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Build and deploy your Flash application to Runpod Serverless endpoints in one step. This is the primary command for getting your application running in the cloud. 
flash deploy [OPTIONS]

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Examples

Build and deploy a Flash app from the current directory (auto-selects environment if only one exists): 
flash deploy
Deploy to a specific environment: 
flash deploy --env production
Deploy with additional excluded packages: 
flash deploy --exclude scipy,pandas
Build and test locally before deploying: 
flash deploy --preview

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Flags

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--env, -e
string
Target environment name (e.g., dev, staging, production). Auto-selected if only one exists. Creates the environment if it doesn’t exist.
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--app, -a
string
Flash app name. Auto-detected from the current directory if not specified.
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--no-deps
Skip transitive dependencies during pip install. Useful when the base image already includes dependencies.
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--exclude
string
Comma-separated packages to exclude (e.g., torch,torchvision). Use this to stay under the 1.5GB deployment limit.
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--output, -o
string
default:"artifact.tar.gz"
Custom archive name for the build artifact.
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--preview
Build and launch a local Docker-based preview environment instead of deploying to Runpod.

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What happens during deployment

  1. Build phase: Creates the deployment artifact (same as flash build).
  2. Environment resolution: Detects or creates the target environment.
  3. Upload: Sends the artifact to Runpod storage.
  4. Provisioning: Creates or updates Serverless endpoints.
  5. Configuration: Sets up environment variables and service discovery.

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Architecture

After deployment, your Flash app runs as independent Serverless endpoints on Runpod:
Each resource configuration in your code creates an independent endpoint. You can call any endpoint directly based on your needs.

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App and environment management

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Automatic creation

Flash automatically creates apps and environments as needed during deployment:
  • If the app doesn’t exist, Flash creates it along with the target environment.
  • If only the environment doesn’t exist, Flash creates it within the existing app.
# Creates the app and 'staging' environment if they don't exist
flash deploy --env staging

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Auto-selection

When you have only one environment, it’s selected automatically: 
# Auto-selects the only available environment
flash deploy
When multiple environments exist, you must specify one: 
# Required when multiple environments exist
flash deploy --env staging

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Default environment

If no app or environment exists and none is specified, Flash creates the app with a production environment by default.

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Post-deployment

After successful deployment, Flash displays all deployed endpoints: 
✓ Deployment Complete

Load-balanced endpoints:
  https://abc123xyz.api.runpod.ai  (lb_worker)
    POST   /process
    GET    /health

  Try it:
    curl -X POST https://abc123xyz.api.runpod.ai/process \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer $RUNPOD_API_KEY" \
        -d '{"input": {}}'

Queue-based endpoints:
  https://api.runpod.ai/v2/def456xyz  (gpu_worker)
  https://api.runpod.ai/v2/ghi789xyz  (cpu_worker)

  Try it:
    curl -X POST https://api.runpod.ai/v2/def456xyz/runsync \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer $RUNPOD_API_KEY" \
        -d '{"input": {}}'
Each endpoint is independent with its own URL and can be called directly.

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Authentication

All deployed endpoints require authentication with your Runpod API key: 
export RUNPOD_API_KEY="your_key_here"

curl -X POST https://YOUR_ENDPOINT_URL/path \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $RUNPOD_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"param": "value"}'

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Preview mode

Test locally before deploying: 
flash deploy --preview
This builds your project and runs it in Docker containers locally:
  • Each endpoint runs in its own container.
  • All containers communicate via Docker network.
  • Endpoints exposed on local ports for testing.
  • Press Ctrl+C to stop.

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Managing deployment size

Runpod Serverless has a 1.5GB limit. Flash automatically excludes packages that are pre-installed in the base image (torch, torchvision, torchaudio, numpy, triton). If the deployment is still too large, use --exclude to skip additional packages: 
flash deploy --exclude scipy,pandas
See flash build - Managing deployment size for more details.

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flash run vs flash deploy

See flash run for a detailed comparison of local development vs production deployment.

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Troubleshooting

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Multiple environments error

Error: Multiple environments found: dev, staging, production
Specify the target environment: 
flash deploy --env staging

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Deployment size limit

Base image packages are auto-excluded. If the deployment is still too large, use --exclude to skip additional packages: 
flash deploy --exclude scipy,pandas

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Authentication fails

Ensure your API key is set: 
echo $RUNPOD_API_KEY
export RUNPOD_API_KEY="your_key_here"

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Related commands