into a local .env after a successful apply. On by default; use --no-env-pull to skip (e.g. when injecting env at runtime with `neon-env run` / `neon dev`). | boolean | `true`  |    No    |
| `--update-existing` | Auto-confirm overriding existing remote settings on the branch                                                                                                                                                 | boolean | `false` |    No    |
| `--branch`          | Branch ID or name                                                                                                                                                                                              | string  | —       |    No    |
| `--project-id`      | Project ID                                                                                                                                                                                                     | string  | —       |    No    |

For non-interactive use (scripts, CI, agents), pass `--update-existing` and `--allow-protected` to auto-confirm the corresponding prompts.

```bash
neon config apply --branch feature/auth --update-existing --allow-protected
```

---

## Related docs (Configuration commands)

- [deploy](https://neon.com/docs/cli/deploy)
- [status](https://neon.com/docs/cli/status)
- [dev](https://neon.com/docs/cli/dev)

---

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