> This page location: APIs & SDKs > Config as code > neon.ts > @neon/config-runtime > Full Neon documentation index: https://neon.com/docs/llms.txt > Summary: @neon/config-runtime is the lower-level, scriptable engine behind neon config / neon deploy: inspect, plan, and apply a neon.ts policy directly from Node.js, without going through the neon CLI. Use it to build a custom CI step, a deploy script, or another tool that needs to reconcile a branch against a neon.ts policy. # @neon/config-runtime Programmatic API for running a neon.ts policy from your own scripts and CI. `@neon/config-runtime` is the package the [`neon` CLI](https://neon.com/docs/cli/config) itself uses to run a [`neon.ts`](https://neon.com/docs/reference/neon-ts) policy: read a branch's live state, diff a policy against it, apply the result, and bundle and deploy Neon Functions. Import it directly when you're writing your own CI step or script and the CLI commands (`neon config plan`, `neon deploy`) don't fit. For example, a custom GitHub Actions job that applies a policy to a freshly created preview branch. If you just want to run `neon.ts` from the command line, use the [`neon config` / `neon deploy` commands](https://neon.com/docs/cli/config) instead. Reach for this package only when you need to call the same logic from your own Node.js code. **Note:** `@neon/config-runtime` is filesystem- and env-agnostic: it never reads a `.neon` context file or `NEON_*` environment variables (except the `NEON_API_KEY` / `NEON_API_HOST` fallbacks documented under [Authentication](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#authentication)). You resolve `projectId` and `branchId` yourself and pass them in explicitly. This is different from the `neon` CLI, which resolves both from `.neon` / `NEON_*` for you. ## Install ```bash npm install @neon/config-runtime ``` Requires Node.js 20.19 or later. Import from the `/v1` subpath to pin a specific major version: ```ts import { inspect, plan, apply } from "@neon/config-runtime/v1"; ``` This package pulls in `esbuild` (a native binary) to bundle Neon Functions for deploy, so it belongs in a CLI, CI job, or deploy script, not in `neon.ts` itself. `neon.ts` should only ever import [`@neon/config`](https://neon.com/docs/reference/neon-ts), which has no native dependencies. ## Resolving project and branch ids Every function on this page takes `projectId` and a Neon branch id (`br-…`), not a branch name. Look these up yourself before calling in: - `neon projects list --output json` and `neon branches list --output json` (the [Neon CLI](https://neon.com/docs/cli)) - The Neon API's [list branches](https://neon.com/docs/reference/api/branches/list-project-branches) endpoint - The `.neon` context file written by `neon link` (the CLI's own resolution mechanism, if your script runs alongside it) Passing a branch name where an id is expected fails with a `PLATFORM_BRANCH_NOT_FOUND` error (see [Error handling](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#error-handling)). ## Quick example ```ts import config from "../neon"; import { apply, inspect, plan } from "@neon/config-runtime/v1"; const target = { projectId: "solitary-fog-12345678", branchId: "br-cool-forest-12345678" }; const live = await inspect(target); // read the branch's current live state const diff = await plan(config, target); // dry-run: what would apply change? const result = await apply(config, target); // apply the policy for real ``` `apply` throws if the branch already has settings your policy would override. See [`apply`](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#apply) for how to allow that. ## Authentication None of the functions on this page take a Neon session or browser login. They authenticate with a Neon API key, resolved in this order: 1. The `apiKey` option, if you pass one. 2. The `NEON_API_KEY` environment variable. 3. `~/.config/neonctl/credentials.json`, written after running `neon auth` (or `npx neonctl auth`): the same file the CLI itself uses. If none of these resolve, every function throws a `PlatformError` with code `PLATFORM_MISSING_API_KEY` and a message pointing you to [console.neon.tech/app/settings/api-keys](https://console.neon.tech/app/settings/api-keys) to generate a key. `apiHost` follows the same pattern for `inspect`, `plan`, `apply`, `pullConfig`, and `pushConfig`: pass it explicitly, or let it fall back to `NEON_API_HOST` and then Neon's production API. `createBranch` is the exception: `CreateBranchOptions` has no `apiHost` field, so you can't override the host per call there. It still honors `NEON_API_HOST` from the environment if you set it. For CI, don't rely on the local CLI credentials fallback. A script that works on a developer machine because `neon auth` wrote `~/.config/neonctl/credentials.json` will fail in a clean CI runner. Pass `apiKey` explicitly or set `NEON_API_KEY` in the job environment. Pass `api` instead to inject your own `NeonApi` adapter (used internally for tests; most callers don't need this). ## Operations The three functions below mirror the Terraform mental model (`inspect` reads state, `plan` previews a diff, `apply` reconciles it) and are what `neon config status` / `plan` / `apply` call internally. ### `inspect` ```ts function inspect(options: ConfigOperationOptions): Promise; ``` Reads a branch's live Neon state and reverse-engineers it into a `neon.ts`-shaped `Config`, plus raw project/branch metadata. Read-only, and never mutates anything. | `ConfigOperationOptions` field | Type | Description | | ------------------------------ | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `projectId` | `string` | Required. | | `branchId` | `string` | Required. Must already exist on the project; `inspect` never creates one. | | `apiKey` | `string?