render-blueprints

Render Blueprints (render.yaml)

Blueprints define Render infrastructure as YAML (commonly render.yaml at the repo root). This skill focuses on authoring, wiring, projects/environments, previews, validation, and immutable fields. Heavy detail lives under references/.

When to Use

Apply this skill when the user:

• Creates or edits a render.yaml / Blueprint
• Wires databases, private services, or Key Value into app env vars
• Groups services with projects and environments
• Configures preview environments for pull requests
• Validates YAML against Render’s schema or CLI
• Asks what can or cannot change after a resource is created

For end-to-end deploy flows and MCP/CLI operations, see render-deploy. For env var strategy outside Blueprint syntax, see render-env-vars. For Docker-specific Blueprint fields, see render-docker.

Blueprint Structure

Top-level keys

Key	Purpose
services	Web, worker, cron, private service, Key Value, static (via web + runtime: static)
databases	Managed PostgreSQL instances
envVarGroups	Reusable env var sets attached to services
projects	Optional grouping; contains environments and service lists
previews	Defaults for PR preview environments

A Blueprint may also use patterns like ungrouped resources vs environment-scoped lists, depending on whether you adopt the projects model. Avoid duplicating the same logical resource in multiple places (see references/common-mistakes.md).

Schema and IDE validation

• JSON Schema URL: https://render.com/schema/render.yaml.json
• Configure your editor to associate render.yaml with that schema for completions and diagnostics.

Minimal example: web + PostgreSQL

databases:
  - name: mydb
    plan: basic-256mb
    region: oregon

services:
  - type: web
    name: api
    runtime: node
    region: oregon
    plan: starter
    buildCommand: npm ci && npm run build
    startCommand: npm start
    envVars:
      - key: DATABASE_URL
        fromDatabase:
          name: mydb
          property: connectionString