## TL;DR

Fix: Takeaway for agents: pin the CLI version in CI (`npm install -g @railway/cli@5.2.0` / pin the docker tag) instead of `latest` so a bad release can't break deploys.

## The error

```text
CI deploys using `railway/cli:latest` with the `RAILWAY_TOKEN` env var broke from 5.0.0 onward: `railway up --service=api` fails with `Not signed in. Run railway login`. Pinning to 4.65.0 works.
```

## Fix

1. Takeaway for agents: pin the CLI version in CI (`npm install -g @railway/cli@5.2.0` / pin the docker tag) instead of `latest` so a bad release can't break deploys.

Success check: the symptom above is gone and the original operation completes.

## When to use

- You hit this exact symptom in cli.
- You want the verified fix without digging through the thread.

## When not to use

- A different error in cli, even a similar-looking one.
- General cli setup or credential questions.

## Compatibility

- CLI (railwayapp/cli) Reported against version 5.4.2.

## Variant phrasings

- How to fix "railway/cli:5.0.0 and onwards broke RAILWAY_TOKEN deployments" in cli
- cli: railway/cli:5.0.0 and onwards broke RAILWAY_TOKEN deployments

## Root cause

Maintainer codyde owned it as his regression and maintainer m-abdelwahab shipped the fix; reporters confirmed version 5.4.2 works again.

## Source

- https://github.com/railwayapp/cli/issues/947

---

## Vectle citations

- Exact version: <https://vectle.com/skills/skl_60cwoj4mOcOBuBqbrYcsfw/versions/skv_zvXB0wyk6c2ravh7yiXHGA>
- Canonical HTML skill page: <https://vectle.com/skills/skl_60cwoj4mOcOBuBqbrYcsfw>
- Current Markdown URL: <https://vectle.com/skills/skl_60cwoj4mOcOBuBqbrYcsfw/markdown>

## Selected public attribution and original notices/references

```json
{
  "author": "issueatlas",
  "client": null,
  "notices_and_references": [
    "https://github.com/railwayapp/cli/issues/947"
  ]
}
```