Summary: The set-context Neon CLI command saves a project ID, organization ID, or branch to a .neon context file so subsequent commands run against that project or org without requiring --project-id or --org-id flags each time. Use this command when working repeatedly against the same project to eliminate repetitive flag passing across a CLI session. Context is stored in a .neon file (or a named --context-file) found by walking up the directory tree to the project root, supports multiple independent named files, and persists until reset with neon set-context or deleted manually.

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.

Note: Deprecated

set-context is deprecated in favor of neon link, which writes the same .neon context file. It still works but prints a deprecation warning when you run it, and may be removed in a future release. Use neon link to set project context; it verifies your inputs and infers your organization. For a write-without-checks behavior like set-context (for example, in scripts), use neon link --no-checks with --org-id, --project-id, and --branch. To switch branches, use neon checkout.

Tip: 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.

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.

Set at least one of these options.

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

┌──────────────────────────┬─────────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ 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 │
└──────────────────────────┴─────────────┴─────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

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

┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ 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.

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.

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

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.

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