` | See [Authentication](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#authentication). | | `apiHost` | `string?` | See [Authentication](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#authentication). | | `api` | `NeonApi?` | Inject a custom adapter (mainly for tests). | Returns a `PulledBranchConfig`: | Field | Type | Description | | --------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `project` | `{ id, name, region, pgVersion, orgId? }` | Project metadata. | | `branch` | `{ id, name, parent?, isDefault, protected, expiresAt? }` | Branch metadata. | | `config` | `Config` | The branch's state, expressed as a `neon.ts`-shaped policy (static `auth`/`dataApi` toggles plus a `branch` closure carrying its lifecycle/compute tuning). | | `preview` | `PulledPreview?` | Buckets, functions, and issued credentials on the branch. Omitted entirely when the branch has none. | A pulled function is reported as `{ slug, name }` only: the remote has no record of the local `source` file path, so a pulled config can't redeploy a function without you re-adding `source` by hand. ### `plan` ```ts function plan(config: Config, options: ConfigOperationOptions): Promise; ``` Computes what `apply` would do, without mutating anything (the equivalent of `terraform plan`). Takes the same options as `inspect`. Returns a `PushResult` with the same shape as [`apply`](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#apply). On a dry run, `applied` describes the changes that would be applied; no remote state is modified. ### `apply` ```ts function apply(config: Config, options: ApplyOptions): Promise; ``` Applies a `neon.ts` policy to an existing branch. Never creates a project or branch: both must already exist (use [`createBranch`](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#createbranch) to provision one from a policy). `ApplyOptions` extends `ConfigOperationOptions` with: | Field | Type | Default | Description | | ---------------------- | ------------------ | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `updateExisting` | `boolean` | `false` | Auto-confirm overriding existing remote settings (TTL, `protected`, compute settings). Without it, drift from the branch's current state throws `PushConflictError`. | | `allowProtectedBranch` | `boolean` | `false` | Auto-confirm applying to a branch marked protected on Neon (see the note below the table). | | `bundleFunction` | `FunctionBundler?` | esbuild | Custom bundler for function source. See [Function bundling](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#function-bundling). | `apply` doesn't accept an interactive confirmation callback (that's only on the lower-level [`pushConfig`](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#pushconfig)), so it's either non-interactive (pass `updateExisting`/`allowProtectedBranch` up front) or it fails closed: unresolved drift throws `PushConflictError` (see [Error handling](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#error-handling)). Note that a protected branch with **no** other drift is not itself blocked by `allowProtectedBranch: false`; that flag only matters together with the interactive `confirm` callback on `pushConfig`. Returns a `PushResult`: | Field | Type | Description | | ------------ | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `projectId` | `string` | Target project id. | | `orgId` | `string?` | Organization id for the target project, when the API returns one. | | `branchId` | `string` | Target branch id. | | `branchName` | `string` | Target branch name. | | `dryRun` | `boolean` | `true` for `plan` / `pushConfig({ dryRun: true })`; `applied` then records planned changes only. | | `applied` | `AppliedChange[]` | Ordered list of policy changes that were applied or, on dry runs, would be applied. Each entry identifies the changed resource and field. | | `conflicts` | `ConflictReport[]` | Conflicts found while comparing local policy with remote state. Empty when the push can proceed. | ### `createBranch` ```ts function createBranch(config: Config, options: CreateBranchOptions): Promise; ``` Creates a branch **from** a `neon.ts` policy and brings it up with its declared settings in one step: it calls the Neon API directly to create the branch, then applies the rest of the policy to it with `pushConfig`. This is the flow `neon checkout ` needs when it creates a new branch, and the CLI calls this function to get it (not the other way around). Concretely, `createBranch` evaluates the policy with `branch.exists: false` (so creation-time tuning gated on `!branch.exists` actually resolves), creates the branch from the policy's `parent` (falling back to the project's default branch), then reconciles the rest of the policy onto it. | `CreateBranchOptions` field | Type | Description | | --------------------------- | ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `projectId` | `string` | Required. | | `branchName` | `string` | Required. Must not already exist on the project. | | `apiKey` | `string?