Vercel Services — deploy multiple services within a single Vercel project. Use for monorepo layouts or when combining a backend (Python, Go) with a frontend (Next.js, Vite) in one deployment.
Services let you deploy multiple independently-built units within a single Vercel project. The typical use case is combining different runtimes (e.g. Python + JavaScript) in one deployment with shared routing and environment variables, but services work for any combination — multiple services of the same runtime, different frameworks, or a mix.
This skill covers project structure and configuration. For the actual deployment, defer to the deployments-cicd skill.
A service is an independently built unit within your project, deployed to the same domain under a unique subpath. At build time, Vercel builds each service separately. At request time, Vercel routes incoming requests to the correct service based on the URL path prefix (longest prefix wins).
experimentalServices field in vercel.json (see reference project).vercel dev -L auto-detects frameworks and runs all services locally as one application, handling routing automatically. The -L flag (short for ) runs without authenticating with Vercel Cloud.--localvercel.json lives at the root. Each service manages its own dependencies independently.Define services in vercel.json:
{
"experimentalServices": {
"web": {
"entrypoint": "apps/web",
"routePrefix": "/"
},
"api": {
"entrypoint": "backend/main.py",
"routePrefix": "/server"
}
}
}
The project's Framework Preset must be set to Services in the Vercel dashboard.
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
entrypoint | Yes | Path to the service entrypoint file or directory. |
routePrefix | Yes | URL path prefix for routing (e.g. /, /api, /svc/go). |
framework | No | Framework slug. Pins detection; auto-detected if unset. |
memory | No | Max available RAM in MB (128–10,240). |
maxDuration | No | Execution timeout in seconds (1–900). |
includeFiles | No | Glob patterns for files to include in the deployment. |
excludeFiles | No | Glob patterns for files to exclude from the deployment. |
Do not add unknown fields — they will cause the build to fail.
Services is in beta. Python and Go are tested and production-ready. Other runtimes may work but are not yet validated.
Works with FastAPI, Flask, Django, or any ASGI/WSGI application. Framework is auto-detected. Set entrypoint to the application file (e.g. "backend/main.py"). Dependencies go in pyproject.toml in the service directory.
Set entrypoint to the service directory (e.g. "backend"), not a file. Must set "framework": "go" explicitly in vercel.json — auto-detection does not work for Go services. Dependencies in go.mod in the service directory.
Vercel supports Node.js, Bun, Rust, Ruby, Wasm, and Edge runtimes for functions. These can theoretically be used as services but are not yet validated.
Vercel evaluates route prefixes from longest to shortest (most specific first), with the primary service (/) as the catch-all. Vercel automatically mounts services at their routePrefix, so service handlers should not include the prefix in their routes.
For frontend frameworks mounted on a subpath (not /), configure the framework's own base path (e.g. basePath in next.config.js) to match routePrefix.
Vercel auto-generates URL variables so services can find each other:
| Variable | Example value | Availability | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
{SERVICENAME}_URL | https://your-deploy.vercel.app/svc/api | Server-side | Server-to-server requests |
NEXT_PUBLIC_{SERVICENAME}_URL | /svc/api | Client-side | Browser requests (relative, no CORS) |
SERVICENAME is the key name from experimentalServices, uppercased. If you define an env var with the same name in project settings, your value takes precedence.
references/fastapi-vite/ for the canonical project layout.vercel.json has entrypoint and routePrefix. Only set framework when auto-detection fails (required for Go).After scaffolding, present the created file structure to the user. After deployment, present the deployment URL (refer to the deployments-cicd skill for details).
The project needs the Services framework preset:
vercel dev — check logs. If a service is missing, verify vercel.json. Try setting framework explicitly.routePrefix (e.g. /health), but requests from other services use the full prefix (e.g. /api/health).routePrefix.