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Start deployment

Start a deployment that was previously stopped with stopDeployment, so it
serves traffic again. The deployment keeps the configuration it had when it
was stopped; nothing is rebuilt or redeployed.

The deployment must currently be stopped, and must belong to a
non-production environment. Production deployments are never stopped, so
they cannot be started.

Starting is asynchronous: this endpoint only enqueues the start and returns
immediately. Poll getDeployment until the status reaches ready.

Required Permissions

Your root key must have one of the following permissions:

  • environment.*.start_deployment (to start deployments in any environment)
  • environment.<environment_id>.start_deployment (to start deployments in a specific environment)
1 min read
post/v2/deployments.startDeployment
Request example
Response
post/v2/deployments.startDeployment

Authorization

Authorizationstringheaderrequired#

Unkey uses bearer tokens for authentication. Public integrations use root keys, while the dashboard proxy uses short-lived JWTs.
To authenticate, include the token in the Authorization header of each request:

Root keys have specific permissions attached to them, controlling what operations they can perform. Legacy permissions use tuple strings like api.*.create_key; resource permissions use Unkey Resource Names plus actions, like unkey:v1:ws_123:keyspaces/*#create_key.
Security best practices:

  • Keep root keys secure and never expose them in client-side code
  • Use different root keys for different environments
  • Rotate keys periodically, especially after team member departures
  • Create keys with minimal necessary permissions following least privilege principle
  • Monitor key usage with audit logs.

Body

application/json
deploymentIdstringrequired#

Identifies a resource by either its unique ID or its slug.
Accepts a prefixed ID (such as 'proj_' or 'app_') or a slug.

Length: 3–255Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$

Responses

application/json

Start accepted and enqueued. The deployment transitions to ready
asynchronously; poll getDeployment to observe the transition.

metaobjectrequired#
Metadata object included in every API response. This provides context about the request and is essential for debugging, audit trails, and support inquiries. The requestId is particularly important when troubleshooting issues with the Unkey support team.
Show child attributes
requestIdstringrequired#
A unique id for this request. Always include this ID when contacting support about a specific API request. This identifier allows Unkey's support team to trace the exact request through logs and diagnostic systems to provide faster assistance.
dataobjectrequired#
Empty response object by design. A successful response indicates this operation was successfully executed.