Deno Deploy Troubleshooting

First Step: Use --help

Before debugging a failed command, run --help to confirm the flags you're using actually exist and are spelled correctly:

deno deploy create --help
deno deploy env --help
deno deploy database --help

Exit code 2 almost always means a flag is missing or invalid — --help will show you exactly what's required.

Common Errors

"No organization was selected"

This error occurs because the CLI needs an organization context. Unfortunately, commands like deno deploy orgs also fail without this context.

Solution:

1. Find your org name manually: Visit https://console.deno.com - your org is in the URL path (e.g., console.deno.com/donjo means org is donjo)

2. Specify org explicitly:

   deno deploy --org your-org-name --prod
   

3. Or create an app with org:

   deno deploy create --org your-org-name
   # Complete the browser flow when prompted
   

If you see this error, the user needs to provide their organization name from the console URL.

"No entrypoint found"

Specify your entry file:

deno deploy --entrypoint main.ts --prod

Or add to deno.json:

{
  "deploy": {
    "entrypoint": "main.ts"
  }
}

"authorization required"

Token expired or missing. Options:

• Re-authenticate interactively (browser flow)
• Set up a CI/CD token via DENO_DEPLOY_TOKEN environment variable
• Create a new token at https://console.deno.com/account/access-tokens

"Minimum Deno version required"

User needs to upgrade Deno:

deno upgrade

The deno deploy command requires Deno >= 2.4.2.

Fresh "Build required" Error

Fresh 2.0 requires building before deployment:

deno task build
deno deploy --prod

Environment Variable Errors

Check what's currently set:

deno deploy env list

Add missing variables:

deno deploy env add MISSING_VAR "value"

Warmup Failure After Deploy

The build succeeds but the deploy fails with a warmup error or exit code 1. This usually means the app crashes on startup.

Most common cause: The app connects to a database at startup (e.g., await initDb() in main.ts), but no database has been provisioned or assigned yet.

Solution:

1. Provision and assign the database:

   deno deploy database provision my-db --kind prisma --region us-east-1
   deno deploy database assign my-db --app <APP_NAME>
   

2. Redeploy:

   deno deploy --prod
   

For a complete walkthrough, see the Fresh + PostgreSQL recipe.

Fresh Auto-Detection / Preset Fails

When the CLI auto-detects Fresh or you use --framework-preset fresh, the deploy may fail with an API error. This is a known issue.

Workaround: Use --do-not-use-detected-build-config and specify all build commands manually:

deno deploy create \
  --org <ORG_NAME> --app <APP_NAME> \
  --source local \
  --do-not-use-detected-build-config \
  --install-command "deno install" \
  --build-command "deno task build" \
  --pre-deploy-command "echo ready" \
  --runtime-mode dynamic --entrypoint main.ts \
  --build-timeout 5 --build-memory-limit 1024 --region us

Error Response Table

Error	Cause	Solution
"No organization was selected"	No org in config	Get org name from console URL, use --org flag
"No entrypoint found"	Can't find main file	Use --entrypoint flag or set in deno.json
"authorization required"	Token expired/missing	Re-authenticate or set DENO_DEPLOY_TOKEN
"Minimum Deno version required"	Deno too old	Run deno upgrade
Exit code 2 (usage error)	Missing or invalid flags	Run deno deploy create --help to see required flags
Warmup failure (exit code 1)	App crashes on startup	Check for missing database or env vars — see Warmup Failure
Fresh preset API error	Auto-detection bug	Use --do-not-use-detected-build-config — see Fresh workaround

Verifying Deployment Success

The CLI output can be verbose. Look for these indicators of success:

• A URL containing .deno.dev or .deno.net - this is your live deployment
• A console URL like https://console.deno.com/<org>/<app>/builds/<id>
• The command exits with code 0 (no error)

After deployment, confirm success by extracting the production URL from the output. The format is typically: https://<app-name>.<org>.deno.net or https://<app-name>.deno.dev

Commands That Require Org Context

These commands will error if no org is configured - do not try them to "discover" orgs:

• deno deploy (without --org flag)
• deno deploy orgs
• deno deploy switch
• deno deploy env list
• deno deploy logs

Environment Variable Contexts

Variables can apply to different environments:

# Set which contexts a variable applies to
deno deploy env update-contexts API_KEY Production Preview

Available contexts: Production, Preview, Local, Build