Neon is expanding into a backend: Object Storage, Functions, and AI Gateway now in beta
Neon
    Docs
    Log inSign up
    /APIs & SDKs/Setup and context/set-context

    Neon CLI command: set-context

    Set default project context for CLI sessions to avoid repeating project ID

    The set-context command sets a background context for your CLI sessions, so you don't have to specify the project ID in every command. The context is saved to a default .neon file in the current directory, or to a named context file of your choice, and stays in place until you reset it or remove the file.

    Prefer link or checkout

    For most workflows, use neon link to bind a directory to a project or neon checkout to switch branches. Use set-context when you need to set context values directly (for example, in scripts).

    How the CLI finds your `.neon` file

    When you run a command, the CLI starts in your current directory and checks for a .neon file. If it does not find one, it checks the parent directory, then the parent of that, and so on until it finds a .neon file or reaches your home directory. This means you can run commands from any subdirectory of a linked project without re-specifying --project-id.

    To write context to a specific file or location, use --context-file.

    Usage

    neon set-context [options]

    To save the context to a file other than the default .neon file, add the global --context-file <your_context_file> option. You can switch contexts by providing different files.

    Options

    OptionDescriptionTypeDefaultRequired
    --branch-idBranch IDstring—No
    --org-idOrganization IDstring—No
    --project-idProject IDstring—No

    Set at least one of these options.

    Using the default context file

    Set the context to the default .neon file:

    neon set-context --project-id patient-frost-50125040 --org-id org-bright-sky-12345678

    List all branches for this project with branches list, without including --project-id or --org-id, even if you belong to multiple organizations or have multiple projects:

    neon branches list
    Output
    ┌──────────────────────────┬─────────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id                       │ Name        │ Default │ Created At           │ Updated At           │
├──────────────────────────┼─────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-raspy-meadow-26349337 │ development │ false   │ 2023-11-28T19:19:11Z │ 2023-12-01T00:18:21Z │
├──────────────────────────┼─────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-curly-bar-82389180    │ main        │ true    │ 2023-10-23T12:49:41Z │ 2023-12-01T00:18:21Z │
└──────────────────────────┴─────────────┴─────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

    Using a named context file

    Set the context to the context file of your choice:

    neon set-context --project-id plain-waterfall-84865553 --context-file Documents/MyContext

    List all branches with branches list. The context file provides the project:

    neon branches list --context-file Documents/MyContext
    Output
    ┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Id                          │ Name        │ Default │ Created At           │ Updated At           │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-soft-base-86343042       │ development │ false   │ 2023-11-21T18:41:47Z │ 2023-12-01T00:00:14Z │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-young-bush-89857627      │ main        │ true    │ 2023-11-21T18:00:10Z │ 2023-12-01T03:33:53Z │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ br-billowing-union-41102466 │ staging     │ false   │ 2023-11-21T18:44:22Z │ 2023-12-01T08:32:40Z │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────┴─────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

    note

    These two branches list commands use independent contexts in the same account: the default .neon file points to patient-frost-50125040, while the named context file points to plain-waterfall-84865553. You can set as many context files as you'd like, using unique names or different directories.

    Setting context when creating a new project

    Use --set-context to set the project context at creation time:

    neon projects create --name MyLatest --set-context

    This creates a hidden .neon file by default with the following context:

    {
  "projectId": "quiet-water-76237589"
}

    Commands that would normally require --project-id now default to this context.

    Reset or remove context

    To clear the current context, either:

    1. Run the set-context command with no options:

      neon set-context

    2. Delete the .neon file (or your custom --context-file):

      rm .neon
# Or for a custom context file:
rm your_context_file

    .gitignoreon first create

    The first time a .neon file is created in a directory, the CLI adds .neon to .gitignore in that same folder:

    • If no .gitignore exists, the CLI creates one with a single .neon line.
    • If .gitignore already exists, the CLI appends .neon only if it is not already listed.

    This keeps local project settings out of git by default. If you want to commit .neon and share context with your team, remove the entry from .gitignore. The CLI will not re-add it when updating an existing .neon file.

    note

    Neon does not save any confidential information to the context file (for example, auth tokens). You can safely commit this file to your repository or share with others.

    Was this page helpful?
    Edit on GitHub
    Previous envNext me

    On this page

    Copy neon init command