` | See [Authentication](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#authentication). | | `api` | `NeonApi?` | Inject a custom adapter. | | `bundleFunction` | `FunctionBundler?` | Custom bundler. See [Function bundling](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#function-bundling). | Returns `{ branchId, branchName, result: PushResult }`. Throws a `PlatformError` (`PLATFORM_CONFLICT`) if `branchName` already exists, or (`PLATFORM_BRANCH_NOT_FOUND`) if the policy's `parent` names a branch that doesn't exist on the project. ## Lower-level: `pullConfig` and `pushConfig` `inspect`, `plan`, and `apply` are thin, intent-revealing wrappers over two lower-level primitives. Reach for these directly when you need control they don't expose: most commonly, an interactive confirmation prompt, or evaluating the `branch` closure as a creation (`branchExists: false`) so creation-time tuning resolves. `pushConfig` always requires a `branchId` that already exists on the project; `branchExists: false` only changes how the policy is evaluated, not whether the branch has to exist. `pushConfig` never creates a branch, on `dryRun` or otherwise. If the branch doesn't exist yet, use [`createBranch`](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#createbranch) instead. ### `pullConfig` ```ts function pullConfig(options: PullConfigOptions): Promise; ``` Functionally identical to [`inspect`](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#inspect): `inspect` forwards its options (`projectId`, `branchId`, `api`, `apiKey`, `apiHost`) to `pullConfig` unchanged and returns its result directly, with no other logic in between. The two names exist so call sites can read naturally (`inspect` next to `plan`/`apply`) while the engine module stays named after what it does. ### `pushConfig` ```ts function pushConfig(config: Config, options: PushConfigOptions): Promise; ``` Returns the same `PushResult` shape as [`apply`](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#apply). With `dryRun: true`, `applied` is the ordered list of changes that would be applied, and the function does not mutate remote state. The engine behind `plan` and `apply`. `PushConfigOptions` is `ApplyOptions` plus: | Field | Type | Default | Description | | -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `branchExists` | `boolean` | `true` | Evaluate the policy's `branch` closure as if the target branch doesn't exist yet (`branch.exists: false`), without changing whether it physically exists on Neon. `createBranch` uses this internally so creation-time tuning (TTL, compute, `parent`) resolves right after provisioning. | | `confirm` | `(context: PushConfirmContext) => boolean \| Promise` | none | Invoked once, before any mutation, when the push needs confirmation: either the branch is protected (and `allowProtectedBranch` isn't `true`) or applying would override existing settings (and `updateExisting` isn't `true`). Return `true` to proceed; a `false` return throws `PushAbortedError`. Not invoked, and no mutation runs, when the plan has unresolvable conflicts: those throw `PushConflictError` regardless of `confirm`. Never invoked on `dryRun`. | | `dryRun` | `boolean` | `false` | Compute the full plan against live remote state without executing any mutations. `plan(config, target)` is exactly `pushConfig(config, { ...target, dryRun: true, updateExisting: true })`. | `PushConfirmContext` passed to `confirm`: | Field | Type | Description | | ----------------- | --------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `branchName` | `string` | Target branch's name. | | `protectedBranch` | `boolean` | `true` when the branch is protected on Neon and `allowProtectedBranch` wasn't set. | | `overrideUpdates` | `boolean` | `true` when the plan would override existing remote settings and `updateExisting` wasn't set. Additive changes (enabling a service for the first time) never set this. | Use `confirm` to render your own "are you sure?" prompt instead of failing closed with `PushConflictError`, for example in an interactive CLI built on top of this package. ## Function bundling Deploying a Neon Function means bundling its source into a ZIP archive. By default, `apply`, `pushConfig`, and `createBranch` do this with esbuild: ```ts type FunctionBundler = (fn: ResolvedFunctionConfig) => Promise; function buildFunctionBundle(fn: ResolvedFunctionConfig): Promise; ``` `buildFunctionBundle` is loaded lazily and only when a deploy actually bundles a function, so a caller that never deploys functions, or that supplies its own `bundleFunction`, never pulls esbuild's native binary into their build. Inject a custom bundler via the `bundleFunction` option on `apply` / `pushConfig` / `createBranch` when your runtime can't ship that binary, for example a single-file packaged CLI, or a restricted CI sandbox. `ResolvedFunctionConfig` (what your bundler receives) has all deploy defaults already applied: `slug`, `name`, `source` (path to the entry file), `env` (resolved key/value pairs), `runtime`, and an optional `dev` block used only by `neon dev`. **Note:** The `neon` CLI has its own separate `NEON_ESBUILD_PATH` escape hatch for "esbuild not found" errors (see [Deploy and manage Neon Functions](https://neon.com/docs/compute/functions/deploy#deploy-with-neon-functions-deploy)). That variable is read by the CLI's own bundler, not by `buildFunctionBundle` in this package, so it has no effect when you call `@neon/config-runtime` directly. Pass `bundleFunction` instead. ## Load a `neon.ts` file ```ts function loadConfigFromFile(options?: LoadConfigOptions): Promise<{ config: Config; resolvedPath: string }>; ``` Re-exported from `@neon/config` for convenience. Use it when your script doesn't already have a `Config` object in scope, for example a CI step that runs independently of a bundler that could `import` `neon.ts` directly. | `LoadConfigOptions` field | Type | Description | | ------------------------- | --------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `path` | `string?` | Explicit path to a config file. Takes precedence over the search below. | | `cwd` | `string?` | Starting directory for the upward search. Defaults to `process.cwd()`. | | `stopAt` | `string?` | Hard ceiling for the upward walk. Defaults to the OS home directory. | Without `path`, it walks up from `cwd` looking for `neon.ts` / `neon.mts` / `neon.js` / `neon.mjs`, stopping at the first directory containing `.git` (monorepo-friendly: an intermediate `package.json` doesn't stop the walk). ## A custom CI step Putting the pieces together: a script that plans and applies a policy against a specific branch, suitable as its own CI job: ```ts filename="scripts/deploy-branch.ts" import { loadConfigFromFile, plan, apply } from "@neon/config-runtime/v1"; // Resolve these yourself: from CI variables you set, `neon branches list --output json`, // or the Neon API. This package never reads `.neon` or `NEON_*` (besides NEON_API_KEY / NEON_API_HOST). const projectId = process.env.NEON_PROJECT_ID!; const branchId = process.env.NEON_BRANCH_ID!; const shouldApply = process.env.NEON_APPLY === "true"; const { config } = await loadConfigFromFile(); // NEON_API_KEY in the environment is picked up automatically, so there's no need to pass apiKey. const target = { projectId, branchId, updateExisting: true, allowProtectedBranch: true, }; const planned = await plan(config, target); console.log(`Plan: ${planned.applied.length} change(s) for ${planned.branchName}`); if (!shouldApply) { console.log("Dry run only. Set NEON_APPLY=true to apply this plan."); process.exit(0); } const result = await apply(config, target); console.log(`Applied ${result.applied.length} change(s) to ${result.branchName}`); ``` Run it with `tsx` or after compiling with `tsc`, the same as any Node.js script: ```bash npx tsx scripts/deploy-branch.ts ``` ## Error handling Every error this package throws extends `PlatformError` (also re-exported here from `@neon/config`), which carries a stable `code` string plus optional `details`. Prefer `isPlatformError(err)` over `err instanceof PlatformError`: a `neon.ts` loaded through the internal TypeScript loader ([jiti](https://github.com/unjs/jiti)) imports its own copy of this package, so an error it throws can fail `instanceof` across that boundary. `isPlatformError` checks the `code` string instead, which survives it. The subclasses relevant to programmatic use: | Class | `code` | Thrown by | When | | ----------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `PushConflictError` | `PLATFORM_PUSH_CONFLICT` | `apply`, `pushConfig` | Local policy conflicts with remote state and you didn't pass `updateExisting`. Carries a `conflicts: ConflictReport[]` array. | | `PushAbortedError` | `PLATFORM_PUSH_ABORTED` | `pushConfig` | Your `confirm` callback returned `false`. Carries `branchName` and `reasons`. | | `ConfigLoadError` | `PLATFORM_CONFIG_LOAD_FAILED` | `loadConfigFromFile` | No config file found, or it failed to evaluate. | | `PlatformError` with code `PLATFORM_MISSING_API_KEY` | `PLATFORM_MISSING_API_KEY` | any operation | No `apiKey` could be resolved. See [Authentication](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#authentication). | | `PlatformError` with code `PLATFORM_BRANCH_NOT_FOUND` | `PLATFORM_BRANCH_NOT_FOUND` | any operation | `branchId` doesn't exist on the project (see [Resolving project and branch ids](https://neon.com/docs/reference/config-runtime#resolving-project-and-branch-ids)), or a policy's `parent` names a branch that doesn't exist. | A `ConflictReport` (on `PushConflictError.conflicts` and `PushResult.conflicts`) has `kind`, `identifier`, `field`, `current`, `desired`, and a human-readable `reason`. ## Related - [`neon.ts` reference](https://neon.com/docs/reference/neon-ts): the policy this package operates on, and the `neon config` / `neon deploy` CLI commands that wrap it. - [neon-pkgs source](https://github.com/neondatabase/neon-pkgs/tree/main/packages/config-runtime) on GitHub. --- Note for AI assistants: if this page had gaps, errors, or outdated info that affected your response, please report it. 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