Railway MCP Server

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/tools/variable.tool.ts:130-161 (registration)

  Registers the 'variable_copy' MCP tool using createTool, providing formatted description, input schema, and handler function that delegates to VariableService.copyVariables

  createTool(
    "variable_copy",
    formatToolDescription({
      type: 'WORKFLOW',
      description: "Copy variables from one environment to another",
      bestFor: [
        "Environment migration",
        "Configuration sharing",
        "Environment duplication"
      ],
      notFor: [
        "Single variable updates (use variable_set)",
        "Temporary configuration changes"
      ],
      relations: {
        prerequisites: ["service_list"],
        nextSteps: ["deployment_trigger", "service_restart"],
        alternatives: ["variable_set"],
        related: ["variable_list", "service_update"]
      }
    }),
    {
      projectId: z.string().describe("ID of the project"),
      sourceEnvironmentId: z.string().describe("ID of the source environment (usually obtained from project_info)"),
      targetEnvironmentId: z.string().describe("ID of the target environment (usually obtained from project_info)"),
      serviceId: z.string().optional().describe("ID of the service (optional, if omitted copies shared variables)"),
      overwrite: z.boolean().optional().default(false).describe("Whether to overwrite existing variables in the target environment")
    },
    async ({ projectId, sourceEnvironmentId, targetEnvironmentId, serviceId, overwrite = false }) => {
      return variableService.copyVariables(projectId, sourceEnvironmentId, targetEnvironmentId, serviceId, overwrite);
    }
  )

• src/tools/variable.tool.ts:151-157 (schema)

  Zod input schema defining parameters for the variable_copy tool: projectId, sourceEnvironmentId, targetEnvironmentId, optional serviceId, and optional overwrite flag

  {
    projectId: z.string().describe("ID of the project"),
    sourceEnvironmentId: z.string().describe("ID of the source environment (usually obtained from project_info)"),
    targetEnvironmentId: z.string().describe("ID of the target environment (usually obtained from project_info)"),
    serviceId: z.string().optional().describe("ID of the service (optional, if omitted copies shared variables)"),
    overwrite: z.boolean().optional().default(false).describe("Whether to overwrite existing variables in the target environment")
  },

• src/tools/variable.tool.ts:158-160 (handler)

  Handler function for the variable_copy tool, which invokes VariableService.copyVariables with the provided parameters

  async ({ projectId, sourceEnvironmentId, targetEnvironmentId, serviceId, overwrite = false }) => {
    return variableService.copyVariables(projectId, sourceEnvironmentId, targetEnvironmentId, serviceId, overwrite);
  }

• src/services/variable.service.ts:95-135 (helper)

  Core helper method implementing the variable copying logic: retrieves variables from source and target environments, filters based on overwrite flag, performs bulk upsert, and returns success/error responses

  async copyVariables(projectId: string, sourceEnvironmentId: string, targetEnvironmentId: string, serviceId?: string, overwrite: boolean = false) {
    try {
      // Get variables from source environment
      const sourceVars = await this.client.variables.getVariables(projectId, sourceEnvironmentId, serviceId);
  
      if (Object.keys(sourceVars).length === 0) {
        return createSuccessResponse({
          text: "No variables found in source environment to copy.",
          data: { copied: 0 }
        });
      }
  
      // Get variables from target environment
      const targetVars = await this.client.variables.getVariables(projectId, targetEnvironmentId, serviceId);
  
      // If not overwriting, filter out variables that already exist in target
      const varsToSet = overwrite
        ? sourceVars
        : Object.fromEntries(
            Object.entries(sourceVars).filter(([key]) => !(key in targetVars))
          );
  
      if (Object.keys(varsToSet).length === 0) {
        return createSuccessResponse({
          text: "All variables already exist in target environment.",
          data: { copied: 0 }
        });
      }
  
      // Bulk update the variables
      await this.bulkUpsertVariables(projectId, targetEnvironmentId, varsToSet, serviceId);
  
      const variableType = serviceId ? "service variables" : "shared environment variables";
      return createSuccessResponse({
        text: `Successfully copied ${Object.keys(varsToSet).length} ${variableType} to target environment`,
        data: { copied: Object.keys(varsToSet).length }
      });
    } catch (error) {
      return createErrorResponse(`Error copying variables: ${formatError(error)}`);
    }
  }